Lee v. State, 95-2933
| Decision Date | 13 March 1996 |
| Docket Number | No. 95-2933,95-2933 |
| Court | Florida District Court of Appeals |
| Parties | 21 Fla. L. Weekly D653 William Leslie LEE, Appellant, v. STATE of Florida, Appellee. |
An appeal from the Circuit Court for Bay County; Glenn L. Hess, Judge.
Appellant pro se.
No appearance for Appellee.
William Leslie Lee appeals the trial court's summary denial of his motion pursuant to Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.850, which seeks to set aside his conviction for capital sexual battery. The conviction was affirmed on direct appeal. Lee v. State, 641 So.2d 164 (Fla. 1st DCA 1994). We conclude that points I, V-VIII, IX, X, and XII-XIV might have been raised on direct appeal or are otherwise without merit and affirm the denial of relief as to those alleged errors. We find allegations under points II-IV and XI facially sufficient, however, and reverse and remand for further proceedings.
Under point II, Lee alleges that trial counsel was ineffective in failing to "investigate, subpoena, or call" two witnesses, Joseph Herndon and Jasper Busby, who were allegedly "available, crucial witnesses" for the defense. Mr. Herndon's purported testimony (also the subject of point VIII) would not have been relevant, as far as can be told from the motion. On the other hand, according to appellant, Jasper Busby would have testified that "he had often seen the child-victim in this case playing outside near the home ... riding home-made stickhorses ... [a]nd that on one occasion he was aware she had injured herself on the stick." Appellant contends that Mr. Busby's testimony could have explained the child victim's injuries, and thus altered the outcome of the trial. Contrary to the trial court's ruling below, this testimony would not have been inadmissible on the ground that Busby was not shown to be a medical expert. We cannot conclusively determine from the record that Busby's purported testimony would not have had the impact ascribed to it by appellant. We therefore reverse and remand for further proceedings on this allegation.
We likewise reverse and remand the trial court's rejection without an evidentiary hearing of Mr. Lee's allegation in point III--that trial counsel was ineffective for failing to communicate to appellant specific offers for a reduced charge and sentences ranging from five to fifteen years in exchange for a guilty plea. Appellant alleged that, had he known of the plea offers, he would have accepted them and received a sentence less than the life sentence he is currently serving. Wilson v. State, 647 So.2d 185 (Fla. 1st DCA 1994).
The allegations in point IV that trial counsel was ineffective for informing appellant that he had no speedy trial rights, for refusing repeated requests to file motions asserting speedy trial rights, even after the 175-day speedy trial window closed, and for waiving...
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