DENNIS WAYNE SMITH, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE

Fla. | 1982-07-29
No. 61148
ADKINS, BOYD, OVERTON, SUND-BERG, McDonald and EHRLICH, JJ., concur.
421 So. 2d 146 Florida Supreme Court (1982) Positive Treatment
Cited by 4 cases

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Synopsis

Dennis Wayne Smith, convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to death, appealed the trial court's denial of post-conviction relief based on alleged Brady violations. The Florida Supreme Court, on remand to consider Brady claims, affirmed the trial court's finding that no Brady violation occurred because the State had made all exhibits available to the defense or made the defendant aware of their existence.


Holding

The trial court correctly found no Brady violation because the State provided all exhibits to the defendant or made the defense aware of their existence, and even if such a violation had occurred, the undisclosed statements were not favorable to the defendant and therefore not material.


Headnotes

[1] A Brady v. …

[2] When remanding a Brady v. …

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Key Quotes

“The conclusion is inescapable that the State provided all of the exhibits to the defendant or made the defense aware of the existence of these exhibits. There is absolutely no basis for finding otherwise.”

The trial court's key factual finding that no Brady violation occurred because all exhibits were disclosed or the defense was aware of them.

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Facts & Procedural History

Smith was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to death. After his conviction was affirmed and clemency was denied, he was scheduled for exe…

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Opinion of the Court
ALDERMAN, Chief Justice.

ALDERMAN, Chief Justice.

Dennis Wayne Smith appeals the trial court’s denial of his motion to vacate his judgment and sentence after remand by this Court to the trial court to consider alleged claims by Smith of violations of Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83, 83 S.Ct. 1194, 10 L.Ed.2d 215 (1963). After an evidentiary hearing, the trial court concluded that no Brady violation occurred in this case. We agree and affirm the order of the trial court.

After we affirmed Smith’s conviction of first-degree murder and his sentence of death,1 after the Supreme Court denied his petition for writ of certiorari,2 after the Florida Cabinet denied his request for clemency, and after he was scheduled to be executed on June 3, 1981, Smith filed a motion to vacate his judgment and sentence. He alleged several grounds as bases for relief which are enumerated in Smith v. State, 400 So. 2d 956 (Fla.1981). The trial court denied his motion to vacate without an evidentiary hearing and denied his motion for a stay of execution.

Smith appealed to this Court and also filed a petition for habeas corpus and a petition for leave to apply for a writ of error coram nobis. We granted a stay of execution pending disposition of the appeal. With the exception of the alleged Brady violations, we affirmed the trial court’s denial of post-conviction relief, we denied ha-beas corpus, and we denied his request for leave to file a petition for writ of error coram nobis. With regard to the alleged Brady violations, we held that this was a contention that could appropriately be raised in a motion to vacate judgment and that, therefore, the trial court should have considered this claim. Smith v. State, 400 So. 2d at 962-63. The trial court had not passed on the merits of the question of whether there was a Brady violation which would require a new trial because it be lieved that this point was inappropriate to a Rule 3.850 proceeding. We remanded this singular issue to the trial court to make its determination guided by the test of materiality announced by the Supreme Court of the United States in United States v. Agurs, 421 U.S. 97, 96 S.Ct. 2392, 49 L.Ed.2d 342 (1976).

Upon remand, after an evidentiary hearing, the trial court denied Smith’s motion for post-conviction relief and expressly found:

The conclusion is inescapable that the State provided all of the exhibits to the defendant or made the defense aware of the existence of these exhibits. There is absolutely no basis for finding otherwise. Since the undersigned judge is convinced that these exhibits were either made available to the defendant, or the defendant was made aware of their existence, it is not necessary to determine the value to his defense.

In any event, it is the belief of this court that none of the statements were favorable to the defendant. Even the first statement by Wesley Irving Johnson was a clear indication that some unnamed person participated in the subject crimes. It was “child’s play” police work to make the association which implicated the Defendant, Dennis Wayne Smith.

The trial court’s findings are supported by the record, and it correctly denied Smith’s request for post-conviction relief.

Accordingly, the order denying Smith’s motion for post-conviction relief is affirmed.

It is so ordered.

ADKINS, BOYD, OVERTON, SUND-BERG, McDonald and EHRLICH, JJ., concur. . Smith v. State, 365 So. 2d 704 (Fla. 1978).

. Smith v. Florida, 444 U.S. 885, 100 S.Ct. 177, 62 L.Ed.2d 115 (1979).


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Citator

Cited By

  • Erling Ingvaldsen v. State, 478 So. 2d 510 (Fla. 4th DCA 1985)
    …is motion for post-conviction relief. We treat the first aspect of appellant’s motion, based upon newly discovered evidence, as a petition to this court for a writ of error coram nobis, Smith v. State, 400 So. 2d 956 (Fla.1981), appeal after remand, 421 So. 2d 146 (Fla.1982), and we deny the writ because the evidence is not “of such a vital nature that, had [it] been known to the trial court, [it] conclusively would have prevented entry of the judgment.” 400 So. 2d at 960 (emphasis original). Appellant having…
  • Smith v. Louie L. Wainwright, 741 F.2d 1248 (11th Cir. 1984)
    …e in Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83, 83 S.Ct. 1194, 10 L.Ed.2d 215 (1963). See Smith v. State, 400 So. 2d 956 (Fla.1982). After holding a hearing, the trial court again denied Smith’s motion, and the Florida Supreme Court affirmed in Smith v. State, 421 So. 2d 146 (Fla.1982). On February 9, 1983, Smith filed his petition for a writ of habeas corpus in the district court pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254. [*1251] The factual background of this case is relevant to several of the issues raised by Smith. The primary e…

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