ROY A. HARICH, PETITIONER,
v.
LOUIE L. WAINWRIGHT, ET AL., RESPONDENTS

Fla. | 1986-03-17
No. 68455
BOYD, C.J., and ADKINS, OVERTON, MCDONALD, EHRLICH, SHAW and BARKETT, JJ., concur.
484 So. 2d 1237 Florida Supreme Court (1986) Caution
Cited by 14 cases

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Synopsis

Roy Harich, sentenced to death for first-degree murder, petitioned for habeas corpus relief and a stay of execution, raising three issues: the constitutionality of death-qualified juries, ineffective appellate counsel for failing to raise a voluntary intoxication defense, and improper prosecutorial comments. The Florida Supreme Court denied all claims, finding no constitutional violation, no ineffective assistance of counsel, and no fundamental error.


Holding

The court denied all three claims. First, the death-qualified jury issue had already been addressed and rejected in prior cases, and Harich conceded no veniremen were excluded at his trial. Second, appellate counsel was not ineffective for failing to raise the voluntary intoxication issue because Harich denied committing the crimes and did not request a jury instruction on intoxication, distinguishing this case from Gardner v. State. Third, the prosecutorial comments did not constitute fundamental error and appellate counsel's failure to assert them as error did not constitute ineffective assistance.


Headnotes

[1] A petition for writ of habeas corpus and application for a stay of execution will be denied when the petitioner raises no new arguments and presents no new evidence.

[2] A claim regarding the constitutionality of death-qualified juries will not be revisited when the court has previously rejected the argument and the petitioner concedes no…

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Key Quotes

“voluntary intoxication is an affirmative defense and that the defendant must come forward with evidence of intoxication at the time of the offense sufficient to establish that he was unable to form the intent necessary to commit the crime charged”

Establishes the legal standard for voluntary intoxication as an affirmative defense requiring evidence that the defendant could not form the necessary intent

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Facts & Procedural History

In 1982, Harich was convicted of first-degree murder of a teenage girl, attempted murder of another teenage girl, firearm use in felony, and two count…

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Opinion of the Court
PER CURIAM.

PER CURIAM.

Roy A. Harich, who is presently under sentence of death, petitions this Court for writ of habeas corpus and seeks a stay of execution. We have jurisdiction. Art. Y, § 3(b)(1) and (9), Fla. Const. For the reasons expressed, we deny both the petition and the application for a stay.

In 1982, Harich was convicted of and sentenced to death for the first-degree murder of a teen-age girl. In addition, he was convicted of the attempted murder of another teen-age girl, the use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, and two counts of kidnapping. The surviving victim, who was the state’s primary witness at the trial, testified that, after Harich sexually assaulted the murder victim, he forced both girls to lie down behind his van, shot each girl in the back of the head, walked to his van, returned to where the girls were lying, and cut their throats. The facts are contained in greater detail in Harich v. State, 437 So. 2d 1082 (Fla.1983), cert. denied, 465 U.S. 1051, 104 S.Ct. 1329, 79 L.Ed.2d 724 (1984), in which we affirmed Harich’s convictions and sentences.

Harich raises three points in this habeas corpus petition. First, he contends that relief should be granted because the constitutionality of “death-qualified” juries is presently being considered by the United States Supreme Court in Lockhart v. McCree, No. 84-1865 (U.S. argued Jan. 13, 1985). The narrow issue presented in that case is whether the state may constitutionally exclude for cause from the guilt phase of the trial jurors who can fairly determine guilt or innocence in a capital case, but who cannot impose a sentence of death in a subsequent penalty proceeding. We previously addressed and rejected Harich’s argument in James v. Wainwright, 484 So. 2d 1235 (Fla.1986); Adams v. Wainwright, 484 So. 2d 1211 (Fla.1986); and Kennedy v. Wainwright, 483 So. 2d 424 (Fla.1986). Moreover, Harich concedes in this petition that at his trial “no veniremen were excluded” during voir dire, either for cause or through peremptory challenge. Harich presents nothing new in this petition, and we decline to revisit this issue.

In his second point, Harich asserts that his appellate counsel was ineffective for failing to raise the following three matters concerning an intoxication defense: (a) that the trial court erred in not instructing the jury on the affirmative defense of voluntary intoxication; (b) that trial counsel failed to request a jury instruction on voluntary intoxication; and (c) that the state attorney incorrectly advised the jury in final argument that voluntary intoxication could never be a defense to premeditated murder. In summary, petitioner asserts that fundamental error occurred because the jury was not instructed on the affirmative defense of voluntary intoxication and appellate counsel did not raise it on appeal.

The facts relevant to this issue reflect that Harich testified that he had been drinking beer and smoking marijuana all evening. He remembered picking up the girls, taking them into the woods to find more marijuana, and then bringing them back to the convenience store, where he left them. He denied committing the sexual assault on the murder victim, the murder, or the attempted murder. Two detectives testified that Harich had told them that he had been smoking marijuana and drinking beer all evening; however, the surviving victim testified that Harich did not appear to be intoxicated. Defense counsel argued in closing that, if the jury believed Harich committed the charged offenses, the jurors should contemplate whether an intoxicated person is capable of premeditation, but counsel did not request the trial judge to instruct the jury on the affirmative defense of intoxication.

