A state judge has denied a former inmate’s fifth pro se motion to vacate his decades-old robbery conviction, ordering that the man cannot file future motions on his conviction without her permission. Supreme Court Justice Colleen D. Duffy, sitting in the Bronx, cited Washington Davis’ many unsuccessful appeals and the court’s limited resources for her ruling in People v. Davis, 0644-1984. Noting recent court layoffs and increased caseloads, Justice Duffy said that Mr. Davis’ “continued filings of frivolous motions, raising issues which he is well aware are meritless and which already have been determined by other courts, waste scarce public resources—both judicial and prosecutorial.”
Following his 1984 conviction for second-degree robbery, which resulted in a 15-year-to-life sentence, Mr. Davis set off on an unsuccessful appeals process that included four habeas corpus petitions and five motions to set aside the sentence under Criminal Procedure Law §440.
