ANTHONY LAMAR SIMMONS
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA
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The appellate court affirmed the denial of postconviction relief for a defendant who claimed his trial counsel was ineffective for not filing a pretrial motion for immunity under Florida's Stand-Your-Ground law. The court held that because the jury rejected the defendant's self-defense claim at trial, there was no reasonable probability the outcome would have been different had the pretrial motion been filed.
No, trial counsel was not ineffective. Because the jury rejected the defendant's self-defense claim beyond a reasonable doubt at trial, there is no reasonable probability that a pretrial motion for immunity would have been granted, and therefore the defendant cannot establish prejudice under the Strickland standard.
[1] When a jury verdict of guilty beyond a reasonable doubt is rendered on the underlying charges, trial counsel's failure to file a pretrial Stand-Your-Ground immunity motio…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“When a jury rejects a claim of self-defense at trial beyond a reasonable doubt, there is no reasonable probability that a trial judge would have rendered a different judgment at a Stand-Your-Ground hearing with a lower standard of proof.”
This quote explains the core reasoning for denying the ineffective assistance of counsel claim, linking the jury's verdict to the prejudice analysis.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAnthony Lamar Simmons was convicted by a jury of attempted second-degree murder and attempted armed robbery. He argued that his trial counsel was inef…
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LONG, J.
Anthony Lamar Simmons appeals a trial court order denying his motion for postconviction relief. Simmons argued below and now on appeal that his trial counsel was ineffective for failing to file a pretrial motion seeking immunity under Florida’s Stand-Your-Ground law, codified at section 776.032, Florida Statutes. Simmons claims that had this pretrial motion been filed, there is a reasonable probability that it would have been granted and he would have been immune from prosecution.
We disagree. Simmons was convicted by a jury of two counts of attempted second-degree murder and four counts of attempted armed robbery. Simmons v. State, 257 So. 3d 1121, 1125 (Fla. 1st DCA 2018).
The jury in his case was instructed on the defense of justifiable use of deadly force on the two attempted second-degree murder charges. Specifically, the jury instructions stated in relevant part If in your consideration of the issue of self-defense you have a reasonable doubt on the question of whether the defendant was justified in the use of deadly force, you should find the defendant not guilty.
However, if from the evidence you are convinced beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant was not justified in the use of deadly force, you should find him guilty if all the elements of the charge have been proved. This instruction is the standard jury instruction. Fla. Std. Jury Instr. (Crim.) 3.6(f).
The jury at Simmons’ trial rejected this defense and found him guilty. In Boston v. State, 296 So. 3d 580 (Fla. 1st DCA 2020), the trial court applied the wrong burden at Boston’s Stand-Your-Ground hearing but a jury later rejected his claim of self-defense and found him guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. We held that “a trial court’s error in applying the correct burden at the immunity hearing can be cured if the State establishes the defendant’s guilt at trial by proof beyond a reasonable doubt.” Id. at 583.
The Florida Supreme Court reviewed Boston v. State and approved our holding. 326 So. 3d 673 (Fla. 2021).
To hold otherwise “would violate the statutory prohibition on reversing a judgment in the absence of error ‘that injuriously affected the substantial rights of the appellant.’” Id. at 678 (quoting § 924.33, Fla. Stat. (2021)).
In postconviction claims of ineffective assistance of trial counsel, Strickland v. Washington supplies a different but similar prejudice standard. “The defendant must show that there is a reasonable probability that, but for counsel’s unprofessional errors, the result of the proceeding would have been different.” 466 U.S. 668, 694 (1984).
When a jury rejects a claim of self-defense at trial beyond a reasonable doubt, there is no reasonable probability that a trial judge would have rendered a different judgment at a Stand-Your-Ground hearing with a lower standard of proof. The conviction beyond a reasonable doubt precludes a finding of prejudice under Strickland. Because Simmons was convicted at trial, his claim fails as a matter of law. AFFIRMED. ROWE, C.J., and JAY, J., concur. _____________________________
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- Hart v. State, 308 So. 3d 655 (Fla. 4th DCA 2020)
- Simmons v. State, 257 So. 3d 1121 (Fla. 1st DCA 2018)