NICHOLAS PINEDA, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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The court held that a defendant cannot be compelled to stand trial in prison clothing and that the trial court erred by not holding an evidentiary hearing on the ineffective assistance of counsel claim regarding the defendant's attire.
[1] A criminal defendant cannot be compelled to stand trial in prison clothing, as it may impair the presumption of innocence and implicate equal protection concerns.
[2] A claim of ineffective assistance of counsel regarding trial strategy generally requires an evidentiary hearing to determine whether the action or inaction was a strategi…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAppellant's counsel failed to bring dress clothes for trial, leaving Appellant to wear a jail uniform. Counsel allegedly assured Appellant it was not …
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PER CURIAM.
Nicholas Pineda (Appellant) seeks review of an order denying his rule 3.850 motion alleging two claims of ineffective assistance of counsel.
We find merit in only his second claim and, therefore, affirm in part and reverse in part. Prior to Appellant’s trial, counsel was given dress clothes for Appellant to wear during his trial; however, counsel neglected to bring them to court having left them in his car. When Appellant inquired about his clothing, counsel allegedly-assured him that it was not a problem, and allowed his client to proceed with his trial wearing a jail uniform. Appellant raised this in his post-conviction relief motion, but the trial court rejected this claim as legally insufficient. Upon his motion for rehearing, the court again summarily rejected this ineffectiveness of counsel claim because it believed that it was incumbent upon Appellant to bring this matter to the court’s attention.
The trial court further reasoned that counsel may have permitted this for strategic reasons, and the court should not second guess the attorney’s trial tactics.
Appellant’s claim is not refuted by the record. Therefore, the trial court should have ordered an evidentiary hearing so that it might determine whether Appellant is entitled to a new trial. The trial court erred in making a determination that this was trial strategy on the part of Appellant’s counsel without first conducting an evidentiary hearing.
Generally, an evidentiary hearing is required to conclude that action or inaction was a strategic decision. Walker v. State, 792 So. 2d 604, 605 (Fla. 4th DCA 2001); Sampson v. State, 751 So. 2d 602 (Fla. 2d DCA 1998). See also Guisasola v. State, 667 So. 2d 248, 249 (Fla. 1st DCA 1995); Collins v. State, 671 So. 2d 827, 828 (Fla. 2d DCA 1996)(“Matters of trial strategy should not be determined without an evidentiary hearing.”).
Moreover, a criminal defendant cannot be compelled to stand trial in prison clothing, see Torres-Arboledo v. State, 524 So. 2d 403, 409 (Fla.), cert. denied, 488 U.S. 901, 109 S.Ct. 250, 102 L.Ed.2d 239 (1988), because it could impair the defendant’s presumption of innocence, which is a basic component of the fundamental right to a fair trial. See Estelle v. Williams, 425 U.S. 501, 96 S.Ct. 1691, 48 L.Ed.2d 126, reh’g denied, 426 U.S. 954, 96 S.Ct. 3182, 49 L.Ed.2d 1194 (1976). In addition, equal protection concerns are triggered because “compelling the accused to stand trial in jail garb operates usually against only those who cannot post bail prior to trial.” Id. at 505-06, 96 S.Ct.
1691. See also Waters v. State, 779 So. 2d 625 (Fla. 1st DCA 2001)(finding ineffectiveness of counsel claim facially sufficient where trial counsel failed to object to defendant’s appearance in court in prison garb).
We have considered, but distinguish, our earlier decision in Demurjian v. State, 727 So. 2d 324 (Fla. 4th DCA 1999). In De-murjian, the defendant claimed his counsel was ineffective for allowing him to appear at trial in prison garb. Although this court ultimately decided his claim lacked merit, we did so because the appellant testified that he had a “choice,” his attorney did not “force” him to wear prison clothes, and his lawyer testified that it was his tactic to have the jury notice that he wore prison garb to evoke sympathy. We note that, there, this court ordered an evidentiary hearing on Demurjian’s claim before reaching a decision on the merits.
The state suggests it was incumbent upon Appellant to bring this matter to the attention of the trial court and that he made a deliberate choice to proceed with his trial after voicing his concern to counsel.
However, Appellant alleges that his lawyer affirmatively misadvised him that it was not a problem and allowed him to proceed with his trial in jail attire. A client’s acquiescence to trial counsel’s conduct does not necessarily insulate the lawyer’s performance from judicial review in a post-conviction proceeding. See Evans v. State, 737 So. 2d 1167 (Fla. 2d DCA 1999). Ineffective representation is sufficiently alleged by a claim that counsel not only left his client’s clothes in his car, compelling him to wear jail garb, but also assured him that it was okay to attend his trial in jail attire.
Accordingly, we reverse that part of the lower court’s order denying relief on this claim and remand for an evidentiary hearing or the attachment of portions of the record that conclusively refute it.
AFFIRMED IN PART; REVERSED IN PART.
GUNTHER, STONE, and SHAHOOD, JJ., concur.
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Patrick v. State, 246 So. 3d 253 (Fla. 2018)…es of the trial, for not striking this juror. We need not detail these grounds but note that when applying Strickland , "[g]enerally, an evidentiary hearing is required to conclude that action or inaction was a strategic decision." Pineda v. State , 805 So. 2d 116, 117 (Fla. 4th DCA 2002). On this record, we can neither ignore the possibility that counsel's failure to challenge this juror was strategic nor conclude that it was. Therefore, we reverse the postconviction court's denial of this claim and remand f…
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Miller v. State, 852 So. 2d 904 (Fla. 4th DCA 2003)…specially. This court has previously held that counsel may be ineffective for failing to preserve the issue of being compelled to stand trial in identifiable prison clothes. See Palmer v. State, 831 So. 2d 725 (Fla. 4th DCA 2002); Pineda v. State, 805 So. 2d 116 (Fla. 4th DCA 2002); see also Cramer v. State, 843 So. 2d 372 (Fla. 2d DCA 2003); Waters v. State, 779 So. 2d 625 (Fla. 1st DCA 2001). These cases require a hearing in this case. To raise the issue of prison garb or restraints on direct appeal, a d…1 / 2
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Cramer v. State, 843 So. 2d 372 (Fla. 2d DCA 2003)…sonable strategic decision not to object because it was possible the jury did not see the shackles and counsel did not want to call the jurors’ attention to them. Cramer’s motion alleged a facially sufficient ground for relief. See Pineda v. State, 805 So. 2d 116 (Fla. 4th DCA 2002); Waters v. State, 779 So. 2d 625 (Fla. 1st DCA 2001). We reverse and remand for an evidentiary hearing or the attachment of portions of the record that conclusively refute Cramer’s claim. Reversed and remanded with directions.…
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 (14 total)
- Estelle v. Williams, 425 U.S. 501 (U.S. 1976)
- Torres-Arboledo v. State, 524 So. 2d 403 (Fla. 1988)
- Ohio Power Co. v. Thomas, 488 U.S. 901 (U.S. 1988)
- Gen. Elec. Co. v. United States, 488 U.S. 901 (U.S. 1988)
- Guisasola v. State, 667 So. 2d 248 (Fla. 1st DCA 1995)
- Sampson v. State, 751 So. 2d 602 (Fla. 2d DCA 1998)
- Toia v. Holley, 426 U.S. 954 (U.S. 1976)
- Omernick v. Wisconsin, 426 U.S. 954 (U.S. 1976)
- Evans v. State, 737 So. 2d 1167 (Fla. 2d DCA 1999)
- Demurjian v. State, 727 So. 2d 324 (Fla. 4th DCA 1999)