KEVIN WILLIAMS, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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Florida appellate court reversed trial court's denial of postconviction relief on ineffective assistance of counsel claim regarding failure to present evidence of prior record relevant to habitual felony offender sentencing.
Trial counsel's failure to present evidence of defendant's prior record to refute habitual felony offender sentencing criteria constitutes ineffective assistance of counsel if the record does not conclusively refute the allegation.
[1] Trial counsel's failure to present evidence of a defendant's prior record relevant to habitual felony offender sentencing criteria may constitute ineffective assistance o…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceKevin Williams was convicted and sentenced as a habitual felony offender. He filed a postconviction motion under Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.…
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PER CURIAM.
Kevin Williams appeals the trial court’s denial of his motion for postconviction relief filed pursuant to Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.850. We affirm in part, reverse in part, and remand for further proceedings.
Williams attacks his conviction on four grounds alleging ineffective assistance of trial counsel. We affirm without discussion the trial court’s disposition on three of the grounds. We reverse because the trial court failed to refute Williams’ claim that his counsel was ineffective for not presenting evidence of Williams’ prior record that would have shown that he did not meet the criteria for habitual felony offender sentencing. If Williams’ assertion is true, he has a viable ineffective assistance of counsel claim because he has been prejudiced by his counsel’s failure to show the court that he did not meet the criteria for being sentenced as a habitual felony offender. SeePrince v. State, 684 So. 2d 850 (Fla. 2d DCA 1996). We reverse and remand with directions to reconsider the issue and either attach those portions of the record that conclusively refute Williams’ allegation or, if the record does not conclusively refute this allegation, conduct an evidentiary hearing on this issue.
Affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded for further proceedings.
PATTERSON, A.C.J., and NORTHCUTT and CASANUEVA, JJ., Concur.
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Citator
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Williams v. State, 754 So. 2d 788 (Fla. 2d DCA 2000)…s alleges he received ineffective assistance of trial counsel because counsel failed to present evidence of his prior criminal convictions which would demonstrate he did not qualify for habitual offender sentencing. Previously, in Williams v. State, 734 So. 2d 1131 (Fla. 2d DCA 1999), we reversed and remanded this case with directions to the trial court to provide record evidence refuting Williams’ claim or to hold an eviden-tiary hearing. On remand, the trial court again summarily denied Williams’ motion. Alt…
Authorities Cited
- Prince v. State, 684 So. 2d 850 (Fla. 2d DCA 1996)