CHARLES COHENS, 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.
Charles Cohens appeals the summary denial of his postconviction ineffective assistance of counsel claim, arguing his trial counsel failed to contact potential alibi witnesses. The appellate court reversed in part, finding that Cohens' claim regarding one alibi witness (Nikka Griffin) was not facially insufficient and warranted further proceedings.
The trial court's summary denial of Cohens' ineffective assistance claim regarding Nikka Griffin was improper. The claim presents a prima facie showing of entitlement to relief because failure to investigate or call an exculpatory witness, when listed in an alibi notice, may constitute ineffective assistance. The case is remanded for the trial court to either refute the claim with conclusive evidence or conduct an evidentiary hearing.
[1] A claim of ineffective assistance of counsel based on the failure to contact or interview a potential alibi witness may be facially sufficient for postconviction relief.
[2] Failure to investigate or call an exculpatory witness can present a prima facie showing of entitlement to relief from a conviction, subject to rebuttal.
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 intelligence“failure to investigate or call an exculpatory witness 'presents a prima facie showing of entitlement to relief, subject to rebuttal by evidence from the record or testimony at an evidentiary hearing'”
Establishes the legal standard for ineffective assistance claims based on failure to investigate witnesses
Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceCohens was convicted of armed robbery and first-degree murder after a jury trial. His trial counsel filed a notice of intent to rely on alibi testimon…
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 Strickland Standard cases and more on FLexlaw
[*337] PER CURIAM.
Charles Cohens appeals the summary denial of his motion for postconviction relief filed pursuant to Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.850. Cohens was convicted, after a jury trial, of armed robbery and first-degree murder. He claims that counsel was ineffective for failing to present certain alibi witnesses at trial, whom the State had deposed, and for failing to contact or interview two other alibi witnesses. We reverse the trial court’s order to the extent it summarily denied Cohens’ claim that counsel was ineffective in failing to contact or interview Nikka Griffin. We affirm the trial court’s order in all other respects without comment.
Cohens asserts that his trial counsel filed a notice of intent to rely on alibi testimony which listed Griffin as a potential witness. The notice of alibi states that the testimony of the alibi witnesses would show that Cohens arrived home well before the time of the murder, on the day it occurred, and remained there until well after the murder occurred, at which time Cohens went directly to another individual’s house where he remained for approximately a half hour. Cohens asserts that counsel never attempted to contact or interview Griffin.
The trial court denied relief on the basis that this claim was facially insufficient. We disagree. See Honors v. State, 752 So. 2d 1234, 1235-36 (Fla. 2d DCA 2000) (holding that “failure to investigate or call an exculpatory witness ‘presents a prima facie showing of entitlement to relief, subject to rebuttal by evidence from the record or testimony at an evidentiary hearing’ ”) (quoting Prieto v. State, 573 So. 2d 398, 399 (Fla. 2d DCA 1991)). The notice of alibi provides sufficient information to establish that if Griffin testified as indicated in the notice, counsel’s omission in failing to contact and interview her may have constituted ineffective assistance. This is particularly true here since Cohens asserts that no alibi testimony was presented at trial. Therefore, the omission of Griffin’s testimony may have prejudiced the outcome of the trial, as Cohens alleges.
We accordingly reverse the trial court’s order as to this witness only. On remand, the trial court shall attach those portions of the record which conclusively refute Co-hens’ claim or conduct an evidentiary hearing on it.
Affirmed in part, reversed in part.
BLUE, A.C.J., and FULMER and STRINGER, JJ., Concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
-
Alwin J. Jacobs v. State, 880 So. 2d 548 (Fla. 2004)…ary denial of the IAC alibi witness claim because the trial court “failed to attach portions of the record conclusively refuting the appellant’s claim that counsel was ineffective for failing to interview and call alibi witnesses”); Cohens v. State, 775 So. 2d 336, 337 (Fla. 2d DCA 2000) (finding that the trial court erred in finding the IAC alibi witness claim facially insufficient because a notice of alibi was filed in the case); Stringer v. State, 757 So. 2d 1226, 1226 (Fla. 4th DCA 2000) (remanding the ca…
-
Anderson v. State, 796 So. 2d 1205 (Fla. 4th DCA 2001)…edings are required on one of his allegations. The allegation that Anderson’s trial counsel failed to investigate potential defense witness Derrick Harvey stated a legally sufficient claim of ineffective assistance of counsel. See Cohens v. State, 775 So. 2d 336 (Fla. 2d DCA 2000) (claim of failure to investigate or call an exculpatory witness presents a prima facie case of entitlement to relief for ineffective assistance of counsel, unless rebutted by evidence in the record or testimony at an evidentiary h…
Authorities Cited
- Honors v. State, 752 So. 2d 1234 (Fla. 2d DCA 2000)
- Prieto v. State, 573 So. 2d 398 (Fla. 2d DCA 1991)