AMOS LEE KING, JR., APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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The court held that the trial judge did not err in denying the motion for post-conviction relief, finding no substantial deficiency or prejudice from counsel's actions.
[1] A motion for post-conviction relief is properly denied when the movant fails to demonstrate that counsel's alleged deficiencies were substantial and serious, measurably b…
[2] Even if counsel's conduct falls below the standard of competent counsel, post-conviction relief is not warranted unless the substandard conduct demonstrably prejudiced th…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceThe defendant was convicted of first-degree murder and other felonies and sentenced to death. He filed a motion for post-conviction relief alleging in…
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PER CURIAM.
This is an appeal from a final order of the Circuit Court of the Sixth Judicial Circuit in and for Pinellas County, dated November 13, 1981, denying King’s motion for post-conviction relief filed pursuant to Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.850. King also requests a stay of his execution which is scheduled for December 8, 1981.
King was convicted of first-degree murder, involuntary sexual battery, robbery, arson, and attempted first-degree murder and was sentenced to death. This Court affirmed the conviction and death sentence last year. King v. State, 390 So. 2d 315 (Fla.1980), cert. denied, 450 U.S. 989, 101 S.Ct. 1529, 67 L.Ed.2d 825 (1981).
Being unsuccessful in his application for clemency, King filed a 3.850 motion. King argued that he was denied effective assistance of counsel. On appeal he contends" that the trial judge erroneously found to the contrary and that the trial judge improperly prejudged his motion.
King’s trial counsel, Thomas Cole, a former assistant public defender, is deceased. He had been assisted at the trial by another assistant public defender, Anthony Rondoli-no. To support his 3.850 motion, King called as witnesses Rondolino, Patrick Do-herty, another attorney, and two acquaintances. Testimony showed that King’s trial attorney had been deeply engrossed in another case while preparing King’s case. Most of the preparation of King’s case occurred between the time of a mistrial of the other case and a subsequent trial of that case. Eleven days intervened between the end of that case and King’s trial.
Cole had obtained two continuances of King’s case. It is argued that Cole was ineffective because the continuances led to the consolidation for trial of King’s murder trial with all other charges arising from the events of the night of the murder.* Rondolino testified that he considered Cole to be ineffective because of Cole’s statement that he was not prepared to proceed when the court allowed the consolidation. He also testified to Cole’s involvement in the other case and that Cole was “exhausted.”
The trial judge allowed a proffer of, but did not consider, the testimony of attorney Doherty, who concluded that Cole was ineffective. We have reviewed this testimony and have considered it. Doherty was critical of Cole’s investigation of the state’s witnesses and the quality of the physical evidence. He questions the timeliness of filing motions to suppress and the taking of depositions. One omission strongly urged is the failure to call an FBI agent as a witness to establish that no negroid hairs were found on or about the victim, her apparel, or bedclothes. Doherty did not agree that the preservation of the right to open and close the argument constituted a sufficient reason not to present this evidence because it simply left Cole with the “right to open and close with nothing to say.”
King testified that Cole only saw him twice. (Cole, in the original record, stated that he had seen King four or five times, but admitted to communication problems.) An investigator was also in contact with King. King also claims that Cole should have put on more statutory mitigating evidence and presented two character witnesses at the 3.850 hearing. One of these said that King was a good worker, and another said he was a good man.
The trial judge found that Cole provided effective assistance of counsel. Our review of the evidence fails to disclose otherwise. We fail to find any single act of omission or commission, or any series or combination thereof, that was a substantial and serious deficiency measurably below that of competent counsel. Even if Doherty’s testimony to the contrary is accepted, no act, or combination of acts, was substantial enough to demonstrate prejudice to the defendant to the extent that there is a likelihood that any substandard conduct affected the outcome of the court proceedings. See Knight v. State, 394 So. 2d 997 (Fla.1981).
We are also satisfied that the trial judge decided the motion on the merits and did not prejudge it.
The denial of the 3.850 motion is affirmed, and the application for stay of execution is denied.
It is so ordered. SUNDBERG, C. J., and ADKINS, BOYD, OVERTON, ALDERMAN and MCDONALD, JJ., concur. *
We discussed the consolidation in our opinion on King’s first appeal and noted that in all likelihood evidence of all the events of that early morning would have been admissible without the consolidation.
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Amos Lee King v. State, 808 So. 2d 1237 (Fla. 2002)…first rule 3.850 motion for postconviction relief, and then Governor Bob Graham signed King’s first death warrant. This Court affirmed the trial court’s denial of the 3.850 motion and denied King’s request for a stay of execution. See King v. State, 407 So. 2d 904, 905 (Fla.1981). While King’s postcon-viction relief appeal was pending before this Court, King petitioned for federal ha-beas corpus relief. The United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida granted a stay of execution but, in an…1 / 2
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Amos Lee King, Jr. v. Dugger, 555 So. 2d 355 (Fla. 1990)…So. 2d 315 (Fla.1980), cert. denied, 450 U.S. 989, 101 S.Ct. 1529, 67 L.Ed.2d 825 (1981). After the governor signed King’s first death warrant, the trial court denied King’s motion for postconviction relief, which this Court affirmed. King v. State, 407 So. 2d 904 (Fla.1981). A federal court, however, ordered that King be resentenced. King v. Strickland, 714 F. 2d 1481 (11th Cir.1983), vacated for reconsideration, 467 U.S. 1211, 104 S.Ct. 2651, 81 L.Ed.2d 358 (1984), adhered to, 748 F. 2d 1462 (11th Cir.1984)…
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Amos Lee King, Jr. v. State, 514 So. 2d 354 (Fla. 1987)…signed a death warrant on King who then filed a motion for postconviction relief, alleging ineffective assistance of trial counsel. After an evi-dentiary hearing, the trial court denied the motion, and this Court affirmed that denial. King v. State, 407 So. 2d 904 (Fla.1981). King then filed a petition for writ of habe-as corpus in federal court, and, on appeal, the eleventh circuit found that King’s trial counsel had provided ineffective assistance at the penalty phase of his trial and remanded to the distri…
Previewing 3 of 7 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Knight v. State, 394 So. 2d 997 (Fla. 1981)
- Amos Lee King v. State, 390 So. 2d 315 (Fla. 1980)
- Gall v. Kentucky, 450 U.S. 989 (U.S. 1981)
- W. D. R. v. Taylor Cnty. Child Welf. Unit, 450 U.S. 989 (U.S. 1981)