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Court gadfly gets jail term for stalking

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By TODD LESKANIC

tleskanic@tampatrib.com

Published: October 24, 2009

NEW PORT RICHEY - Roy A. Day has drawn the ire of judges from Florida to Texas to Washington, D.C.

The former chiropractor has spent years bombarding state and federal courts with baseless lawsuits and appeals, using the pages to insult court and public officials and to put forth conspiracy theories.

Day's lawsuits have targeted judges, a computer manufacturer, a car insurance company, a power company, a funeral home, police chiefs and the Florida Highway Patrol, to name a few.

This year, authorities say, Day turned his attention to a 63-year-old Longleaf woman with whom he once worked at Walmart. He called the woman repeatedly, drove by her house, and posted flyers and sent letters calling her a lesbian, among other things.

Day, 63, will spend the next year in the Pasco County jail for this round of harassment. County Judge Debra Roberts handed down the sentence Oct. 9 after a jury found the Port Richey man guilty of misdemeanor stalking.

Day acted as his own attorney and used the forum to repeat his slurs and sexist commentary despite Roberts' best efforts to enforce objections from prosecutors.

He used voluminous pretrial filings much the same way he has for years: to hurl insults at lawyers, judges, his opponents and the court system. In one of the motions, he asked Roberts to step down from the case because she is a "black female."

In his cross-examination of the victim, Day asked her, "Isn't it true you have a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde personality?" Roberts disallowed the question.

The victim testified that she told Day not to speak to her on several occasions. Once, Day responded by pointing at her, then making a slashing motion across his neck and pointing an imaginary gun at his head.

He also told her that she "better go home right now because this is the last time you'll sleep" there, mentioning her house number. The woman testified that she never told Day her address.

"It terrified me," she said. "I barricaded myself inside my house. I put furniture in front of my front door, in front of my French doors and my back door."

The woman's neighbors and family members, as well as local businesses, received letters calling her a lesbian and giving her address, place of employment and age, according to court documents.

The woman filed a petition for a restraining order in May, but a judge declined to grant the order. She filed a second petition one day after Day's arrest in July, and a judge granted the order at a hearing this week. The judge also ordered Day to receive a mental health evaluation within 10 days of his release from jail.

Day's trial generated much talk at the courthouse in New Port Richey, mostly because of his past forays into the state and federal court systems.

In 2002, Day sued the Port Richey Police Department several days after an officer ticketed him for speeding on U.S. 19. Three years later, he filed a similar lawsuit against the Florida Highway Patrol after a trooper stopped him for speeding.

Both complaints were dismissed.

Day's self-written complaints are usually filled with language describing attorneys as "sleazy, corrupt, dishonest and unethical." He refers to himself as a "citizen-attorney."

His frivolous filings have forced jurists at the U.S. Supreme Court, the Florida Supreme Court and a pair of state appellate courts to ban him from further filings unless they are signed by an attorney.

In a 2005 ruling limiting Day's access, the Florida Supreme Court wrote, "It is clear that Day is an abusive litigant, and he is unable to maintain the bare minimum standard of decorum and respect for the judicial system that all litigants must have when filing court pleadings and seeking court rulings."

State records show that Day was a licensed chiropractor from 1977 until 2002. Records indicate he relinquished his license "to avoid further prosecution in a disciplinary case" brought against him by the Board of Chiropractic Medicine in 2000.

Day responded to the board's action by filing nine cases with the 1st District Court of Appeal. In one filing, he referred to members of the chiropractic board as "con artists and quacks."

The appellate court responded by telling Day not to file any more pleadings without a licensed lawyer.

Reporter Todd Leskanic can be reached at (813) 731-8098.

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