OTIS HANFORD, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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.
Otis Hanford appealed the summary denial of his motion for post-conviction relief challenging his robbery conviction and 40-year sentence as a violent career criminal. The court reversed and remanded, finding his ineffective assistance of counsel claims legally sufficient and determining that the career criminal sentencing statute violated Florida's single-subject rule under the state constitution.
The court held that Hanford's ineffective assistance of counsel claims were legally and factually sufficient under Strickland v. Washington and reversed the summary denial for attachment of record portions or an evidentiary hearing. The court also held that the career criminal sentencing statute violated Florida's single-subject rule following State v. Thompson and reversed Hanford's sentence for resentencing.
[1] A motion for post-conviction relief alleging ineffective assistance of counsel may be legally and factually sufficient if it meets the standards set forth in Strickland v. …
[2] A law providing enhanced sentencing for violent career criminals may be found to violate the single-subject rule of the Florida Constitution.
Previewing 2 of 5 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“We find the claims of ineffective assistance of counsel legally and factually sufficient under Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 104 S.Ct. 2052, 80 L.Ed.2d 674 (1984); Provenzano v. State, 616 So.2d 428 (Fla.1993).”
Establishes that the trial court erred in summarily denying the ineffective assistance claims, which met the legal and factual sufficiency requirements.
Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceHanford was convicted of robbery and sentenced to 40 years in prison with a 30-year mandatory minimum as a violent career criminal under section 775.0…
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PER CURIAM.
Appellant has appealed a trial court order summarily denying his motion for post-conviction relief filed pursuant to Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.850, in which he alleged multiple claims of ineffective assistance of his trial counsel and illegal sentencing. We reverse and remand for further proceedings.
Appellant was convicted of robbery and was sentenced to 40 years in prison with a 30 year mandatory minimum as a violent career criminal pursuant to section 775.084(l)(c), Fla. Stat. He took a direct appeal to this court, which affirmed, remanding only for the striking of a duplicate judgment. Handford, v. State, 697 So. 2d 583 (Fla. 4th DCA 1997). He then filed a timely and verified motion for post-conviction relief alleging ineffective assistance of trial counsel in failing to object to certain closing arguments by the prosecutor, and in failing to move to suppress certain identifications of him in and out of court. He also alleged that his sentence was illegal because the career criminal act under which he was sentenced, known as the “Officer Evelyn Gort and All Fallen Officers Career Criminal Act of 1995,” Chapter 95-182, Laws of Florida, violated the single subject rule of Article III, Section 6 of the Florida Constitution.
The trial court summarily denied all of these claims. We reverse and remand. We find the claims of ineffective assistance of counsel legally and factually sufficient under Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 104 S.Ct. 2052, 80 L.Ed.2d 674 (1984); Provenzano v. State, 616 So. 2d 428 (Fla.1993). Also, the Supreme Court of Florida has decided in State v. Thompson, 750 So. 2d 643 (Fla.1999), reh’g denied, 750 So. 2d 643 (Feb. 22, 2000), that the law which provided enhanced sentencing for violent career criminals, Ch. 95-182, secs. 1-7, 12, Laws of Fla. (1995), violated the single-subject rule. Appellant has standing to make this challenge, as his offense occurred within the window period.
Therefore, we reverse and remand the claims of ineffective assistance of counsel for attachment of portions of the record refuting appellant’s claims or for an evidentiary hearing. We reverse appellant’s sentence and remand for resentencing in light of Thompson.
REVERSED and REMANDED.
DELL, GUNTHER and GROSS, JJ., concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Authorities Cited
- Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (U.S. 1984)
- State v. Thompson, 750 So. 2d 643 (Fla. 1999)
- Provenzano v. State, 616 So. 2d 428 (Fla. 1993)
- Handford v. State, 697 So. 2d 583 (Fla. 4th DCA 1997)