Don J. Porter v. State of Florida
CourtDistrict Court of Appeal of Florida
Date FiledJanuary 12, 2022
Docket1D21-2005
StatusPublished
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Full Opinion
FIRST DISTRICT COURT OF APPEAL
STATE OF FLORIDA
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No. 1D21-2005
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DON J. PORTER,
Appellant,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA,
Appellee.
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On appeal from the Circuit Court for Leon County.
Francis Allman, Judge.
January 12, 2022
PER CURIAM.
Don J. Porter appeals an order denying his postconviction
motion filed under Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.800(a).
Finding no error by the trial court, we affirm.
We write to warn Porter against filing any further frivolous
postconviction appeals. Following a 2008 jury trial, Porter was
convicted of lewd and lascivious battery, sexual activity with a
person aged sixteen or seventeen, and child abuse by
impregnation. His judgment and sentences were affirmed on direct
appeal. See Porter v. State, 13 So. 3d 471 (Fla. 1st DCA 2009).
In the thirteen years following his convictions, Porter has filed
seven postconviction appeals in this Court and has obtained no
relief. See Porter v. State, 88 So. 3d 155 (Fla. 1st DCA 2011)
(affirming order denying rule 3.850 motion); Porter v. State, Case
No. 1D11-6195 (Fla. 1st DCA Aug. 8, 2012) (dismissing appeal of
order denying petition for writ of habeas corpus); Porter v. State,
95 So. 3d 219 (Fla. 1st DCA 2012) (affirming order denying rule
3.800(a) motion); Porter v. State, 137 So. 3d 379 (Fla. 1st DCA
2014) (affirming order denying rule 3.800(a) motion); Porter v.
State, 228 So. 3d 558 (Fla. 1st DCA 2017) (affirming order denying
rule 3.850 motion); Porter v. State, 326 So. 3d 1211 (Fla. 1st DCA
2021) (affirming order denying rule 3.800(a) motion and warning
Porter against future frivolous filings).
Two months ago, this Court warned Porter against filing
frivolous appeals. See id. Because Porter filed the instant appeal
before that warning issued, we will not order him to show cause
why he should not be barred from future pro se filings in this
Court. Even so, we warn Porter that if he again seeks to challenge
his judgment or sentence, we will likely issue an order under State
v. Spencer, 751 So. 2d 47 (Fla. 1999), requiring him to show cause
why he should not be barred from further pro se filings and for
consideration of disciplinary action under section 944.279(1),
Florida Statutes (2021). Frivolous postconviction appeals burden
judicial resources and โserve[ ] no purpose other than to delay
resolution of meritorious claims brought by others.โ See Hall v.
State, 94 So. 3d 655, 656 (Fla. 1st DCA 2012); Ferris v. State, 100
So. 3d 142, 143 (Fla. 1st DCA 2012) (Wetherell, J., concurring)
(โ[C]ourts do not exist simply to give prisoners something to do
while they serve their sentences, and there comes a point in every
criminal case that the defendant needs to accept the finality of his
judgment and sentence and just do his time.โ).
AFFIRMED.
ROWE, C.J., and JAY, J., concur; BILBREY, J., concurring in result
with opinion.
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_____________________________
Not final until disposition of any timely and
authorized motion under Fla. R. App. P. 9.330 or
9.331.
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BILBREY, J., concurring in result.
Since Porter qualified as a prison release reoffender (PRR), I
agree that his thirty-year prison sentence was not an illegal
sentence. As a PRR convicted of a first-degree felony, Porterโs
thirty-year sentence was mandatory. See ยง 775.082(9)(a)3.b., Fla.
Stat. (2007). I also agree that we are correct to warn Porter against
further frivolous filings.
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Don J. Porter, pro se, Appellant.
Ashley Moody, Attorney General, and Trisha Meggs Pate,
Tallahassee Bureau Chief, Criminal Appeals, Tallahassee, for
Appellee.
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