JAMES STRAITWELL, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE

Fla. 2d DCA | 2003-01-15
No. 2D02-3097
DAVIS and COVINGTON, JJ„ Concur.
834 So. 2d 918 Florida District Court of Appeal, Second District (2003) Positive Treatment
Cited by 8 cases

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.


Holding

The court held that the plea transcript did not refute the defendant's claim of ineffective assistance of counsel for failing to pursue a voluntary intoxication defense, requiring further proceedings.


Headnotes

[1] Voluntary intoxication is a defense to specific intent crimes but not to general intent crimes.

[2] A defendant seeking postconviction relief based on ineffective assistance of counsel for failing to pursue a voluntary intoxication defense must show they informed counse…

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

Facts & Procedural History

The defendant pleaded no contest to several charges and later sought postconviction relief, alleging his attorney failed to pursue a voluntary intoxic…

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.


Opinion of the Court
SILBERMAN, Judge.

SILBERMAN, Judge.

James Straitwell appeals the denial of his motion for postconviction relief. We reverse and remand for further proceedings regarding his claim that counsel was ineffective for not pursuing a voluntary intoxication defense. We affirm without comment the denial of Straitwell’s second claim concerning the evidentiary basis for one of his convictions.

In trial court case number 99-3088F, Straitwell entered a no contest plea to charges of burglary with battery, handling or fondling a child under sixteen in a lewd or lascivious manner, and petit theft. In trial court case number 99-3089F, Strait-well entered a no contest plea to charges of burglary with battery, sexual battery, and petit theft. Straitwell did not appeal from the convictions and sentences entered following his pleas.

In May 2002 Straitwell filed a motion for postconviction relief pursuant to Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.850, claiming the ineffective assistance of trial counsel. Straitwell alleged that at the time of the crimes, he had been intoxicated from mixing alcohol with steroids. He alleged that his attorney had this information but failed to pursue a voluntary intoxication defense and that his attorney did not tell him that voluntary intoxication was a legal defense that could have been raised. Straitwell claimed that his attorney advised him that it was not in his best interests to go to trial.

The trial court concluded that the plea transcript refuted Straitwell’s claim and summarily denied the motion. The plea transcript reflects that Straitwell had been asked whether he had discussed possible defenses with his attorney. Straitwell responded: “We’ve discussed, you know, different things like that, like when I was explaining the fact that I was on steroids and doing things like that, but apparently that doesn’t make a difference.” Strait-well otherwise indicated that he was satisfied with his attorney.

Voluntary intoxication is a defense to specific intent crimes such as burglary and petit theft.1 See Carter v. State, 801 So. 2d 113, 114 (Fla. 2d DCA 2001); Bland v. State, 563 So. 2d 794, 795 (Fla. 1st DCA 1990); Harris v. State, 415 So. 2d 135, 136 (Fla. 5th DCA 1982). However, it is not a defense to general intent crimes such as sexual battery or lewd or lascivious assault upon a child. Killian v. State, 730 So. 2d 360, 362-63 (Fla. 2d DCA 1999); Wright v. State, 675 So. 2d 1009, 1010 (Fla. 2d DCA 1996).

In order to successfully assert the voluntary intoxication defense, “the defendant must come forward with evidence of intoxication at the time of the offense sufficient to establish that he was unable to form the intent necessary to commit the crime charged.” Linehan v. State, 476 So. 2d 1262, 1264 (Fla.1985). For purposes of a postconviction motion for relief,

the defendant must show either that he told his attorney that he was intoxicated at the time of the offense or that he told his attorney of his addiction and there was record evidence that should have alerted his attorney to his possible intoxication at the time of the offense sufficient that the attorney should have investigated the claim.

Boehm v. State, 776 So. 2d 332, 333 (Fla. 4th DCA 2001); see also McKinney v. State, 722 So. 2d 933, 934 (Fla. 1st DCA 1998).

This court has stated that an evidentiary hearing is warranted to determine whether counsel was ineffective for giving incorrect advice to a defendant regarding the viability of the defense of involuntary intoxication. See Kennedy v. State, 633 So. 2d 1145, 1145 (Fla. 2d DCA 1994). Similarly, whether counsel was ineffective for failing to discuss and explore with a defendant the possibility of utilizing a voluntary intoxication defense is appropriately determined through an evidentia- ry hearing. See Flores v. State, 662 So. 2d 1350, 1351 (Fla. 2d DCA 1995). We have also concluded that a trial court’s finding that counsel made a tactical decision not to pursue the defense usually is inappropriate without an evidentiary hearing. See id.; Kijewski v. State, 831 So. 2d 757 (Fla. 4th DCA 2002).

We agree with Straitwell’s argument that the plea transcript did not refute his claim as to the voluntary intoxication defense. Accordingly, we reverse the order summarily denying the motion for postcon-viction relief and remand for further proceedings.

Affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded.

DAVIS and COVINGTON, JJ„ Concur. . We note that effective as of October 1, 1999, voluntary intoxication has been eliminated as a defense. See § 775.051, Fla. Stat. (1999). Because neither Straitwell's motion nor the trial court's order addressed any possible impact that the statute may have on the viability of Straitwell's defense, this issue must be considered on remand.


Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus


Citator

Cited By

  • Whitfield v. State, 923 So. 2d 375 (Fla. 2005)
    …sent a voluntary intoxication defense to first-degree murder, burglary, and armed sexual battery. The defense of voluntary intoxication is only valid for specific intent crimes such as first-degree murder and armed burglary. See Straitwell v. State, 834 So. 2d 918, 920 (Fla. 2d DCA 2003) (noting that “[vjoluntary intoxication is a defense to specific intent crimes such as burglary and petit theft”); Carter v. State, 801 So. 2d 113, 114 (Fla. 2d DCA 2001) (recognizing voluntary intoxication as a defense to spe…
  • McCANN v. State, 854 So. 2d 788 (Fla. 2d DCA 2003)
    …on was not a defense to the principal charge of sexual battery and McCann elected to enter a negotiated plea to the remaining charges and received concurrent sentences. Voluntary intoxication is not a defense to sexual battery. Straitwell v. State, 834 So. 2d 918, 919 (Fla. 2d DCA 2003). However, it is a defense to the other crimes with which McCann was charged. See Carter v. State, 801 So. 2d 113, 114 (Fla. 2d DCA 2001).1 A claim that counsel failed to explore a voluntary intoxication defense states a facia…
  • Locklear v. State, 847 So. 2d 543 (Fla. 2d DCA 2003)
    …intoxication was available for the offenses of grand theft and burglary. She claimed that she informed her counsel that she was intoxicated at the time she committed the offenses, thus presenting a legally sufficient claim. See Straitwell v. State, 834 So. 2d 918 (Fla. 2d DCA 2003); Foster v. State, 825 So. 2d 1023 (Fla. 1st DCA 2002). The trial court denied this claim, relying on psychological reports that indicated Locklear could distinguish right from wrong at the time of the offenses. These reports do no…

Previewing 3 of 4 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.

Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence

Authorities Cited (12 total)

View all 12 cited authorities →

Full citator, related cases, and AI research tools

Open in FLexlaw