CARL ELWIN CLARK, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE

Fla. 2d DCA | 1995-10-27
No. 95-02633
RYDER, A.C.J., and FULMER and QUINCE, JJ., concur.
662 So. 2d 729 Florida District Court of Appeal, Second District (1995) Positive Treatment
Cited by 4 cases

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Synopsis

Carl Clark appealed the denial of his post-conviction motion alleging ineffective assistance of counsel. The court reversed because the state's bare assertions in its response were insufficient to conclusively refute Clark's sworn allegations that his counsel failed to investigate his Interstate Agreement on Detainers Act claim before advising him to plead guilty.


Holding

The court reversed because the record did not conclusively refute Clark's allegations of ineffective assistance. The state's bare assertion that Clark failed to send a copy of the IAD request to the prosecutor was insufficient to rebut Clark's sworn allegations, and the case must proceed to an evidentiary hearing or be denied with documentary evidence from the record that conclusively refutes the allegations.


Headnotes

[1] A post-conviction motion alleging ineffective assistance of counsel must be granted an evidentiary hearing unless the record conclusively refutes the allegations.

[2] A prosecutor's unsworn assertion that a defendant failed to provide notice of an Interstate Agreement on Detainers Act request is insufficient to rebut the defendant's sw…

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Key Quotes

“The state's bare assertion that no IAD request was ever sent to the prosecutor is insufficient to rebut Clark's sworn allegations.”

Establishes the standard that bare assertions in state responses cannot refute sworn allegations of ineffective assistance.

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Facts & Procedural History

Clark, while in federal custody, filed an Interstate Agreement on Detainers Act (IAD) request in Pinellas County on May 4, 1992 (date-stamped by the c…

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Opinion of the Court
PER CURIAM.

PER CURIAM.

Carl Clark appeals the denial of his post-conviction motion in which he alleges that his trial counsel was ineffective. Because the record does not conclusively refute his allegations, we reverse.

While in federal custody, Clark initiated procedures under the Interstate Agreement on Detainers Act (hereafter IAD). § 941.45, Fla.Stat. (1991). He filed the appropriate papers in three Florida counties, including Pinellas, where this cause arose. Because he filed prior to the imposition of his federal sentence, a prosecutor from Pinellas County informed him that he would need to refile after being sentenced. After his federal sentence was imposed, Clark again filed his IAD papers in Pinellas County, which were received by the clerk of court on May 4,1992, as evidenced by a date stamp. On November 23, 1992, he entered pleas to charges on thirteen informations and was sentenced to a total of fifteen years.

Clark filed his timely motion for postcon-viction relief on June 27, 1992, alleging that he had advised his trial counsel, before entry of his plea, that the time limit imposed by the IAD had expired and that he was entitled to have all pending charges dismissed. His counsel presented the defendant’s claim to the prosecutor and was informed that time limits did not apply because the defendant was out of state when he filed his IAD request. Defense counsel relied solely on the prosecutor’s statement that the IAD request was invalid and advised the defendant that he should enter a plea to the charges. Clark further alleges that the information provided by the prosecutor is inaccurate because the principal goal of the IAD is the speedy disposition of cases involving out-of-state prisoners.

Clark claims that his counsel prompted him to plead to the charges without first researching this issue and, therefore he was denied effective assistance of counsel. The state argues in its response to Clark’s motion and his sworn assertion that he sent copies to the state, that Clark failed to send a copy of his IAD request to the prosecutor. The state does admit that he filed a premature request, but alleges that there is no record of the second request that was filed with the clerk on May 4, 1992.

The state’s bare assertion that no IAD request was ever sent to the prosecutor is insufficient to rebut Clark’s sworn allegations. Even an affidavit from the state would not suffice. An affidavit serves as the functional equivalent of testimony which is contradictory to the allegations sworn as true by the movant. As such, it would be subject to confrontation at an evidentiary hearing. See Morris v. State, 624 So. 2d 864 (Fla. 2d DCA 1993); Cintron v. State, 508 So. 2d 1315 (Fla. 2d DCA 1987). A written response filed by defendant’s trial counsel refuting a claim of ineffectiveness of counsel likewise has been found recently to be insufficient to refute the claim. Bryant v. State, 661 So. 2d 73 (Fla. 2d DCA 1995).

If we ignore, as we must, the state’s assertion in its response that Clark failed to copy the state with its IAD request, his allegation of ineffective assistance is facially sufficient. See Williams v. State, 452 So. 2d 657 (Fla. 2d DCA 1984) (allegation that trial counsel failed to move to discharge after the time for speedy trial had expired was facially sufficient).

Accordingly, we reverse with directions to hold an evidentiary hearing on Clark’s motion, or to again deny the motion with attachments from the record that conclusively refute the allegations.

Any party aggrieved by a subsequent order from the trial court must seek appellate review within thirty days.

Reversed and remanded.

RYDER, A.C.J., and FULMER and QUINCE, JJ., concur.


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Citator

Cited By

  • Borland v. State, 848 So. 2d 1288 (Fla. 2d DCA 2003)
    …te, 804 [*1290] So. 2d 460, 463 (Fla. 2d DCA 2001) (holding that absent the parties’ stipulations, courts may only find facts based on sworn evidence). Unsworn allegations are not evidence and are insufficient to prove any fact. Id.; Clark v. State, 662 So. 2d 729, 730 (Fla. 2d DCA 1995) (finding that the “state’s bare assertion” denying a factual matter was insufficient to rebut the defendant’s sworn allegations). Accordingly, allegations in the State’s unsworn response do not provide a sufficient basis on w…
  • Delarosa v. State, 24 So. 3d 741 (Fla. 2d DCA 2009)
    …hing in the record refutes De-larosa’s allegations, and the State’s bare assertion that it was unaware of Deputy Deluna’s written statement is insufficient to rebut Delarosa’s sworn allegation that such written statement existed. See Clark v. State, 662 So. 2d 729, 730 (Fla. 2d DCA 1995) (holding that State’s response that appellant never sent the State a copy of an interstate agreement on detainers (IAD) request was insufficient to rebut appellant’s sworn allegation that he had advised trial counsel that the…

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