We recently addressed the issue of voluntary intoxication in Linehan v. State, 476 So. 2d 1262 (Fla.1985), in which we held that voluntary intoxication is an affirmative defense and that the defendant must come forward with evidence of intoxication at the time of the offense sufficient to establish that he was unable to form the intent necessary to commit the crime charged. We note that evidence of alcohol consumption prior to the commission of a crime does not, by itself, mandate the giving of jury instructions with regard to voluntary intoxication.

Id. at 1264. In a subsequent decision, Gardner v. State, 480 So. 2d 91 (Fla.1985), we reversed the defendant’s conviction on the ground that the trial court erred in refusing to instruct the jury on the defense of voluntary intoxication. Witnesses for the state had testified that participants in the crime were “flying high” and that, not long after the crime, Gardner’s “eyes looked high.” This Court held that “[vjoluntary intoxication is a defense to the specific intent crimes of first-degree murder and robbery. A defendant has the right to a jury instruction on the law applicable to his theory of defense where any trial evidence supports that theory.” Id. at 92 (citations omitted).

In the instant case, we find no ineffectiveness of appellate counsel under the standards of Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668,104 S.Ct. 2052, 80 L.Ed.2d 674 (1984), in counsel’s failure to raise the voluntary intoxication issue. We distinguish this case from Gardner on the grounds that the defendant in that case requested the trial judge to instruct the jury on voluntary intoxication, and did not take the stand to deny his participation in the offense with which he was charged. In contrast, Harich denied the murder and attempted murder, testifying that he had left the girls alive at the convenience store, and did not request an instruction on voluntary intoxication.* We find no ineffective assistance of appellate counsel or fundamental error. Finally, Harich asserts that a portion of the prosecutor’s closing remarks were improper and designed to mislead the jury. Defense counsel did not object to these remarks at trial. We find that the failure of appellate counsel to assert these comments as error does not constitute ineffective assistance of counsel, nor do we find these comments to be fundamental error. See Strickland.

Accordingly, we deny the petition for habeas corpus and deny the petition and the application for stay of execution.

It is so ordered.

No motion for rehearing will be allowed.

BOYD, C.J., and ADKINS, OVERTON, MCDONALD, EHRLICH, SHAW and BARKETT, JJ., concur. *

We note that Florida Standard Jury Instructions in Criminal Cases, Second Edition, as amended on April 16, 1981, in 431 So. 2d 594 (Fla.1981), does not contain an instruction on intoxication as an affirmative defense; instructions are set forth only for the affirmative defenses of alibi (3.04(a)), insanity (3.04(b)), entrapment (3.04(c)), and self-defense (3.04(d)). The prior instructions, which were superseded by the 1981 amendment, included an affirmative defense instruction for intoxication, as well as for alibi, insanity, entrapment, and self-defense.


Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus


Citator

Cited By

  • Harich v. State, 484 So. 2d 1239 (Fla. 1986)
    …n. Art. V, § 3(b)(1), Fla. Const. This Court affirmed appellant’s conviction in Harich v. State, 437 So. 2d 1082 (Fla.1983), cert. denied, 465 U.S. 1051, 104 S.Ct. 1329, 79 L.Ed.2d 724 (1984), and denied habeas corpus relief in Harich v. Wainwright, 484 So. 2d 1237 (Fla.1986). Harich raises eight claims for relief in this 3.850 motion. The trial court denied relief without an evidentiary hearing. We find that all but two of Harich’s claims either were raised or could have been raised in his appeal on the meri…
  • Harich v. State, 542 So. 2d 980 (Fla. 1989)
    …ecision and petitioned this Court for a writ of habeas corpus. We affirmed the trial court’s denial of his rule 3.850 motion in Harich v. State, 484 So. 2d 1239 (Fla.1986), and denied his petition for a writ of habeas corpus in Harich v. Wainwright, 484 So. 2d 1237 (Fla.), cert. denied, 476 U.S. 1178, 106 S.Ct. 2908, 90 L.Ed.2d 993 (1986). Harich next sought relief in the federal court system, which granted a stay of execution but eventually denied habeas corpus relief. Harich v. Dugger, 844 F. 2d 1464 (11th C…
  • Harich v. State, 573 So. 2d 303 (Fla. 1990)
    …nied relief. He appealed and also petitioned this Court for a writ of habeas corpus. We affirmed the trial court in [*304] Harich v. State, 484 So. 2d 1239 (Fla.1986), and denied Harich’s petition for a writ of habeas corpus in Harich v. Wainwright, 484 So. 2d 1237 (Fla.), cert. denied, 476 U.S. 1178, 106 S.Ct. 2908, 90 L.Ed.2d 993 (1986). Harich then sought relief in the federal courts, which eventually denied habeas corpus relief. Harich v. Dugger, 844 F. 2d 1464 (11th Cir.1988), cert. denied, 489 U.S. 1071,…

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