KENNETH EDWARD DAVIS, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE

Fla. 2d DCA | 2003-06-27
No. 2D03-726
FULMER and KELLY, JJ., concur.
848 So. 2d 418 Florida District Court of Appeal, Second District (2003) Positive Treatment
Cited by 6 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.

Synopsis

Kenneth Edward Davis appealed the summary denial of his postconviction motion alleging ineffective assistance of counsel because trial counsel failed to object to the trial court's failure to administer the oath to jury venire during voir dire. The court affirmed the denial, holding that Davis failed to state a facially sufficient claim under Strickland v. Washington because he did not allege that the oath was never administered and did not allege resulting prejudice.


Holding

The court affirmed the denial of relief, holding that Davis failed to state a facially sufficient ineffective assistance of counsel claim because he did not allege that the oath was never administered (failing the deficient performance prong) and did not allege that the omission caused harm (failing the prejudice prong) of the Strickland test.


Headnotes

[1] A claim of ineffective assistance of counsel for failure to object to the omission of a jury venire oath is facially insufficient if the movant fails to allege that the o…

[2] A defendant seeking postconviction relief for ineffective assistance of counsel must allege both deficient performance and resulting prejudice.

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Key Quotes

“In order to demonstrate ineffective assistance of counsel, the movant must establish that counsel's performance was deficient and that the deficiency so prejudiced the movant that he or she was denied a fair trial.”

Establishes the two-prong Strickland test required to prove ineffective assistance of counsel

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Facts & Procedural History

Davis was convicted at jury trial of attempted robbery with a firearm, false imprisonment, and aggravated battery with a firearm. The trial transcript…

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Opinion of the Court
DAVIS, Judge.

DAVIS, Judge.

Kenneth Edward Davis appeals the summary denial of his motion for postcon-viction relief. In his motion, Davis alleged three instances of ineffective assistance of counsel. We affirm the trial court’s denial of relief on all three claims; however, we write to clarify one issue.

Davis was convicted at jury trial of attempted robbery with a firearm, false imprisonment, and aggravated battery with a firearm. He argues that his trial counsel was ineffective for not objecting to the trial court’s failure to administer the oath to the jury venire requiring them to give truthful answers during the voir dire proceedings.

See Fla. R.Crim. P. 3.300(a). He cites Fernandez v. State, 814 So. 2d 459 (Fla. 4th DCA 2001), as support. Fernandez concluded that such an allegation is facially sufficient if the trial transcript shows that the oath was not administered at trial and is inconclusive as to whether the oath was given prior to the prospective jurors being brought to the courtroom for trial. In Fernandez, the court remanded the issue to the trial court for an evidentiary hearing to determine whether the oath was in fact administered.

However, the First District took a different approach in Lott v. State, 826 So. 2d 457 (Fla. 1st DCA 2002). Lott also claimed that his attorney was ineffective because he failed to object when the trial judge did not administer the required oath. However, in affirming the denial of relief, Judge Padovano concluded that since Lott had failed to allege that the oath was never given, he failed to state a facially sufficient claim for postconviction relief. We agree with Judge Padovano’s reasoning.

In order to demonstrate ineffective assistance of counsel, the movant must establish that counsel’s performance was deficient and that the deficiency so prejudiced the movant that he or she was denied a fair trial. Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 104 S.Ct. 2052, 80 L.Ed.2d 674 (1984). Here, Davis has failed to state a facially sufficient claim on each of the prongs.

Previously, this court has recognized that in many trial courts the preliminary oath is administered in the jury assembly room or at some other location when all of the prospective jurors for the several trials to be held in the courthouse on that day are assembled. See Pena v. State, 829 So. 2d 289 (Fla. 2d DCA 2002); Gonsalves v. State, 830 So. 2d 265 (Fla. 2d DCA 2002). As such, we agree with Judge Padovano’s conclusion in Lott:

It may well be that the defendant’s counsel said nothing about the oath before the questioning on voir dire in the courtroom, because she knew that it had been given already. The defendant has failed to account for this entirely innocent explanation of his lawyer’s conduct. Consequently, he has not made a facially sufficient claim that her performance was deficient.

Lott, 826 So. 2d at 458-59.

Thus, Davis’ failure here to allege that the oath was never administered rendered his motion facially insufficient as to the deficient performance prong of Strickland.

Furthermore, to state a facially sufficient claim, Davis must also allege that the attorney’s omission resulted in some harm. That is, he must allege that as a result of the attorney’s silence, the oath was not given and that an unsworn juror provided false-information that would have made a difference in the trial. He makes no such allegation, and accordingly, has failed to state a facially sufficient claim as to the prejudice prong of the Strickland test.

We acknowledge that our reasoning as to the sufficiency of the allegation as to the deficient performance prong appears to be in conflict with Fernandez. Accordingly, we certify conflict with Fernandez as to this issue.

Affirmed, conflict certified.

FULMER and KELLY, JJ., concur.


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Citator

Cited By

  • Ottesen v. State, 862 So. 2d 30 (Fla. 2d DCA 2003)
    …t failed to swear in the prospective jurors prior to voir dire. However, Ottesen failed to satisfy the deficiency prong of an ineffective assistance of counsel claim because he did not allege that the oath was never administered. See Davis v. State, 848 So. 2d 418 (Fla. 2d DCA 2003); Lott v. State, 826 So. 2d 457 (Fla. 1st DCA 2002), review denied, No. SC02-2426, 845 So. 2d 891 (Fla. May 6, 2003) (table decision). In addition, Ottesen did not demonstrate how he was prejudiced by his counsel’s failure to objec…
  • Munoz v. State, 862 So. 2d 838 (Fla. 2d DCA 2003)
    …PER CURIAM. Affirmed. See Davis v. State, 848 So. 2d 418 (Fla. 2d DCA 2003). As this court did in Davis, we certify direct conflict with [*839] Fernandez v. State, 814 So. 2d 459 (Fla. 4th DCA 2001). Affirmed; conflict certified. COVINGTON, CANADY, and VILLANTI, JJ., Concur.…
  • Ubilla v. State, 878 So. 2d 451 (Fla. 3d DCA 2004)
    …(en banc) (“The trial court also recognized the St. Lucie County Circuit Court’s practice, like most circuit courts, of swearing the venire in the jury assembly room before the jurors are sent to the respective courtrooms.”); Davis v. State, [*452] 848 So. 2d 418, 419 (Fla. 2d DCA 2003) (“Previously, this court has recognized that in many trial courts the preliminary oath is administered in the jury assembly room or at some other location when all of the prospective jurors for the several trials to be held i…

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