Florida Convict Isn't Joking This Time

 When death row inmate Michael Lambrix applied to be a Florida Supreme Court Justice in January, the nominating committee had a good laugh. "It's tongue-in-cheek," said Chair Robert Hackleman - and it probably was. (Lambrix wrote: "My biggest qualification...is that I'm the only applicant that has been totally screwed by the justice system.")

But it seems the chuckles ensuing from lawyers and judges have now faded into an uncomfortable silence. This past February 9, the litigious convict scrawled a 26-page motion "to Disqualify the Entire Florida Supreme Court." He demanded it be filed appropriately and addressed in a timely manner. His claim: Chief Justice Peggy Quince helped prosecute his murder case in the 1980s. It has since come to light -- he says -- that the team of lawyers acted unethically. He writes: "Numerous documents [that show] the state knowingly withheld evidence"

Researcher Mike Hikey - who has followed the case out of sheer curiosity --is taking Lambrix seriously. "The fact that he has turned down offers for a reduced sentence twice shows he is serious about his innocence claims."

The clerk's office of the Supreme Court has since processed the inmate's complaint. Problem is, they're not quite sure what to call it. For now it's filed under "other."