BERNARD WIGGINS, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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Bernard Wiggins appeals the summary denial of his Rule 3.850 postconviction motion claiming ineffective assistance of counsel for failing to object to a deficient jury instruction on burglary. The court affirmed the denial of most claims but reversed and remanded one claim regarding the omission of "surreptitiously" in the jury instruction, finding it facially sufficient and not conclusively refuted by the record.
One claim of ineffective assistance was facially sufficient and not conclusively refuted by the record. The trial court erred in summarily denying this claim where the State's alternative theory of conviction (remaining after consent was withdrawn) was legally insufficient under Delgado because evidence of the crime itself cannot establish revocation of consent to enter.
[1] A claim in a motion for postconviction relief is facially sufficient and not conclusively refuted by record attachments when it alleges ineffective assistance of counsel…
[2] A conviction under a general verdict is improper if it rests on multiple legal bases, one of which is legally inadequate.
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“if a person is licensed or invited to enter a dwelling or other building, he cannot be convicted of burglary under the "remaining in" theory unless the person surreptitiously remains on the premises”
Establishes the legal requirement from Delgado that counsel should have objected to the jury instruction
Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceWiggins was convicted of burglary of an occupied dwelling with assault and aggravated battery. His conviction and sentence were previously affirmed on…
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PER CURIAM.
Appellant appeals the trial court’s summary denial of his motion for postconviction relief filed pursuant to rule 3.850, Florida Rules of Criminal Procedure (2005). We affirm the trial court’s summary denial on all grounds except one. Because we find that one claim is facially sufficient and not conclusively refuted by record attachments, we reverse the trial court’s order summarily denying this claim and remand for either an evidentiary hearing or for the court to attach further portions of the record which conclusively refute Appellant’s claim. See Fla. R.Crim. P. 3.850(d).
Appellant was convicted of burglary of an occupied dwelling with an assault and aggravated battery. Appellant’s conviction and sentence were affirmed by written opinion. Wiggins v. State, 821 So. 2d 378 (Fla. 1st DCA 2002), rev. denied, 845 So. 2d 894 (Fla.2003).
In his postconviction motion, Appellant relies on Delgado v. State, 776 So. 2d 233 (Fla.2000), and alleges that counsel was ineffective for failing to object to the omission of “surreptitiously” to modify “remaining in” in the jury instruction for burglary. Appellant correctly states that this version of the instruction was applicable to his case because Delgado issued three months prior to Appellant’s trial. Moreover, Appellant’s offense was committed on December 25,1999, which was prior to the retroactivity date included in the statute that superseded the supreme court’s decision. See § 810.015(2), Fla. Stat. (2001). Because the jury instruction applied, Appellant alleges that he was prejudiced by his counsel’s failure to object to the incorrect instruction because he would not have been convicted of burglary if the jury knew that this instruction required Appellant to surreptitiously remain in the apartment.
In Delgado, the supreme court held that if a person is licensed or invited to enter a dwelling or other building, he cannot be convicted of burglary under the “remaining in” theory unless the person surreptitiously remains on the premises. Id. at 240. Delgado stands for the proposition that “evidence of a crime committed inside the dwelling ... of another cannot, in and of itself, establish the crime of burglary. Stated differently, the State cannot use ‘the criminal act to prove both intent and revocation of the consent to enter.’ ” State v. Ruiz, 863 So. 2d 1205, 1211 (Fla.2003) (citing Delgado v. State, 776 So. 2d 233, 238 (Fla.2000)). Conviction under a general verdict, as here, is improper when it rests on multiple bases, one of which is inadequate. Delgado, 776 So. 2d at 241.
Based on our review of the record portions attached to the trial court’s summary denial, the State argued that the jury could convict Appellant of burglary if he either entered the premises without the owner’s consent and with the intent to commit a felony therein, or if he remained in the premises after the owner withdrew her consent after Appellant began to batter the victim. The State’s second argu ment is without merit under Delgado. Conviction under a general verdict is improper when it rests on multiple bases, one of which is inadequate. Id. Therefore, we reverse the trial court’s summary denial of Appellant’s facially sufficient claim and remand for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.
AFFIRMED in part, REVERSED in part, and REMANDED.
BENTON, POLSTON and THOMAS, JJ., concur.
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State v. Kaion Robinson, 936 So. 2d 1198 (Fla. 1st DCA 2006)…d the intent to batter Jedohne Davis. There is a reasonable likelihood that the jury would not have so found. Therefore, the judgment cannot stand. The lower court’s ruling ordering a new trial pursuant to Delgado was correct. See Wiggins v. State, 933 So. 2d 1224 (Fla. 1st DCA 2006) (reversing trial court’s summary denial of 3.850 motion raising ineffective assistance for failing to object to the omission of “surreptitiously” to modify the “remaining in” language in burglary jury instruction, pursuant to Del…
Authorities Cited
- Delgado v. State, 776 So. 2d 233 (Fla. 2000)
- State v. Ruiz, 863 So. 2d 1205 (Fla. 2003)
- Wiggins v. State, 821 So. 2d 378 (Fla. 1st DCA 2002)