Morgan v. State
| Decision Date | 10 July 2008 |
| Docket Number | No. SC06-2350.,SC06-2350. |
| Citation | 991 So.2d 835 |
| Parties | Thomas J. MORGAN, Petitioner, v. STATE of Florida, Respondent. |
| Court | Florida Supreme Court |
This case is before the Court for review of the decision of the Fourth District Court of Appeal in Morgan v. State, 941 So.2d 1198 (Fla. 4th DCA 2006). The district court certified that its decision is in direct conflict with the decision of the Third District Court of Appeal in Gomez v. State, 832 So.2d 793 (Fla. 3d DCA 2002), and Sharpe v. State, 861 So.2d 483 (Fla. 3d DCA 2003). We have jurisdiction. See art. V, § 3(b)(4), Fla. Const. For the following reasons, we approve the result reached by the district court in Morgan but hold that if a legally sufficient claim of ineffective assistance of counsel is alleged based on counsel's advice to reject a plea offer, a defendant may be entitled to a postconviction evidentiary hearing.
On November 27, 2000, Thomas Morgan was charged with two counts of aggravated assault with a weapon. The State offered Morgan a sentence of five years' imprisonment in exchange for a guilty plea. Defense counsel told Morgan he could win at trial, or at worst be convicted of a lesser offense. See Morgan, 941 So.2d at 1198. Defense counsel encouraged Morgan to decline the State's offer and proceed with trial. Morgan followed his counsel's advice and proceeded to trial. At trial, a jury convicted Morgan of two counts of aggravated assault with a weapon. The trial court adjudicated Morgan guilty and sentenced him as a habitual felony offender to two concurrent terms of ten years in prison with five-year mandatory minimums as a prison releasee reoffender. On direct appeal, the Fourth District Court of Appeal affirmed Morgan's convictions and sentences. See Morgan v. State, 818 So.2d 519 (Fla. 4th DCA 2002).
In August 2003, Morgan filed with the trial court a motion for postconviction relief pursuant to Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.850 alleging eight claims for relief. As his fourth claim, Morgan alleged ineffective assistance of trial counsel based on counsel's advice concerning the plea offer. Morgan claimed that his counsel's deficient performance prejudiced his defense. More specifically, Morgan said that based on his counsel's assurances that she would win at trial, he declined the State's plea offer and proceeded to trial. He argues that had he known that his counsel would not win at trial, he would have accepted the State's offer of five years' imprisonment. The trial court summarily denied relief on all claims presented, including the ineffective assistance of counsel claim.
The Fourth District Court of Appeal affirmed the trial court's denial of relief and certified conflict with the Third District Court of Appeal on the issue of whether a defendant is entitled to an evidentiary hearing when claiming ineffective assistance of counsel based on trial counsel advice to reject a plea offer because counsel believed the defendant could win or do better going to trial. In Morgan and Gonzales v. State, 691 So.2d 602 (Fla. 4th DCA 1997), the Fourth District held that the defendant was not entitled to an evidentiary hearing on such a claim. See Morgan, 941 So.2d at 1198-99; Gonzales, 691 So.2d at 604. In contrast, the Third District in Sharpe and Gomez held that a defendant is entitled to an evidentiary hearing on this type of ineffective assistance of counsel claim. See Sharpe, 861 So.2d at 484; Gomez, 832 So.2d at 794.
Morgan petitioned this Court for discretionary review, and we accepted review to resolve the conflict which exists between the two district courts of appeal.
Each Florida district court of appeal has addressed in the context of an ineffective assistance of counsel claim the rejection of a plea offer on the advice of counsel, and whether the trial court should have granted the defendant an evidentiary hearing on such a claim. In Williams v. State, 924 So.2d 897 (Fla. 1st DCA 2006), the defendant claimed ineffective assistance of counsel because his counsel failed to convey to him the statutory maximum for the crime charged prior to his rejection of the State's plea offer. The State offered three years on a charge of sale or delivery of cocaine. After conviction at trial, the defendant was sentenced to twelve years, a term within the statutory maximum of fifteen years. The district court remanded for an evidentiary hearing after finding there was nothing in the trial court's order that conclusively refuted this claim.
