HYRAM HENRY, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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Hyram Henry appealed the denial of his Rule 3.850 motion challenging his conviction based on ineffective assistance of trial counsel. The Fourth District Court of Appeal found a pervasive pattern of errors by defense counsel that fell below constitutional standards and prejudiced the defense, vacating the conviction and remanding for a new trial.
The court held that defense counsel's performance fell below the constitutional standard required and that the pervasive pattern of errors and omissions prejudiced the defense, warranting vacation of the conviction and a new trial.
[1] A conviction may be vacated and remanded for a new trial when a pattern of errors and omissions by trial counsel falls below the standard of performance required and prej…
[2] Calling a witness without prior interview, resulting in testimony that corroborates the prosecution's case rather than aiding the defense, can constitute ineffective assi…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“There is no doubt that the record portrays a pattern of error and omission that threads through the proceedings from pretrial to closing argument.”
Establishes the pervasive nature of counsel's errors throughout the trial proceedings
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceHenry's trial counsel committed multiple errors including calling the victim's mother as a witness without prior interview, resulting in her providing…
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[*1264] PER CURIAM.
This is the appeal of the denial of a motion filed pursuant to Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.850 seeking a new trial based on ineffective assistance of trial counsel.1 We vacate Appellant’s conviction and remand for new trial.
There is no doubt that the record portrays a pattern of error and omission that threads through the proceedings from pretrial to closing argument. As is often true when such errors are made by the defendant’s trial counsel, some appear not to have adversely affected the defendant or cannot be shown with any degree of certainty to have adversely affected the defendant. Several others, however, cannot be discounted, most notably the calling of the victim’s mother, without ever having interviewed her, with the result that the mother gave no testimony helpful to the defendant but did give impassioned evidence corroborating testimony of the victim and relating the events of her daughter’s disclosure of the alleged assault. Similarly, the defendant made no effort to object as the investigating officer offered testimony that she was expert in determining whether a victim was telling the truth by reading body language and this victim was, in her opinion, telling the truth. Norris v. State, 525 So. 2d 998 (Fla. 5th DCA 1988).
Finally, counsel made no objection to the improper aspects of the state’s final argument. Applying the test of Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 104 S.Ct. 2052, 80 L.Ed.2d 674 (1984), it is apparent that counsel’s performance fell below the standard of performance required. Due to the number of failures and their sheer pervasiveness, and even though the lower court attempted to alleviate the impact of certain of the errors, we are bound to conclude that the deficient performance of counsel prejudiced the defense.
GLICKSTEIN, SHAHOOD, JJ., and GRIFFIN, JACQUELINE R., Associate Judge, concur. . Counsel had been paid $8,500.00 to defend Appellant.
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Citator
Cited By
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Rhue v. State, 693 So. 2d 567 (Fla. 2d DCA 1996)…ply the controlling case law announced by another district court. In re E.B.L., 544 So. 2d 333 (Fla. 2d DCA 1989). In determining whether trial counsel was ineffective, we find Norris v. State, 525 So. 2d 998 (Fla. 5th DCA 1988) and Henry v. State, 652 So. 2d 1263 (Fla. 4th DCA 1995) instructive. In Norris, the appellant’s conviction for capital sexual battery was reversed and the case was remanded for new trial. The only direct evidence against the appellant was the testimony of the child victim. A social wo…
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Goldman v. State, 57 So. 3d 274 (Fla. 4th DCA 2011)…laims individually. However, taken together in light of the legally sufficient claims of ineffective assistance of counsel in grounds six and seven, we cannot say that Goldman was not prejudiced by cumulative errors in this case. See Henry v. State, 652 So. 2d 1263 (Fla. 4th DCA 1995). We reverse and remand for an eviden-tiary hearing on claims six and seven and Goldman’s claim of cumulative error. Reversed and Remanded. HAZOURI, MAY and DAMOORGIAN, JJ., concur. . The property receipt did not indicate whet…
Authorities Cited
- Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (U.S. 1984)
- Norris v. State, 525 So. 2d 998 (Fla. 5th DCA 1988)