SAMUEL PLATT, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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The court held that the record did not conclusively rebut the allegation that trial counsel rendered ineffective assistance by failing to object to the omission of an excusable homicide jury instruction, requiring an evidentiary hearing.
[1] A defendant claiming ineffective assistance of counsel based on the failure to object to an incomplete jury instruction must demonstrate that the failure to object was th…
[2] The mere failure of defense counsel to object to an incomplete jury instruction does not constitute an affirmative waiver of the right to challenge the instruction.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceSamuel Platt appealed the summary denial of his motion claiming ineffective assistance of counsel for failing to object to the trial court's omission …
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PARIENTE, Judge.
We deny appellee’s Motion for Rehearing, but withdraw our previous opinion and substitute the following opinion.
Samuel Platt (defendant) appeals the summary denial of his rule 3.850 motion, in which he claimed ineffective assistance of trial counsel resulting in his conviction of attempted second-degree murder. We reverse the summary denial because the record does not conclusively rebut the allegation that his trial counsel rendered ineffective assistance of counsel by not objecting to the trial court’s failure to give a jury instruction on excusable homicide.
The record here does not indicate that defense counsel either affirmatively agreed to or requested an incomplete instruction. See Armstrong v. State, 579 So. 2d 734 (Fla.1991); Summers v. State, 672 So. 2d 617, 618 (Fla. 5th DCA 1996). The mere failure of defense counsel to object to an incomplete instruction does not constitute an affirmative waiver. Nelson v. State, 679 So. 2d 1249 (Fla. 4th DCA 1996).
If the trial court’s failure to instruct on excusable homicide during the original jury charge had been raised on direct appeal, reversal would thus have been required based on the failure to give a complete instruction on manslaughter. See State v. Lucas, 645 So. 2d 425 (Fla.1994); Stockton v. State, 544 So. 2d 1006, 1008 (Fla.1989). Such an omission is fundamental error not subject to harmless error analysis where, as here, defendant was convicted of attempted second-degree murder, an offense not more than one step removed from attempted manslaughter. Lucas, 645 So. 2d at 425-26.
Because defendant raises the failure to object to the lack of an excusable homicide instruction through a rule 3.850 motion rather than on direct appeal, defendant must prove that the failure to object was the result of mistake or neglect such that his trial attorney’s conduct fell measurably below the standard of competent counsel. See Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 687-88, 104 S.Ct. 2052, 2064, 80 L.Ed.2d 674 (1984); Steel v. State, 684 So. 2d 290 (Fla. 4th DCA 1996).
The state argues that the failure to object may have been part of defense counsel’s trial strategy. The record provided does not conclusively support this assertion. An evidentiary hearing is thus required to determine whether defense counsel’s alleged error or omission was in fact a “trial tactic.” See Anthony v. State, 660 So. 2d 374, 376 (Fla. 4th DCA 1995).
Strickland also requires a showing that counsel’s deficient performance prejudiced the defense. Therefore, in addition to showing deficient conduct by counsel, defendant must establish a reasonable probability that if the excusable homicide instruction had been given, the jury verdict would have been different. Strickland, 466 U.S. at 694, 104 S.Ct. at 2068. “A reasonable probability is a probability sufficient to undermine confidence in the outcome.” Id.; Kelley v. State, 569 So. 2d 754, 757 (Fla.1990) (citation omitted); see also Knight v. State, 394 So. 2d 997, 1001 (Fla.1981).1 The failure of defense counsel to request an instruction on excusable homicide has been deemed to be an “unreasonable omission which severely prejudiced his Ghent’s ease” where the error complained of “negated the only defense put forth by trial counsel.” Spaziano v. State, 522 So. 2d 525, 527 (Fla. 2d DCA 1988), receded from on other grounds, Tobey v. State, 533 So. 2d 1198 (Fla. 2d DCA 1988) (en banc), review denied, 542 So. 2d 990 (Fla.1989).
The reversal in Spaziano followed an evidentiary hearing on the issue of ineffective assistance of counsel. In Hoffert v. State, 662 So. 2d 1010 (Fla. 4th DCA 1995), we reversed for an evidentiary hearing on trial counsel’s ineffectiveness in failing to object to a jury reinstruetion on manslaughter which did not include the definitions of justifiable and excusable homicide.
Here, defense counsel argued to the jury that the shooting was the end-product of defendant’s fear. Such a defense supports an excusable homicide instruction. See Spaziano; State v. Smith, 573 So. 2d 306, 310-11 (Fla.1990). Although defense counsel’s argument was grounded on a claim of self-defense, an excusable homicide instruction would have given the jury an alternative basis to judge defendant’s culpability.
Without an evidentiary hearing, we are unable to state that the record conclusively disproves defendant’s ineffective assistance of counsel claim on the jury instruction issue. We agree with the trial court that the remainder of the allegations of ineffective assistance of counsel were legally insufficient and affirm the summary denial of those claims.
AFFIRMED IN PART; REVERSED IN PART AND REMANDED FOR AN EVI-DENTIARY HEARING.
POLEN and KLEIN, JJ., concur. . In Knight, our supreme court expressed the second prong necessary to prove ineffective assistance of counsel as the burden to show that this specific, serious deficiency, when considered under the circumstances of the individual case, was substantial enough to demonstrate a prejudice to the defendant to the extent that there is a likelihood that the deficient conduct affected the outcome of the court proceedings. Knight v. State, 394 So. 2d 997, 1001 (Fla.1981). In Mikenas v. State, 460 So. 2d 359, 362 (Fla.1984), our supreme court concluded that "[t]he test set forth in [Strickland] does not ‘differ significantly' with the test espoused by this Court" in Knight.
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Cabrera v. State, 766 So. 2d 1131 (Fla. 2d DCA 2000)…ense. We reject, however, the legal conclusion that the decision to forego this defense was a reasonable trial tactic when defense counsel acknowledged that it was legally available and that there was no other defense to present. See Platt v. State, 697 So. 2d 989 (Fla. 4th DCA 1997) (reversing summary denial of postconviction relief; failure to request jury instruction constituted an unreasonable omission by counsel and prejudiced defendant when the error negated the only defense). Cf. State v. Hanania, 715…
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Takendrick Campbell v. State, 247 So. 3d 102 (Fla. 2d DCA 2018)
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Woody v. State, 27 So. 3d 745 (Fla. 4th DCA 2010)…ed a summary denial and ordered an evidentia-ry hearing on a Rule 3.850 motion where the trial court had, allegedly due to trial counsel’s mistake, failed to instruct on excusable homicide as part of the manslaughter instruction. See Platt v. State, 697 So. 2d 989 (Fla. 4th DCA 1997). For the reasons explained in Platt, we reverse and remand the summary denial for attachment of the record conclusively refuting the defendant’s claim or for an evidentiary hearing on the issue. Affirmed in part; Reversed in par…
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 (15 total)
- Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (U.S. 1984)
- Knight v. State, 394 So. 2d 997 (Fla. 1981)
- State v. Smith, 573 So. 2d 306 (Fla. 1990)
- Armstrong v. State, 579 So. 2d 734 (Fla. 1991)
- State v. Lucas, 645 So. 2d 425 (Fla. 1994)
- Mikenas v. State, 460 So. 2d 359 (Fla. 1984)
- Kelley v. State, 569 So. 2d 754 (Fla. 1990)
- Stockton v. State, 544 So. 2d 1006 (Fla. 1989)
- Steel v. State, 684 So. 2d 290 (Fla. 4th DCA 1996)
- Tobey v. State, 533 So. 2d 1198 (Fla. 2d DCA 1988)