Guzman v. State, 80750
| Decision Date | 22 September 1994 |
| Docket Number | No. 80750,80750 |
| Citation | 644 So.2d 996 |
| Parties | 19 Fla. L. Weekly S452 James GUZMAN, Appellant, v. STATE of Florida, Appellee. |
| Court | Florida Supreme Court |
James L. Rose of Rice and Rose, P.A., Daytona Beach, for appellant.
Robert A. Butterworth, Atty. Gen., Margene A. Roper and Kenneth S. Nunnelley, Asst. Attys. Gen., Daytona Beach, for appellee.
James Guzman appeals his convictions for robbery with a deadly weapon and first-degree murder and his corresponding sentences, including his sentence of death for the first-degree murder conviction. We have jurisdiction. Art. V, Sec. 3(b)(1), Fla. Const. We find that the trial judge erroneously denied motions to withdraw filed by Guzman's counsel based on conflicts of interest between Guzman and other clients of the public defender's office. Because Guzman is entitled to conflict-free counsel under the Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution, we conclude that we must reverse Guzman's convictions and sentences and remand this case for a new trial.
The body of the murder victim in this case, David Colvin, was discovered on August 12, 1991. On December 13, 1991, James Guzman was arrested for that murder. At trial, Guzman testified in his own behalf and denied that he killed the victim. The State produced circumstantial evidence connecting Guzman to the crime and produced two key witnesses who claimed that Guzman confessed to them that he committed the murder. The first witness was Guzman's ex-girlfriend; the second witness was a cellmate of Guzman's, Arthur Boyne. It is Boyne's testimony that is critical to the controlling issue in this case because that testimony is impacted by motions to withdraw filed by the assistant public defender who represented Guzman.
The record reflects that, before trial, the assistant public defender representing Guzman filed a motion to withdraw, stating that an individual listed as a witness for the State, Paul James Rogers, Jr., was also represented by the public defender's office and that the interests of Rogers and Guzman were so adverse and hostile that neither of them could be counseled by the public defender because of irreconcilable conflicts of interest. A hearing was held by the trial judge as to the nature of the conflict. At the hearing, it was revealed that Rogers was a cellmate of Guzman's who, while he was being represented by the public defender, told the State that Guzman confessed to him regarding the instant crime. The State objected to the public defender's motion to withdraw on the basis that no irreconcilable conflict actually existed. The State further stated that, even if such conflict existed, any prejudice resulting from the conflict had been cured because new counsel had been recently appointed to represent Rogers. On these facts, the trial judge denied the motion. Rogers never testified against Guzman. Shortly before trial, however, the State announced that it would be calling Boyne, another cellmate of Guzman's, as a witness against Guzman. At that time, the assistant public defender representing Guzman again filed a motion to withdraw setting forth clear conflict. In that motion, the public defender stated that Boyne was scheduled to testify as a witness for the State against Guzman in the instant action; that irreconcilable conflict existed between Boyne and Guzman; that the public defender had represented Boyne in a previous case; that the public defender was presently representing Boyne in his appeal before the Fifth District Court of Appeal; and that the public defender's office had not received an unequivocal waiver of the attorney-client privilege from Boyne. After the motion was filed, the State assured the trial judge that Boyne had in fact waived the attorney-client privilege. The trial judge then denied the motion to withdraw.
At trial, the State was allowed to call Boyne as a witness to testify against Guzman. Boyne testified that Guzman told him that he killed the victim. On cross-examination, the public defender asked Boyne if he had ever told Guzman's public defender and another public defender that he would do anything he could to avoid being prosecuted for first-degree murder or in any way to mitigate the effect of that prosecution. Boyne denied making that statement. At this point, a bench conference was held at which the following information was disclosed. During the time Guzman's counsel was representing Guzman, he had also represented Boyne on a first-degree murder charge. Additionally, even though the public defender's office was no longer representing Boyne on the first-degree murder charge, it was still representing him on an appeal. Further, during the public defender's representation of Boyne on the first-degree murder charge, Boyne purportedly told Guzman's assistant public defender and another assistant public defender that he would do anything he could to keep from being prosecuted for first-degree murder or in any way to mitigate the effect of that prosecution. When Boyne denied making that statement at trial, Guzman's counsel was placed in the position of possibly becoming a witness against Boyne and of calling the other public defender to impeach Boyne. When Guzman's counsel indicated that he would need to call the other assistant public defender as a witness to impeach Boyne, the State objected on the grounds that the other assistant public defender had not been included on the witness list and moved to exclude the public defender as a witness. The trial judge responded:
Until such time as the witness is offered, I don't think I have to make that ruling.
If a witness such as this, undisclosed, is offered, I think could be offered on sort of rebuttal, but I don't think--I'm not making a ruling, but my feeling is if his name was not furnished by the defense to the state as a potential witness, they can't...
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Guzman v. Sec'y
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