The Second District Court of Appeal addressed a similar issue in Dines v. State, 909 So.2d 521 (Fla. 2d DCA 2005). Dines filed a motion for postconviction relief alleging six claims of ineffective assistance of counsel. He alleged, inter alia, that trial counsel was ineffective for misinforming him about his potential prison exposure prior to rejecting the State's plea offers. The trial court summarily denied the claim. The Second District affirmed the summary denial finding the claim facially deficient because Dines did not allege any deficiency in counsel's performance. The district court reasoned:
To state a claim under Strickland, the defendant must assert more than merely that counsel advised against accepting a plea, that the defendant took the advice, and that ultimately a greater sentence was imposed. On its face, such an allegation identifies no failing on counsel's part. Rather, some specific deficiency must be alleged: for instance, that counsel advised the client to reject the plea without preparing or knowing the operative facts of the case, or that counsel neglected to identify the material legal issues, or that counsel otherwise did not fully perform as a lawyer. Mr. Dines has made no such allegation; thus, his first ground failed to state a facially sufficient claim.
In several cases concerning attorneys advising their clients to reject plea offers, the Third District has held that a defendant is entitled to an evidentiary hearing on a claim of ineffective assistance. See Yanes v. State, 960 So.2d 834 (Fla. 3d DCA 2007); Sharpe, 861 So.2d at 484; Gomez, 832 So.2d at 794. The defendant in Gomez filed a postconviction motion alleging ineffectiveness of counsel because counsel advised the defendant to reject a plea offer from the State because counsel assured him that a pending motion to suppress would be granted. The trial court summarily denied the claim, but the district court reversed for an evidentiary hearing or other appropriate relief.
Then, in Sharpe the court cited to its earlier Gomez opinion in addressing the issue of whether a defendant can ever state a claim for ineffective assistance of counsel based on counsel's advice to reject a plea offer when counsel has informed the defendant of the maximum sentence he faces. The court indicated that the Third District does not take the position espoused in Gonzales that no claim of ineffective assistance is viable under these circumstances. More recently, in Yanes, the Third District reiterated its position that these claims require an evidentiary hearing in the trial court.
Beginning with Gonzales, the Fourth District has held that claims by defendants alleging ineffective assistance of counsel based on counsel's advice to reject a plea offer were not capable of being evaluated under Strickland, and therefore the defendant was not entitled to an evidentiary hearing on the claim. In Gonzales the defendant alleged counsel advised him to reject a favorable plea offer from the State because counsel said she would win the case. In affirming the trial court's summary denial of the claim, the district court said:
We do not, therefore, believe that the allegation of ineffective assistance of counsel in this case is capable of being evaluated by any "objective" standard of reasonable as contemplated by Strickland. It was, rather, a tactical or strategic decision, which cannot be the basis of an ineffective assistance of counsel claim. Accordingly, even if appellant could prove his allegation, it would not entitle him to relief.
After Gonzales, in Morgan, the case that is now before this Court, Smith v. State, 825 So.2d 1012 (Fla. 4th DCA 2002), and Szymanowski v. State, 771 So.2d 10 (Fla. 4th DCA 2000), the court cited with approval its earlier Gonzales opinion. Specifically, in Smith and Szymanowski, the court cited Gonzales for the proposition that a claim involving the rejection of a plea and proceeding to trial is tactical or strategic and cannot be the basis of an ineffective assistance of counsel claim. See Smith, 825 So.2d at 1013; Szymanowski, 771 So.2d at 11. It is interesting to note that in Garcia v. State, 736 So.2d 89 (Fla. 4th DCA 1999), the court again cited to Gonzales for the same proposition but ultimately found Garcia had stated a valid claim for relief based on our decision in Cottle v. State, 733 So.2d 963 (Fla.1999).
The Fifth District Court of Appeal in Colon v. State, 909 So.2d 484 (Fla. 5th DCA 2005), also addressed an ineffective assistance of counsel claim based on counsel's advice to reject a plea offer. The defendant claimed he relied on trial counsel's assurance of an acquittal at trial in turning down a plea offer. The trial court summarily denied the claim as insufficient and without merit. The Fifth District disagreed and remanded for an evidentiary hearing because the record did not conclusively refute the allegation. See id. at 490. The court in Young v. State, 608 So.2d 111 (Fla. 5th DCA 1992), also remanded the case for an evidentiary hearing...
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