Jacobs v. State
| Citation | 880 So.2d 548 |
| Decision Date | 24 June 2004 |
| Docket Number | No. SC02-107.,SC02-107. |
| Parties | Alwin J. JACOBS, Petitioner, v. STATE of Florida, Respondent. |
| Court | United States State Supreme Court of Florida |
R. Mitchell Prugh of Middleton & Prugh, P.A., Melrose, FL, for Petitioner.
Charles J. Crist, Jr., Attorney General, Michael J. Neimand, Bureau Chief, and Meredith L. Balo and John D. Barker, Assistant Attorneys General, Miami, FL, for Respondent.
We have for review Jacobs v. State, 800 So.2d 322 (Fla. 3d DCA 2001), based on conflict with the decision in Smith v. State, 481 So.2d 988 (Fla. 5th DCA 1986). We have jurisdiction. See art. V, § 3(b)(3), Fla. Const. We quash Jacobs, and hold that the district court erred in affirming the trial court's summary denial of petitioner's postconviction claim of ineffectiveness of counsel as facially insufficient.
In the trial court Jacobs was charged, tried, and found guilty by a jury of burglary, petit theft, and criminal mischief. Before trial, Jacobs' counsel filed a notice of alibi, stating: "At the exact date and time of the alleged offense, the defendant was at: 3638 Percipal Avenue, Coconut Grove, Florida." The notice expressly listed Mike Lee and Nika Lee as alibi witnesses. However, these alibi witnesses were not called at trial and Jacobs was subsequently convicted on all charges.
After his conviction, Jacobs filed a motion for postconviction relief pursuant to rule 3.850 of the Florida Rules of Criminal Procedure. Among his eight claims for relief, Jacobs asserted that his trial counsel was ineffective for failing to call at trial the alibi witnesses listed in his notice of alibi. He further asserted that these witnesses were available, known to counsel, and would have testified that at the time of the alleged crimes Jacobs was with them and not at the scene of the crimes. The trial court expressly found this claim to be facially insufficient and summarily denied Jacobs' postconviction motion in its entirety.
On appeal, the Third District agreed and affirmed the trial court's summary denial of relief. See Jacobs v. State, 800 So.2d 322 (Fla. 3d DCA 2001)
. Judge Cope concurred with the denial of all of Jacobs' postconviction claims except for the ineffective assistance of counsel (IAC) claim regarding the failure to call alibi witnesses. Jacobs, 800 So.2d at 324 (Cope, J., concurring in part and dissenting in part). In his partial dissent, Judge Cope noted that a notice of alibi was filed in this case, and that the notice listed the two alibi witnesses by name and address.
Jacobs now seeks review of the Third District's decision, asserting that he set out a facially sufficient claim of ineffectiveness of counsel regarding defense counsel's failure to call alibi witnesses at trial, and that he is entitled to an evidentiary hearing on this claim.
Florida's rule for postconviction relief is largely self-explanatory as to its procedure. Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.850(a)-(c) sets forth the criteria for filing a facially sufficient postconviction motion. The rule requires the movant to include "a brief statement of the facts (and other conditions) relied on in support of the motion." Fla. R.Crim. P. 3.850(c)(6). Hence, if a movant properly and timely alleges a valid legal claim with sufficient factual support, and complies with the oath and contents requirement, then he will ordinarily have stated a facially sufficient postconviction motion. After a determination of facial sufficiency, rule 3.850(d) directs the course of further proceedings:
On filing of a rule 3.850 motion, the clerk shall forward the motion and file to the court. If the motion, files, and records in the case conclusively show that the movant is entitled to no relief, the motion shall be denied without a hearing. In those instances when the denial is not predicated on the legal insufficiency of the motion on its face, a copy of that portion of the files and records that conclusively shows that the movant is entitled to no relief shall be attached to the order. Unless the motion, files, and records of the case conclusively show that the movant is entitled to no relief, the court shall order the state attorney to file an answer or other pleading within the period of time fixed by the court or to take such other action as the judge deems appropriate. The answer shall respond to the allegations of the motion. In addition it shall state whether the movant has used any other available state remedies including any other postconviction motion under this rule. The answer shall also state whether an evidentiary hearing was accorded the movant. If the motion has not been denied at a previous stage in the proceedings, the judge, after the answer is filed, shall determine whether an evidentiary hearing is required. If an evidentiary hearing is not required, the judge shall make appropriate disposition of the motion. If an evidentiary hearing is required, the court shall grant a prompt hearing thereon and shall cause notice thereof to be served on the state attorney, determine the issues, and make findings of fact and conclusions of law with respect thereto. If the court finds that the judgment was rendered without jurisdiction, that the sentence imposed was not authorized by law or is otherwise open to collateral attack, or that there has been such a denial or infringement of the constitutional rights of the movant as to render the judgment vulnerable to collateral attack, the court shall vacate and set aside the judgment and shall discharge or resentence the movant, grant a new trial, or correct the sentence as may appear appropriate.
