MATTHEW DIXON, PETITIONER,
v.
HARRY SINGLETARY, RESPONDENT
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.
The court held that appellate counsel was ineffective for failing to raise a meritorious double jeopardy claim based on controlling precedent, and that a sentencing issue also required remand.
[1] Ineffective assistance of appellate counsel may be established by the failure to raise a meritorious double jeopardy claim that was controlling at the time of the appeal.
[2] A conviction for using a firearm during the commission of a felony cannot stand as a separate offense when the same firearm was used to enhance a robbery conviction.
Previewing 2 of 4 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligencePetitioner sought habeas corpus, alleging ineffective appellate counsel for failing to raise a double jeopardy issue regarding his firearm conviction …
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 Departure Sentence cases and more on FLexlaw
PER CURIAM.
Matthew Dixon, pursuant to Florida Rule of Appellate Procedure 9.100, petitions the court for a writ of habeas corpus alleging ineffective assistance of appellate counsel, following our affirmance of petitioner’s multiple criminal convictions and sentences. Dixon v. State, 592 So. 2d 1241 (Fla. 3d DCA 1992). We grant the petition in part and address two of the points argued.
Dixon contends that his counsel was ineffective based on her failure to raise the issue of double jeopardy. It is true that under Hall v. State, 517 So. 2d 678 (Fla.1988) and Carawan v. State, 515 So. 2d 161 (Fla.1987) Florida law provided that to prevent a double jeopardy violation, where both offenses resulted from a single act, a defendant convicted of one crime, in that case armed robbery, could not also be convicted of a second crime, possession of a firearm while committing that robbery, if the crimes have a common element or the second crime is used to enhance the sentence on the first. However, at the time of Dixon’s direct appeal in September 1991, State v. Smith, 547 So. 2d 613 (Fla.1989) was the controlling case on the double jeopardy issue. In Smith, the Florida Supreme Court found that the legislature had overridden the reasoning of Carawan by adding a specific statement of legislative intent regarding multiple punishment for the same acts.
In October 1991, however, the Florida Supreme Court issued Cleveland v. State, 587 So. 2d 1145 (Fla.1991) in which the court stated that although its decision in Hall was predicated on Carawan, a decision repudiated by the legislature, Hall was still valid and controlling and held:
when a robbery conviction is enhanced because of the use of a firearm in committing the robbery, the single act involving the use of the same firearm in the commission of the same robbery cannot form the basis of a separate conviction and sentence for use of a firearm while committing a felony.
Cleveland at 1146.
This court did not issue its decision as to Dixon until February 4, 1992. This gave Dixon’s counsel almost four months to learn of the decision in Cleveland and argue its application to her client’s case. Also, prior to counsel submitting her brief, the fifth district, in Cleveland v. State, 574 So. 2d 289 (Fla. 5th DCA 1991), had already certified the very question of whether Hall was still good law because of direct conflict with the second district’s opinion in Graham v. State, 559 So. 2d 410 (Fla. 2d DCA 1990). It is true that generally appellate counsel’s failure to file supplemental authority after argument will not be deemed to be conduct falling outside the range of professionally acceptable performance of appellate counsel. Darden v. State, 475 So. 2d 214 (Fla.1985). Here, however, counsel should have been aware of a conflict between the districts on this very issue for almost a full year before Dixon’s case.
Having failed to raise this issue constituted a serious and substantial deficiency falling below the standard of performance required of appellate counsel. See Middleton v. State, 465 So. 2d 1218, 1227 (Fla.1985) (citing Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 104 S.Ct. 2052, 80 L.Ed.2d 674 (1984)). The point should have been raised on appeal and, if it had, it would have been successful as it was entirely meritorious. Habeas corpus lies in this court to correct this constitutional error. Monzon v. Singletary, 619 So. 2d 527 (Fla. 3d DCA 1993). Thus, the firearm conviction should be removed from Dixon’s record and his sentence as to that charge vacated.
Also, as the state concedes, Dixon is correct in asserting that in 1988, the year his offense was committed, the rules did not provide a permitted range for sentencing. In 1990, the permitted range was introduced. Had Dixon committed the offense in 1988, under the new scheme, the corrected sentence of 27 years for his second-degree murder conviction would have been a guidelines sentence within the permitted range and not a departure sentence requiring written reasons. However, under the instant facts, the state concedes that the 27-year sentence is improper and requires remand for resentencing, with the trial court permitted to provide written reasons for a departure.
Accordingly, the petition is denied in part, granted in part, and remanded. We order the trial court to vacate Dixon’s conviction for possession of a firearm during the com mission of a felony and vacate Ms sentence as to that charge. Dixon’s conviction for second-degree murder is affirmed; however, his sentence is vacated and the case remanded for resentencing.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
-
Dixon v. Singletary, 724 So. 2d 1192 (Fla. 3d DCA 1998)…corpus and reverse the conviction and sentence for possession of a firearm while engaged in a criminal offense. Perry v. Singletary, 697 So. 2d 1323 (Fla. 3d DCA 1997); Moorehead v. Singletary, 645 So. 2d 187 (Fla. 3d DCA 1994); Dixon v. Singletary, 672 So. 2d 602 (Fla. 3d DCA 1996). We therefore remand this cause with instructions to vacate the conviction and sentence only on this one count. In all other respects the petition is denied.…
-
Elliot Reno Whatley v. State, 679 So. 2d 1269 (Fla. 2d DCA 1996)…rez v. State, 528 So. 2d 129 (Fla. 3d DCA 1988) (display of firearm conviction was cumulative punishment when the same act of using a weapon was basis of enhancement of attempted first-degree murder and robbery convictions). Cf. Dixon v. Singletary, 672 So. 2d 602, 603 (Fla. 3d DCA 1996) (appellate counsel was ineffective because he should have been aware of a conflict between the districts on the double jeopardy issue for almost a full year before appellant’s case was decided in the court of appeal). Accord…
-
Johnson v. State, 796 So. 2d 1227 (Fla. 4th DCA 2001)…e filed a motion to dismiss the trafficking charge when there was a recognized conflict in the districts, one district had concluded that the trafficking charge must be dismissed, and this district had not decided the issue. See Dixon v. Singletary, 672 So. 2d 602, 603 (Fla. 3d DCA 1996). A reasonably effective criminal defense attorney must keep himself or herself informed of significant developments in the criminal law, including decisions of other district courts around Florida. See Villavicencio v. State,…
Previewing 3 of 5 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited (11 total)
- Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (U.S. 1984)
- Dion Michael Carawan v. State, 515 So. 2d 161 (Fla. 1987)
- State v. Smith, 547 So. 2d 613 (Fla. 1989)
- Hall v. State, 517 So. 2d 678 (Fla. 1988)
- Quinten L. Cleveland v. State, 587 So. 2d 1145 (Fla. 1991)
- Middleton v. State, 465 So. 2d 1218 (Fla. 1985)
- Darden v. State, 475 So. 2d 214 (Fla. 1985)
- Graham v. State, 559 So. 2d 410 (Fla. 2d DCA 1990)
- Quinten Cleveland v. State, 574 So. 2d 289 (Fla. 5th DCA 1991)
- Dixon v. State, 592 So. 2d 1241 (Fla. 3d DCA 1992)