Maharaj v. State, No. 85439

CourtUnited States State Supreme Court of Florida
Writing for the CourtPER CURIAM; KOGAN; WELLS
Citation684 So.2d 726
Parties21 Fla. L. Weekly S387 Krishna MAHARAJ, Appellant, v. STATE of Florida, Appellee.
Decision Date19 September 1996
Docket NumberNo. 85439

Page 726

684 So.2d 726
21 Fla. L. Weekly S387
Krishna MAHARAJ, Appellant,
v.
STATE of Florida, Appellee.
No. 85439.
Supreme Court of Florida.
Sept. 19, 1996.
Rehearing Denied Dec. 10, 1996.

Page 727

Benedict P. Kuehne of Sale & Kuehne, P.A., Miami; and Clive A. Stafford Smith, Louisiana Crisis Assistance Center, New Orleans, LA, for Appellant.

Robert A. Butterworth, Attorney General, and Randall Sutton, Assistant Attorney General, Miami, for Appellee.

James Lohman, Tallahassee, Florida; and Philip Sapsford, Queen's Counsel; David Medhurst, Barrister and Zubair Ahmad, Barrister, London, England, for Amicus Curiae Bar of England and Wales Human Rights Committee.

James Lohman, Tallahassee; and Geoffrey Robertson, Queen's Counsel, London, England, for Amicus Curiae Ad Hoc Bipartisan Parliamentary Group.

PER CURIAM.

Krishna Maharaj appeals an order summarily denying his Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.850 motion for postconviction relief. We have jurisdiction. Art. V, § 3(b)(1),(7), Fla. Const. For the reasons expressed, we reverse and remand for an evidentiary hearing.

Krishna Maharaj was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder for the 1986 slayings of Duane Moo Young and Derrick Moo Young. He was sentenced to death for the murder of Duane; he received a sentence of life imprisonment for the murder of Derrick. His convictions and sentences were affirmed by this Court in Maharaj v. State, 597 So.2d 786 (Fla.1992), cert. denied, 506 U.S. 1072, 113 S.Ct. 1029, 122 L.Ed.2d 174 (1993). The facts presented at trial reflected the following. Maharaj was involved in a dispute with Derrick regarding money. Maharaj had his employee, Neville Butler, arrange a meeting at a hotel suite with Derrick. After Derrick and his son Duane arrived at the suite, an argument ensued and Maharaj killed them both. Butler was in the suite at the time of the killings and was the State's key witness at trial. Evidence was also presented reflecting that the victims were killed by the type of gun owned by Maharaj and that Maharaj's fingerprints were found in the suite. A more detailed version of the factual circumstances surrounding the murders is contained in Maharaj.

After this Court affirmed the convictions and sentences, Maharaj filed a detailed rule 3.850 motion for postconviction relief, claiming that: (1) his counsel was ineffective in forty-five different ways; (2) his counsel was ineffective in failing to present an alibi defense; (3) he was deprived of due process under Brady 1 because the prosecutor withheld favorable information; (4) prosecutorial and police misconduct affected the integrity of the verdict; (5) the prosecution presented false and misleading testimony at trial; (6) Maharaj's waiver as to the presentation of witnesses and as to the presentation of the alibi defense was not valid; and (7) he was entitled to the access of certain files under chapter 119, Florida Statutes (1995). In a two-page order, the trial judge summarily denied Maharaj's claims without a hearing. The trial judge attached three pages of transcript as to the...

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77 practice notes
  • Overton v. State, No. SC04-2071.
    • United States
    • United States State Supreme Court of Florida
    • 29 November 2007
    ...the hearing occurred without proper discovery of the Bode Lab documents, the claim was addressed on direct appeal. See Maharaj v. State, 684 So.2d 726, 728 (Fla.1996) ("It is inappropriate to use a collateral attack to relitigate an issue previously raised on appeal."). On direct appeal, th......
  • Freeman v. State, No. SC79651
    • United States
    • United States State Supreme Court of Florida
    • 8 June 2000
    ...that the prisoner is entitled to no relief, or (2) the motion or a particular claim is legally insufficient. See, e.g., Maharaj v. State, 684 So.2d 726 (Fla.1996); Anderson v. State, 627 So.2d 1170 (Fla. 1993); Hoffman v. State, 571 So.2d 449 (Fla.1990); Holland v. State, 503 So.2d 1250 (Fl......
  • Phillips v. State, No. SC00-2248
    • United States
    • United States State Supreme Court of Florida
    • 14 October 2004
    ...barred because they should have been raised on direct appeal. See Arbelaez v. State, 775 So.2d 909, 919 (Fla.2000); Maharaj v. State, 684 So.2d 726 (Fla.1996). Claims 4(e) and 6(c) are also procedurally barred because they were raised and rejected on direct appeal. See Phillips v. State, 70......
  • Johnson v. State, No. SC03-1042.
    • United States
    • United States State Supreme Court of Florida
    • 28 April 2005
    ...that the defendant is not entitled to any relief, or (2) the motion or a particular claim is legally insufficient. See Maharaj v. State, 684 So.2d 726, 728 (Fla.1996); Holland v. State, 503 So.2d 1250, 1251 (Fla.1987). In determining whether an evidentiary hearing is warranted, we must acce......
  • Request a trial to view additional results
77 cases
  • Overton v. State, No. SC04-2071.
    • United States
    • United States State Supreme Court of Florida
    • 29 November 2007
    ...the hearing occurred without proper discovery of the Bode Lab documents, the claim was addressed on direct appeal. See Maharaj v. State, 684 So.2d 726, 728 (Fla.1996) ("It is inappropriate to use a collateral attack to relitigate an issue previously raised on appeal."). On direct appeal, th......
  • Freeman v. State, No. SC79651
    • United States
    • United States State Supreme Court of Florida
    • 8 June 2000
    ...that the prisoner is entitled to no relief, or (2) the motion or a particular claim is legally insufficient. See, e.g., Maharaj v. State, 684 So.2d 726 (Fla.1996); Anderson v. State, 627 So.2d 1170 (Fla. 1993); Hoffman v. State, 571 So.2d 449 (Fla.1990); Holland v. State, 503 So.2d 1250 (Fl......
  • Phillips v. State, No. SC00-2248
    • United States
    • United States State Supreme Court of Florida
    • 14 October 2004
    ...barred because they should have been raised on direct appeal. See Arbelaez v. State, 775 So.2d 909, 919 (Fla.2000); Maharaj v. State, 684 So.2d 726 (Fla.1996). Claims 4(e) and 6(c) are also procedurally barred because they were raised and rejected on direct appeal. See Phillips v. State, 70......
  • Johnson v. State, No. SC03-1042.
    • United States
    • United States State Supreme Court of Florida
    • 28 April 2005
    ...that the defendant is not entitled to any relief, or (2) the motion or a particular claim is legally insufficient. See Maharaj v. State, 684 So.2d 726, 728 (Fla.1996); Holland v. State, 503 So.2d 1250, 1251 (Fla.1987). In determining whether an evidentiary hearing is warranted, we must acce......
  • Request a trial to view additional results

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