THORNTON BRUNSON, 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.
Appellant's claim of ineffective assistance of counsel for failure to investigate a voluntary intoxication defense to first-degree murder, based on his alleged consumption of alcohol and crack cocaine shortly before the shooting, states a sufficient basis for postconviction relief despite his plea agreement.
Trial counsel's failure to investigate and consider a voluntary intoxication defense when the defendant informed counsel of substantial drug and alcohol consumption shortly before the alleged crime states a cognizable claim of ineffective assistance of counsel.
[1] Trial counsel's failure to investigate a voluntary intoxication defense when the defendant explicitly informs counsel of substantial alcohol and drug consumption immediat…
Previewing 1 of 1 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“We find these factual allegations, on their face, sufficient to set forth the claim of ineffective assistance of trial counsel despite the fact that appellant signed a plea agreement indicating his satisfaction with counsel's performance.”
Court's explanation for why the plea agreement does not bar the ineffective assistance claim.
Thornton Brunson was charged with first-degree murder. He informed trial counsel that he had consumed a large quantity of alcohol and smoked crack coc…
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 Duty To Investigate cases and more on FLexlaw
PER CURIAM.
Appellant, Thornton Brunson, appeals from the trial court’s summary denial of his motion for postconviction relief pursuant to Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.850. Appellant’s motion sets forth several grounds for relief only one of which merits discussion. Appellant claims that trial counsel rendered ineffective assistance of counsel for failure to investigate and consider the availability of a voluntary intoxication defense to the charge of first degree murder, despite having been informed by appellant that appellant had consumed a large quantity of alcohol and smoked crack cocaine not more than thirty minutes before the shooting, and that appellant could not remember too well what had happened. We find these factual allegations, on their face, sufficient to set forth the claim of ineffective assistance of trial counsel despite the fact that appellant signed a plea agreement indicating his satisfaction with counsel’s performance. Cf. McCoy v. State, 598 So. 2d 169 (Fla. 1st DCA 1992).
We therefore reverse the trial court’s denial of appellant’s motion for postconviction relief and instruct the trial court to conduct an evidentiary hearing for the purpose of rendering a determination on the merits of the above stated claim.
REVERSED and REMANDED with instructions.
ERVIN, MINER and WEBSTER, JJ., concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By (15 total)
-
Guisasola v. State, 667 So. 2d 248 (Fla. 1st DCA 1995)…nd that appellant’s motion sets forth sufficient allegations of ineffective assistance of counsel as to the investigation and presentation of a voluntary intoxication defense. See McCoy v. State, 598 So. 2d 169 (Fla. 1st DCA 1992); Brunson v. State, 605 So. 2d 1006 (Fla. 1st DCA 1992). The trial judge denied relief on the basis that (1) the factual allegations set forth in the motion revealed that defense counsel was aware of appellant’s cocaine usage, and (2) defense counsel made a strategic decision to utili…
-
Young v. State, 661 So. 2d 406 (Fla. 1st DCA 1995)…se. We find these factual allegations, on their face, sufficient to set forth a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel despite the fact that Young signed a plea agreement indicating his satisfaction with counsel’s services. See Brunson v. State, 605 So. 2d 1006 (Fla. 1st DCA 1992). Since the trial court’s order and attachments fail to demonstrate conclusively that Young is entitled to no relief, we reverse and remand for an evidentiary hearing for the purpose of rendering a determination on the merits of…
-
Wright v. State, 675 So. 2d 1009 (Fla. 2d DCA 1996)…nd a claim that counsel had failed to pursue a defense of voluntary intoxication. The court reversed for an evidentiary hearing, finding that the attachments failed to demonstrate that the movant was entitled to no relief. See also Brunson v. State, 605 So. 2d 1006 (Fla. 1st DCA 1992). This court has recently reiterated that an allegation that counsel did not investigate claimed defenses, coupled with the representation that the movant would not have entered a plea had the investigation been properly undertak…
Previewing 3 of 15 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- McCOY v. State, 598 So. 2d 169 (Fla. 1st DCA 1992)