William Wesley Roberts v. State of Florida

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT MIDDLE DISTRICT OF FLORIDA FORT MYERS DIVISION WILLIAM WESLEY ROBERTS, Petitioner, v. Case No.: 2:26-cv-93-SPC-NPM STATE OF FLORIDA, Respondent. / OPINION AND ORDER Before the Court is William Wesley Roberts’ filing titled, “Writ of Supervisory Control” (Doc. 1). Roberts is currently serving a prison sentence for vehicular manslaughter in the Florida Department of Corrections. He filed a federal habeas petition last year in a case styled Roberts v. Florida, M.D. Fla. Case No. 2:25-cv-481. This Court dismissed it because Roberts had not yet exhausted available state postconviction remedies. Roberts has since filed a postconviction motion under Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.850, which is pending in state court.

In his latest filing, Roberts asks the Court to let him withdraw his Rule 3.850 motion and pursue federal habeas relief without exhausting state remedies. The Antiterrorism Effective Death Penalty Act precludes federal courts, absent exceptional circumstances, from granting habeas relief unless a petitioner has exhausted all means of relief available under state law. Failure to exhaust occurs “when a petitioner has not ‘fairly presented’ every issue raised in his federal petition to the state’s highest court, either on direct appeal or on collateral review.” Pope v. Sec’y for Dep't. of Corr., 680 F.3d 1271, 1284 (11th Cir. 2012) (quoting Mason v. Allen, 605 F.8d 1114, 1119 (11th Cir. 2010)).

The Court finds no exceptional circumstances that warrant waiver of the exhaustion requirement here. Accordingly, Roberts’ request (Doc. 1) is DENIED, and this action is DISMISSED without prejudice. The Clerk is DIRECTED to terminate any motions and deadlines, enter judgment, and close this case. Robets may seek habeas relief in federal court if his state postconviction challenge is unsuccessful.

DONE and ORDERED in Fort Myers, Florida on January 22, 2026.

UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE SA: FTMP-1 Copies: All Parties of Record