KEITH H. WITTEMEN, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE

Fla. 2d DCA | 2000-04-07
No. 2D99-2651
THREADGILL, A.C.J., and NORTHCUTT and GREEN, JJ., Concur.
779 So. 2d 358 Florida District Court of Appeal, Second District (2000) Positive Treatment
Cited by 2 cases

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Synopsis

Keith Wittemen appealed the summary denial of his Rule 3.850 postconviction motion alleging ineffective assistance of counsel for failure to file a motion to suppress his confession. The court reversed, finding that the trial court's record attachments did not conclusively refute Wittemen's sworn allegations regarding police misconduct during interrogation, and remanded for an evidentiary hearing.


Holding

The appellate court reversed the trial court's summary denial, holding that the record attachments did not conclusively refute Wittemen's sworn allegations regarding police misconduct, interrogation after requesting counsel, and promises of immunity. The court remanded for an evidentiary hearing to determine whether counsel's failure to file a suppression motion constituted ineffective assistance.


Headnotes

[1] A defendant's allegations of ineffective assistance of counsel based on counsel's failure to file a motion to suppress a confession are facially sufficient if they allege…

[2] A trial court cannot summarily deny a motion for postconviction relief based on a prior ruling on the voluntariness of a confession if the record attachments do not concl…

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Key Quotes

“The record attachments relied on by the trial court do not refute these claims.”

Establishes that the trial court erred in relying on incomplete record attachments to summarily deny the postconviction motion.

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Facts & Procedural History

Wittemen was arrested and while in custody requested to speak with counsel. He alleged that a police officer continued interrogating him despite this …

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Opinion of the Court
PER CURIAM.

PER CURIAM.

Keith Wittemen appeals the summary denial of his amended motion for postcon-viction relief filed pursuant to Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.850. We reverse.

Wittemen alleges that he received ineffective assistance of counsel due to counsel’s failure to file a motion to suppress Wittemen’s confession, which he asserts was the only piece of evidence linking him to the crime. Wittemen alleges that while he was in custody, but prior to confessing, he asked to speak to counsel and, instead of stopping the interview, a police officer continued interrogating him. He also alleges that his confession should have been suppressed because the officer interrogating Wittemen promised him that no charges would be filed against him if he told the officer what he knew about the crime.

The trial court initially denied these claims as being facially insufficient. On a prior appeal, this court reversed, finding these claims to be facially sufficient and unrefuted by any record attachments. See Wittemen v. State, 735 So. 2d 538 (Fla. 2d DCA 1999). On remand, the trial court again denied these claims. The court found them to be refuted by a portion of the trial transcript where the court ruled that Wittemen’s confession was made voluntarily. The court found that, due to this ruling, Wittemen could not sustain a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel for failure to file a motion to suppress.

Wittemen now appeals this ruling. Wittemen asserts that a specific police officer, which he identifies by name, misled him into believing that the State would grant him immunity and “let him off free” if he confessed to his knowledge of the crime. Wittemen also asserts that when he asked to talk to an attorney before he said anything further, this officer “continued to harass the defendant into confessing.”

The record attachments relied on by the trial court do not refute these claims. The attachments reveal that, before allowing Wittemen’s confession to be read to the jury, the trial court questioned two other police officers about the voluntariness of the confession. The trial court did not question the officer accused of wrongdoing. The attachments show that, during this questioning, the trial court acknowledged that there was an approximately forty-five minute tape recording of a question and answer session between the officer accused of wrongdoing, one of the officers questioned by the court, and Wittemen.

The attachments further reveal that the officer questioned by the court arrived at the interview room a few hours after Wittemen arrived. Although that officer testified that, to her knowledge, she knew of no inducements made to get Wittemen to confess, she did not purport to, nor could she, speak on behalf of the officer accused of wrongdoing. The attachments do not reveal what, if any, testimony the officer accused of wrongdoing gave. As a result, they fail to conclusively refute Wittemen’s sworn allegations. We accordingly reverse. See McCoggle v. State, 748 So. 2d 309 (Fla. 4th DCA 1999). On remand, the court shall conduct an evidentiary hearing on Wittemen’s claims to determine if counsel’s alleged omission in failing to file a motion to suppress constituted ineffective assistance.

Reversed and remanded for further proceedings.

THREADGILL, A.C.J., and NORTHCUTT and GREEN, JJ., Concur.


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Citator

Cited By

  • Carter v. State, 801 So. 2d 113 (Fla. 2d DCA 2001)
    …sue, finding that it should have been raised on direct appeal and was thus barred in a rule 3.850 motion. However, claims that counsel was ineffective for failing to file a motion to suppress are cognizable in a rule 3.850 motion. Wittemen v. State, 779 So. 2d 358, 359 (Fla. 2d DCA 2000). Confessions given while under the influence should be suppressed when “the confessor is intoxicated to the degree of mania or is unable to understand the meaning of his statements.” DeConingh v. State, 433 So. 2d 501 (Fla.19…

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