ELIEZER BARRIENTOS, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE

Fla. 4th DCA | 2006-05-24
No. 4D04-3451
WARNER, SHAHOOD and MAY, JJ., concur.
929 So. 2d 705 Florida District Court of Appeal, Fourth District (2006) Positive Treatment
Cited by 2 cases

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Synopsis

Eliezer Barrientos appeals the summary denial of his Rule 3.850 motion for postconviction relief following his conviction for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. The court reverses and remands on two related ineffective assistance of counsel claims regarding his right to testify and counsel's failure to present defense witnesses, while affirming the denial of remaining claims.


Holding

Reversal is warranted because counsel was ineffective in failing to present defense witnesses who would have testified about Barrientos' practice of lending his car to others, and there is ambiguity about whether Barrientos understood the consequences of foregoing his testimony regarding the search warrant issue when deciding whether to testify.


Headnotes

[1] A defendant seeking postconviction relief based on a violation of the right to testify must demonstrate both deficient performance by counsel and prejudice to the defense…

[2] A defendant's claim that counsel coerced him into waiving his right to testify is cognizable in a motion for postconviction relief.

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Key Quotes

“in order to obtain postconviction relief, a defendant claiming his or her right to testify was violated must show that counsel's performance was deficient and that deficient performance prejudiced the defense”

Legal standard for ineffective assistance of counsel claims involving deprivation of the right to testify

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Facts & Procedural History

Barrientos was convicted of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. The firearm was found in his vehicle, which was registered to him and he was…

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Opinion of the Court
PER CURIAM.

ON MOTION FOR REHEARING

PER CURIAM.

We withdraw our previously issued opinion and substitute the following in its place.

Eliezer Barrientos seeks review of an order that summarily denied his multi-issue Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.850 motion. We reverse and remand for further review of two related points and affirm the denial of the remaining claims.

Barrientos was tried and convicted for the sole offense of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. There was a stipulation that Barrientos was a convicted felon. Hence, the state needed to prove that the firearm was in Barrientos’ care and control, as it was unquestionably in the vehicle he was driving when he was stopped by police, and the vehicle was registered to him. Accordingly, to challenge the remaining element, Barrientos had to create doubt that the firearm was in his care or control. Testimony that others had borrowed the vehicle was therefore relevant.

According to Barrientos, he wanted to testify that he did not put the firearm in his car, and at times he allowed others to use his vehicle. In the ninth point of his motion for postconviction relief, Barrientos argued that counsel intimidated and coerced him into waiving his right to testify. He alleged that counsel advised that it was his policy not to place on the witness stand any client who had prior felony convictions. Barrientos alleges that counsel assured Barrientos that this testimony would be presented through other defense witnesses. Also, Barrientos claims that counsel told him that if he testified, the state would be allowed to reveal to the jury the exact nature of his prior convictions.

In Oisorio v. State, 676 So. 2d 1363, 1364-65 (Fla.1996), the supreme court stated “that in order to obtain postconviction relief, a defendant claiming his or her right to testify was violated must show that counsel’s performance was deficient and that deficient performance prejudiced the defense.” In this case, reversal is warranted because of Barrientos’ related claim that counsel was ineffective in having failed to present defense witnesses Alberto Valez and Edward Pratt who would have provided testimony that Barrientos allowed them and others to use his vehicle. The record below does not refute Barrien-tos’ specific claim that he forewent testifying because the defense witnesses would furnish such evidence. As the potential defense witnesses did not testify about Barrientos’ “practice” of lending his car to them and others, no evidence was presented from which defense counsel could present this theory to cast reasonable doubt.

Apparently the decision not to call the witnesses was made when defense counsel advised that if the witnesses testified, the prosecution would inform the jury that prior to the stop and arrest of Barrientos, a search warrant had been executed at a residence believed to be his, and that the police were looking for drugs. It is not clear whether Barrientos was aware of this when deciding whether to testify.

The case is reversed and remanded for an evidentiary hearing on these issues.

WARNER, SHAHOOD and MAY, JJ., concur.


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Citator

Cited By

  • Arnold v. State, 961 So. 2d 998 (Fla. 4th DCA 2007)
    …e remand for the trial court to conduct an evidentiary hearing limited solely to Arnold’s claim that counsel coerced him into waiving his right to testify. See, e.g., Oisorio v. State, 676 So. 2d [*999] 1363, 1364-65 (Fla.1996); Barrientos v. State, 929 So. 2d 705 (Fla. 4th DCA 2006). STONE, GROSS and HAZOURI, JJ., concur.…

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