HOWARD L. GILLARD, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE

Fla. 1st DCA | 1997-07-11
No. 96-4728
WEBSTER and PADOVANO, JJ., concur.
697 So. 2d 896 Florida District Court of Appeal, First District (1997) Positive Treatment
Cited by 4 cases

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.

Synopsis

Howard Gillard was convicted of sexual battery and aggravated assault on a person over 65. He appealed the summary denial of his ineffective assistance of counsel motion under Florida Rule 3.850. The court affirmed the denial of two grounds but reversed and remanded one ground regarding counsel's failure to interview and call witnesses who could have supported a consensual-sex defense.


Holding

Grounds One and Three were properly denied because they failed to satisfy the Strickland test for ineffective assistance of counsel. Ground Two was improperly denied summarily because Gillard made a facially sufficient showing that counsel failed to interview and call specific witnesses whose testimony regarding the victim's interest in younger men was materially relevant to the defense theory, creating a reasonable probability that counsel's omission affected the verdict.


Headnotes

[1] A claim of ineffective assistance of counsel based on failure to seek a continuance is properly denied if it fails to satisfy either prong of the Strickland test.

[2] A claim that trial counsel was ineffective for failing to object to an allegedly illegal sentence is properly denied if the sentences imposed are not illegal.

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Key Quotes

“we conclude that this claim is facially sufficient and was improperly denied summarily”

Establishes that Ground Two met the threshold for facial sufficiency and could not be summarily denied

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Facts & Procedural History

Gillard was convicted of sexual battery and aggravated assault on a person older than 65. The trial centered on whether sexual contact between Gillard…

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Opinion of the Court
MICKLE, Judge.

MICKLE, Judge.

Howard L. Gillard, who was convicted of one count of sexual battery and one count of aggravated assault on a person older than 65, appeals the summary denial of his motion filed pursuant to Florida Rules of Criminal Procedure 3.850. We affirm in part, reverse in part, and remand for further proceedings.

In his motion, Gillard alleged three claims of ineffective assistance of counsel. We conclude that Ground One, alleging trial counsel’s failure to seek a continuance, was properly denied for failure to satisfy either prong of the test set forth in Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 104 S.Ct. 2052, 80 L.Ed.2d 674 (1984), for analysing an “ineffective assistance of counsel” claim. Ground Three, claiming that during the penalty phase, trial counsel failed to object to an allegedly “illegal sentence,” was properly denied as well. Inasmuch as Gillard has not demonstrated that the sentences imposed are illegal, his attorney was not ineffective for not objecting on that basis upon the imposition of the sentences.

Ground Two, on the other hand, alleged that Gillard’s attorney failed to interview and call several named potential witnesses who, according to the motion, would have helped to establish a consensual-sex defense. Given 1) the specificity of the facts about which those witnesses supposedly would have testified, and 2) the material relevance of their anticipated testimony to the defense’s theory that the victim was known to like younger men, was “going with” Gillard, and held him out as “her man” at the time of the offenses, we conclude that this claim is facially sufficient and was improperly denied summarily. See Sorgman v. State, 549 So. 2d 686 (Fla. 1st DCA 1989) (facially sufficient motion alleged that counsel had failed 1) to interview witnesses whose testimony might have cast doubt on defendant’s guilt and 2) to depose alleged kidnapping victim, who would have testified that she had willingly left crime scene with defendant); Majewski v. State, 487 So. 2d 32 (Fla. 1st DCA 1986) (on mot. for reh’g).

In its order, the trial court described the trial as essentially a “swearing match” between Gillard, who admitted one act of sexual intercourse but claimed that the victim had consented; and the considerably older victim, who testified that she had no sexual interest in younger men such as Gillard and adamantly denied giving consent. Given the significance of the issue of consent, we cannot agree with the appellee’s argument that there is no reasonable probability that counsel’s omission affected the verdict. See State v. DiGuilio, 491 So. 2d 1129 (Fla.1986).

Accordingly, the trial court erred in summarily denying Ground Two of the motion.

AFFIRMED in part, REVERSED in part, and REMANDED for further proceedings.

WEBSTER and PADOVANO, JJ., concur.


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Citator

Cited By

  • Carador Donald Jones v. State, 934 So. 2d 488 (Fla. 3d DCA 2004)
    …e. This Court has held that failure to call exculpatory witnesses constitutes ineffective assistance of counsel. Terrero v. State, 839 So. 2d 873 (Fla. 3d DCA 2003); Majewski v. State, 487 So. 2d 32 (Fla. 1st DCA 1986). Here, as in Gillard v. State, 697 So. 2d 896 (Fla. 1st DCA 1997), the witnesses that trial counsel neglected to call were crucial to the consent defense, which was argued in opening and closing. Given the significance of this defense, and the need for these witnesses, counsel’s omission essent…
  • Carver v. State, 779 So. 2d 560 (Fla. 1st DCA 2001)
    …ous character and exculpatory witnesses. This allegation satisfies rule 3.850(c) and the requirements of Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 104 S.Ct. 2052, 80 L.Ed.2d 674 (1984). See Gaskin v. State, 737 So. 2d 509 (Fla.1999); Gillard v. State, 697 So. 2d 896 (Fla. 1st DCA 1997). Accordingly, the trial court’s summary denial of this claim [*561] is reversed and this case is remanded for further proceedings under the rule. We affirm the trial court’s summary denial of the remaining claims, including his c…

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