Under these comprehensive provisions a trial court's consideration of a motion under rule 3.850 involves a number of possible steps: First, a trial court must determine whether the motion is facially sufficient, i.e., whether it sets out a cognizable claim for relief based upon the legal and factual grounds asserted. It would logically follow that if no valid claim is alleged, the court may deny the motion outright, and the court need not examine the record. Second, if the court determines that the motion is facially sufficient, the court may then review the record. If the record conclusively refutes the alleged claim, the claim may be denied. In doing so, the court is required to attach those portions of the record that conclusively refute the claim to its order of denial. Third, if the court determines that the motion is facially sufficient and that there are no files or records conclusively showing that the movant is not entitled to relief, the court may order the state attorney's office to file a response to the defendant's motion. The state attorney must respond to the allegations of the motion, state whether the movant has pursued any other available remedies (including any other postconviction motions), and state whether the defendant received an evidentiary hearing. Fourth, after the state attorney has filed the required response, the trial judge must determine whether the claims alleged in the motion have been denied at a previous stage in the proceedings. Finally, if the claims presented in the motion have not been denied previously, the judge shall then determine whether an evidentiary hearing is required in order to resolve the claims alleged in the motion. Thus, if the trial court finds that the motion is facially sufficient, that the claim is not conclusively refuted by the record, and that the claim is not otherwise procedurally barred, the trial court should hold an evidentiary hearing to resolve the claim.
Thus, rule 3.850 distinguishes between claims that are facially insufficient and those that are facially sufficient but are also conclusively refuted by the record. A determination of facial sufficiency will rest upon an examination of the face, or contents, of the postconviction motion. Because the determination of facial sufficiency under rule 3.850 is one of law and involves an evaluation of the legal sufficiency of the claim alleged, the evidence in the record will ordinarily be irrelevant to such an evaluation. The examination of the record will ordinarily come only after a claim is found to be facially sufficient, and the purpose of that examination will be solely to determine whether the record conclusively refutes the claim.
Both the trial court and the district court in this case appear to have mixed the first two procedural stages of rule 3.850, i.e., they have combined the issue of a claim's facial sufficiency with the issue of whether the claim is conclusively refuted by the record. In addressing the defendant's claim of ineffective assistance of counsel based on the failure to call alibi witnesses, the trial court expressly denied the motion based on facial insufficiency. In doing so, however, the court relied upon the "overwhelming evidence against the defendant" — a clear indication that the court had reviewed not only facial sufficiency of the claim itself, but also the record of the trial. The court also cited Cooley v. State, 642 So.2d 108 (Fla. 3d DCA 1994), for the proposition that counsel is not ineffective where there is "ample evidence contradicting the testimony the witness would have given" — another sign that the court was relying on the contents of the record, rather than the facial sufficiency of the claim, to deny the motion.1
The Third District's opinion appears to have repeated the trial court's mistake in its analysis. In holding that the defendant's claim was facially insufficient, the district court stated that "[a]lthough the defendant claims these witnesses would have testified that he was in their home at the time of the crime, other eyewitness testimony placed the defendant at the scene of the crime and there was overwhelming evidence of the defendant's burglary of the unoccupied dwelling." Jacobs v. State, 800 So.2d 322, 323 (Fla. 3d DCA 2001). The court also...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Pope v. Sec'y for the Dep't of Corr.
...and the purpose of that examination will be solely to determine whether the record conclusively refutes the claim. Jacobs v. State, 880 So.2d 548, 551 (Fla.2004) (per curiam). 7. The trial court's summary denial of Pope's claims is also unilluminating. Rather than resolving Pope's claims in......
-
Overton v. Jones
...because the motion did not describe how the alibi witness would have supported the alibi with exculpatory evidence (citing Jacobs v. State, 880 So.2d 548 (Fla.2004) )); Lott v. State, 931 So.2d 807, 815 (Fla.2006) (holding that the failure to investigate the alibi did not constitute ineffec......
-
Overton v. State, SC04-2071.
...because the motion did not describe how the alibi witness would have supported the alibi with exculpatory evidence (citing Jacobs v. State, 880 So.2d 548 (Fla. 2004))); Lott v. State, 931 So.2d 807, 815 (Fla.2006) (holding that the failure to investigate the alibi did not constitute ineffec......
-
Jones v. State
...the claim is not otherwise procedurally barred, the trial court should hold an evidentiary hearing to resolve the claim." Jacobs v. State, 880 So.2d 548, 551 (Fla.2004). In sum, our case law provides "if a movant ... alleges a valid legal claim with sufficient factual support, and complies ......