GREGORY R. BAKER, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.
Baker appealed the summary denial of his post-conviction motion claiming his trial counsel was ineffective for failing to call witnesses and for not raising pre-trial motions regarding his mental competency. The court held that Baker's conclusory and vague allegations were facially insufficient to demonstrate ineffective assistance of counsel and affirmed the denial without an evidentiary hearing.
The court held that Baker's allegations were facially insufficient. The court found that the claim about failing to call witnesses lacked specificity regarding the witnesses' identities, their testimony, and the admissibility and relevance of such testimony. The mental health allegations—consisting merely of vague terms like 'mental disorder,' 'loss of contact with reality,' and 'severe personality disintegration'—were insufficient to show counsel had reason to believe Baker was incompetent to stand trial or legally insane, and thus did not demonstrate a duty to file competency motions.
[1] Conclusory allegations regarding the failure to call unidentified witnesses are facially insufficient to support a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel.
[2] Vague claims of mental disorder, loss of contact with reality, and severe personality disintegration, without objective symptoms or relation to the time and place of tria…
Previewing 2 of 4 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“These conclusory allegations to be facially insufficient and this appeal to be without merit.”
Establishes the standard for post-conviction motions—vague conclusory claims are insufficient.
Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceBaker filed a post-conviction motion under Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.850 claiming his trial counsel provided inadequate assistance. The mot…
The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence© FLexlaw, Inc. — AI-generated enrichments are proprietary. All rights reserved.
Explore caselaw by topic → Browse Competency To Stand Trial cases and more on FLexlaw
COWART, Judge.
This is an appeal under Florida Rule of Appellate Procedure 9.140(g) from the summary denial of a motion for post-conviction relief under Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.850 claiming the inadequate and ineffectual assistance of trial counsel. The motion claims that appellant’s trial counsel (1) “neglected his rights of using his witnesses for trial for his own behalf” and (2) “neglected to file any pre-trial motion with the court regarding the defendant’s continuously ongoing mental disorder which is marked by his often loss of contact with reality and his severe personality disintegration.”
We hold these conclusory allegations to be facially insufficient and this appeal to be without merit. As to the allegations relating to counsel’s failure to call unidentified witnesses to give undescribed testimony of unknown admissibility, materiality and relevancy, see Ables v. State, 404 So. 2d 137 (Fla. 5th DCA 1981).
“Mental disorder,” “loss of contact with reality” and “severe personality disintegration” are mere vague claims and conclusions. Unrelated to objective symptoms and to the time and place of trial, these statements are insufficient to demonstrate that defense counsel had “reason to believe that the defendant may be incompetent to stand trial or that he may have been insane at the time of the offense,” Fla.R.Crim.P. 3.216, and insufficient to allege a duty on the defense counsel to inform the court and to initiate the procedures provided in Florida Rules of Criminal Procedure 3.210 through 3.216.
There are those who say that most persons who commit serious crimes suffer from some degree of personality disorder, often manifested by such an aversion to truth and reality that they see their difficulties as resulting only from the faults of others and not from their own acts. Defense counsel, prosecutors and trial judges deal daily with accuseds suffering all degrees of mental disorders. A rare case escaping their combined experience, attention and powers of observation would not necessarily constitute evidence of such neglect of duty by defense counsel as to amount to ineffective assistance of counsel justifying post-conviction relief from judgment and sentence. Motions for post-conviction relief in those cases justifying a reasonable concern that such an event might have occurred should be documented by the professional opinions of doctors or trained personnel in classification centers or confinement facilities. A motion by a prisoner asserting, as the basis for his claim of ineffective assistance of counsel, his own mental incompetence at the time of trial, in general terms with no corroboration and no evidence of confirmation does not warrant or mandate an evidentiary hearing.
AFFIRMED.
DAUKSCH, C. J., and COBB, J., concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By (11 total)
-
Jones v. State, 421 So. 2d 55 (Fla. 1st DCA 1982)…7] tal incompetence. The issues of ineffective assistance of counsel and an involuntary plea of guilt are inseparably intertwined; both are cognizable on a motion for post-conviction relief, LeDuc v. State, 415 So. 2d 721 (Fla.1982); Baker v. State, 404 So. 2d 1151 (Fla.5th DCA 1981). Mere inconclusive allegations of mental incompetence, as in Baker, of ineffective assistance of counsel, or of an involuntary guilty plea, Le-Duc, are insufficient to trigger further review by this court. However, given the detai…
-
Thompson v. State, 88 So. 3d 312 (Fla. 4th DCA 2012)…979 So. 2d 353, 354 (Fla. 5th DCA 2008) (holding that ineffective assistance of counsel claim was insufficient [*320] where defendant had not alleged actual incompetency); see also Gillis v. State, 807 So. 2d 204 (Fla. 5th DCA 2002); Baker v. State, 404 So. 2d 1151 (Fla. 5th DCA 1981) (recognizing that conclusory and uncorroborated postconviction claims alleging incompetency were insufficient to warrant an evidentiary hearing). The presumption of incompetency that can arise when a Pate claim is raised on dire…
-
Luckey v. State, 979 So. 2d 353 (Fla. 5th DCA 2008)…204 (Fla. 5th DCA 2002) (recognizing postconviction relief movant’s conclusory allegations that he was incompetent to plead guilty to robbery, unsupported by any corroborating evidence, was insufficient to state a claim for relief); Baker v. State, 404 So. 2d 1151 (Fla. 5th DCA 1981) (holding a motion by a prisoner asserting, as basis for his claim of ineffective assistance of counsel, his own mental incompetence at time of trial, in general terms with no corroboration and no evidence of confirmation did not…
Previewing 3 of 11 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Ables v. State, 404 So. 2d 137 (Fla. 5th DCA 1981)