JUAN BENTLEY, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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Juan Bentley appeals the denial of postconviction claims alleging ineffective assistance of counsel. The court affirmed most claims but reversed the denial of Bentley's fifth claim regarding his counsel's failure to impeach a key prosecution witness with noncumulative evidence, finding the claim facially sufficient and not conclusively refuted by the record.
The appellant stated a facially sufficient claim of ineffective assistance of counsel. The record does not conclusively refute the claim because it is unclear when the jailhouse confession occurred, whether the deposition was provided before that confession, and whether the appellant and Sheddrick were ever incarcerated together.
[1] A prior inconsistent statement of a witness is admissible to attack the witness's credibility, even if the statement is oral and unsworn.
[2] The omission of a material circumstance in a prior statement, which would have been natural to mention, may be admissible as an inconsistent statement for impeachment pur…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“If the appellant's allegations are true, defense counsel was ineffective for failing to sufficiently impeach the State's key witness with noncumulative impeachment evidence.”
Establishes the standard for ineffective assistance of counsel claims based on inadequate impeachment of witnesses
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceBentley was convicted of robbery. The State's key witness, Sheddrick Bentley (the appellant's cousin), testified that Bentley confessed to the robbery…
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PER CURIAM.
The appellant Juan Bentley appeals the denial of various postconviction claims, three of which were denied summarily and four of which were denied after an evidentiary hearing. We affirm without discussion as to all but one claim. Because the appellant’s fifth claim is facially sufficient and is not conclusively refuted by the record, we reverse the trial court’s summary denial of this claim.
The appellant’s fifth claim alleged that defense counsel was ineffective for failing to impeach Sheddrick Bentley, the appellant’s cousin and a key witness for the State, who testified that the appellant confessed to the crime on two separate occasions. Sheddrick testified that the appellant first confessed to the robbery while the appellant was living with him, that the appellant owned a chrome revolver, and that the appellant had a lot of money after the robbery. Sheddrick also testified that the appellant repeated his confession while the two were in jail. The confession in jail was detailed and described how the robbery took place. On cross-examination, defense counsel questioned Sheddrick about a prior felony conviction and the fact that he was facing other charges at the time of trial. The appellant claims that defense counsel should have impeached Sheddrick based on the fact that Shed-driek and the appellant were never incarcerated together and the fact that Shed-driek was given a copy of Detective R.P. Crews deposition describing the details of the robbery.
The trial court summarily denied the appellant’s claim because defense counsel impeached Sheddrick based upon his prior convictions and motives and, therefore, any further impeachment would have been cumulative. This was error. If the appellant’s allegations are true, defense counsel was ineffective for failing to sufficiently impeach the State’s key witness with noncumulative impeachment evidence. See Ventura v. State, 794 So. 2d 553, 567 (Fla.2001); Williams v. State, 673 So. 2d 960, 961-62 (Fla. 1st DCA 1996); Nixon v. State, 773 So. 2d 607 (Fla. 4th DCA 2000); Porter v. State, 626 So. 2d 268, 269 (Fla. 2d DCA 1993). Therefore, the appellant stated a facially sufficient claim.
In response to a show cause order pursuant to Toler v. State, 493 So. 2d 489 (Fla. 1st DCA 1986), the State argues that the record conclusively refutes the appellant’s claim. The State points out that Shed-drick first spoke with Detective Crews on November 12, 1997. It was therefore total ly impossible, argues the State, for Shed-drick to rely on a deposition of Detective Crews that was not taken until March 20, 1998. Therefore, the State asserts, defense counsel could not have been ineffective for failing to impeach Sheddriek based on the deposition, and the appellant’s claim is frivolous.
We disagree with the State that the record conclusively refutes the appellant’s claim. It is unclear from the available record when the appellant’s alleged jailhouse confession took place. The second of two confessions to Sheddriek, the jailhouse confession was allegedly much more detailed, describing the manner in which the robbery took place. If the detective’s deposition was provided to Sheddriek before the alleged jailhouse confession, then Sheddrick’s testimony becomes suspect and subject to impeachment. Moreover, the appellant claims that he and Sheddriek were never together while incarcerated. The available record is silent as to this allegation.
Accordingly, because the appellant has stated a facially sufficient claim that is not refuted by the record, the trial court’s summary denial of the appellant’s fifth claim is reversed and remanded for the attachment of record portions conclusively refuting the appellant’s claim or for an evidentiary hearing. See Lucas v. State, 841 So. 2d 380, 388-89 (Fla.2003).
Affirmed in part; Reversed in part and Remanded with directions.
ERVIN, BARFIELD and POLSTON, JJ., concur.
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Williams v. State, 24 So. 3d 1252 (Fla. 1st DCA 2009)…J., concur. . Although Toler involved only summarily denied claims, we have previously issued “Toler orders” in cases, such as this, involving both summarily denied claims and claims denied after an evidentiary hearing. See, e.g., Bentley v. State, 867 So. 2d 515 (Fla. 1st DCA 2004). The policy rationale for issuing Toler orders is stronger in cases involving only summarily denied claims than it is in cases such as this because the state is not required to file a brief in cases involving only summarily denie…
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Pierce v. State, 137 So. 3d 578 (Fla. 2d DCA 2014)…th DCA 2012) (reversing summary denial of claim that counsel was ineffective for failing to impeach the victim with his prior statements, which “would have significantly impacted the credibility of the victim’s version of events”); Bentley v. State, 867 So. 2d 515, 516 (Fla. 1st DCA 2004) (finding that the failure to impeach the State’s key witness with a prior inconsistent statement constituted deficient performance despite counsel’s impeachment of the witness with his prior convictions and motives). Based…
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Hipley v. State, 333 So. 3d 1194 (Fla. 5th DCA 2022)…d claim under the second part of Ground 8. Further, we find the second part of Ground 8 is not conclusively refuted by the record. Ground 6 The failure to impeach a key witness may constitute ineffective assistance of counsel. See Bentley v. State, 867 So. 2d 515, 516 (Fla. 1st DCA 2004). Here, Appellant is not complaining about the manner in which counsel conducted his cross-examination of Partain, but the substance. Cf. Ventura v. State, 794 So. 2d 553, 566 (Fla. 2001). Partain was a key witness for the S…
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
- Toler v. State, 493 So. 2d 489 (Fla. 1st DCA 1986)
- Ventura v. State, 794 So. 2d 553 (Fla. 2001)
- Lucas v. State, 841 So. 2d 380 (Fla. 2003)
- Porter v. State, 626 So. 2d 268 (Fla. 2d DCA 1993)
- Williams v. State, 673 So. 2d 960 (Fla. 1st DCA 1996)
- Williams v. State, 773 So. 2d 607 (Fla. 4th DCA 2000)
- Nixon v. State, 773 So. 2d 607 (Fla. 4th DCA 2000)