JUAN MANUEL RIVERA, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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Juan Manuel Rivera appeals the denial of his Rule 3.850 motion for postconviction relief based on ineffective assistance of counsel claims. The appellate court reversed in part and remanded, finding that the postconviction court improperly limited the evidentiary hearing to only three of nine ineffective assistance claims without a written order and directing reassignment to a different judge on remand.
The court reversed in part and remanded, holding that Rivera is entitled to a full evidentiary hearing on all of his challenged ineffective assistance claims except those not appealed, and directing reassignment of the case to a different judge due to the postconviction court's dismissive handling of the motion.
[1] A postconviction court must conduct an evidentiary hearing on all claims of ineffective assistance of counsel when the State concedes that such a hearing is necessary.
[2] A postconviction court abuses its discretion by refusing to consider claims of ineffective assistance of counsel that were not previously summarily denied.
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“the postconviction court considered only three of Rivera's claims at an evidentiary hearing. Indeed, at the hearing, Rivera's postconviction counsel apprised the judge that the court had never rendered a written order summarily denying any portion of Rivera's claims. The judge refused to consider any additional argument and responded that he had narrowed the issues to three as set forth in a letter he had sent to counsel.”
Establishes the improper procedure where the court limited the hearing without a written order and refused to consider additional claims based only on an informal letter.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceRivera filed a motion for postconviction relief asserting nine claims of ineffective assistance of counsel (labeled A-G, with claim A having multiple …
The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.
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SALCINES, Judge.
Juan Manuel Rivera appeals the denial of his motion for postconviction relief sought pursuant to Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.850. In light of the myriad problems with the postconviction court’s handling of Rivera’s motion, we reverse this case in part. On remand, a different judge should preside at the evidentiary hearing on specific claims as further explained below.
Rivera filed a motion for postconviction relief in which he asserted nine claims of ineffective assistance of counsel (he denoted them A-G with A having three specific subparts and one interrelated subpart).1 The State responded that an evidentiary hearing was necessary on all Rivera’s claims of ineffective assistance. However, the postconviction court considered only three of Rivera’s claims at an evidentiary hearing. Indeed, at the hearing, Rivera’s postconviction counsel apprised the judge that the court had never rendered a written order summarily denying any portion of Rivera’s claims. The judge refused to consider any additional argument and responded that he had narrowed the issues to three as set forth in a letter he had sent to counsel. Following the evidentiary hearing, the court entered a written order denying Rivera’s motion with only the statement: “Defendant has not established that he received ineffective assistance of counsel or that he was prejudiced by counsel’s performance.”
In this appeal, Rivera challenges the court’s handling of the three claims denoted “A” (his first through third claims), as well as the posteonviction court’s refusal at the evidentiary hearing to consider claim C (his fifth claim), claim E (his seventh claim), claim F (his eighth claim), and claim G (his ninth claim). Rivera does not challenge two of the claims considered at the evidentiary hearing (claim B, which was his fourth claim, and claim D, which was his sixth claim).
The State candidly concedes that remand is required for a portion of Rivera’s claims. We find, however, that Rivera should be afforded a full evidentiary hearing on all of the aforementioned claims of ineffective assistance of counsel except those which were not challenged in this appeal. In view of the manner in which this postconviction matter was handled and the dismissive nature of the judge’s remarks at the evidentiary hearing, we direct the chief judge of the Twentieth Judicial Circuit to assign this case to a differ ent judge to consider Rivera’s motion on remand.
Affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded.
WHATLEY and VILLANTI, JJ„ Concur. . Rivera also raised a claim of sentencing error in regard to a separate case for which he entered a plea (case no. 97-093). However, that claim is not properly before this court. In fact, in response to a lengthy order from this court asking which cases were being appealed by Rivera, his appellate counsel stated that he was not seeking appellate review of case number 97-093. Thus, we decline to review that claim.