Whitfield v. Texas
Headline: Court blocks a man’s repeated frivolous petitions in noncriminal cases, denies free filing status, and requires payment of fees and proper paperwork before accepting future filings.
Holding: The Court denied a fee-waiver request as frivolous, refused the petition, and barred future noncriminal filings unless fees are paid and filing rules are followed.
- Requires this filer to pay docketing fees before filing noncriminal petitions.
- Clerk will refuse noncriminal petitions not meeting paperwork requirements.
- Leaves open filings challenging criminal sanctions; sanction limited to noncriminal matters.
Summary
Background
A man who represents himself filed yet another petition asking to proceed without paying court fees. The Court says his filings to the Supreme Court and requests for extraordinary relief have been repeatedly frivolous. The opinion records that by this filing he has made nine frivolous filings, and that on March 30, 1998 the Court already invoked Rule 39.8 to deny him free filing in a prior certiorari case.
Reasoning
The Court framed the issue as whether to allow a fee waiver and whether to block further filings. Relying on Rule 39.8, the Court denied the fee waiver as frivolous and refused to accept the petition. It ordered the filer to pay the docketing fee by July 15, 1999 and to submit any petition in compliance with the Court’s Rule 33.1. The Court also directed the Clerk not to accept further noncriminal petitions from him unless these conditions are met, citing Martin v. District of Columbia Court of Appeals.
Real world impact
Practically, this limits the man’s ability to bring noncriminal matters to the Supreme Court unless he pays fees and follows filing rules. The sanction is expressly limited to noncriminal cases and will not stop him from seeking review of criminal sanctions. The Court said the order helps preserve its resources for petitioners who have not abused the process.
Dissents or concurrances
Justice Stevens wrote a short dissent, saying he disagreed for reasons he has explained in earlier dissents, and respectfully objected to the Court’s action.
Opinions in this case:
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