KEVIN R. BALKO, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE

Fla. 2d DCA | 2006-08-04
No. 2D06-1324
SALCINES and DAVIS, JJ., Concur.
934 So. 2d 662 Florida District Court of Appeal, Second District (2006) Positive Treatment
Cited by 2 cases

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Synopsis

Kevin Balko appeals the trial court's summary denial of his postconviction motion for ineffective assistance of counsel. The court affirmed, finding the motion both successive and facially insufficient because Balko failed to allege facts showing his counsel knew or should have known about medication that might have affected his confession, or that the failure to investigate caused prejudice.


Holding

The trial court correctly denied the motion as successive and facially insufficient. The motion was successive because Balko knew before his confession that he had undergone surgery with anesthesia the preceding day, and he discovered the specific drug name only after filing earlier motions on the same issue. Even if not successive, the motion was facially insufficient because Balko failed to allege facts establishing that his counsel knew or should have known about the medication or that the failure to investigate caused prejudicial effects.


Headnotes

[1] A motion for postconviction relief is successive when prior motions have raised the same claims.

[2] A motion for postconviction relief is facially insufficient if it fails to allege a factual basis for the claim of ineffective assistance of counsel.

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Key Quotes

“Mr. Balko does not allege that he told his lawyer about the outpatient surgery or that his lawyer had any reason to know that he had received medication on the day preceding his confession. Mr. Balko does not allege that he was actually impaired by the medication at the time of his confession.”

Establishes why the motion was facially insufficient—Balko failed to plead the basic facts necessary for an ineffective assistance claim

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Facts & Procedural History

Balko pleaded guilty on July 19, 2004, to two counts of attempted sexual battery and two counts of lewd and lascivious molestation, receiving a 40-yea…

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Opinion of the Court
ALTENBERND, Judge.

ALTENBERND, Judge.

Kevin R. Balko appeals the trial court’s order summarily denying his motion for postconviction relief filed pursuant to Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.850. Although the trial court was confused about the exact allegations in Mr. Balko’s handwritten motion, it correctly decided that the motion was successive and facially insufficient.

On July 19, 2004, Mr. Balko pleaded guilty to two counts of attempted sexual battery and two counts of lewd and lascivious molestation. The trial court sentenced him to terms of imprisonment totaling forty years. He did not appeal his judgments and sentences.

Mr. Balko filed this motion in June 2005, alleging that his counsel was ineffective because he failed to properly investigate Mr. Balko’s assertion that he “may” have been under the influence of a drug at the time he confessed to these crimes on September 30, 2003. His allegations are somewhat confusing, but coupled with the attachments to his motion it appears that Mr. Balko had been admitted to the Sun-coast Endoscopy Center for an outpatient procedure on September 29, 2003, the day before his confession. Prior to the procedure, he was anesthetized with a drug identified as “Versed,” a brand-name for a drug generically referred to as midazolam.

Mr. Balko does not allege that he told his lawyer about the outpatient surgery or that his lawyer had any reason to know that he had received medication on the day preceding his confession. Mr. Balko does not allege that he was actually impaired by the medication at the time of his confession. Nothing in the medical literature that he attaches to his motion would suggest that the drug’s effects had not worn off long before his interview with the police.

The trial court denied the motion as both successive and facially insufficient. The trial court attached several orders denying earlier motions under rule 3.850 to its order. Mr. Balko argues that his motion should be considered because he did not discover evidence concerning the exact drug used as anesthesia until recently. Two of the earlier motions, however, were filed after he received the information on the effects of Versed. Moreover, there is no question that Mr. Balko knew, even before his confession, that he had had the surgical procedure involving anesthesia on the preceding day. Mr. Balko has established no basis requiring the trial court to accept this successive motion. See Collins v. State, 855 So. 2d 1160, 1162 (Fla. 1st DCA 2003).

Even if the motion were not successive, it was facially insufficient. From the trial court’s order, it appears that the trial court thought that Mr. Balko was alleging that he was under the influence of these drugs at the time of his plea. See Mungen v. State, 932 So. 2d 1229 (Fla. 2d DCA 2006); Rivera v. State, 651 So. 2d 814 (Fla. 2d DCA 1995). Despite this confusion, Mr. Balko does not allege a factual basis to establish that his counsel had information requiring him to investigate this issue or that the failure to investigate this issue was prejudicial to him. Accordingly, we affirm the trial court’s order. Affirmed.

SALCINES and DAVIS, JJ., Concur.


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Citator

Cited By

  • Hill v. State, 946 So. 2d 47 (Fla. 2d DCA 2006)
    …ill failed to allege any justification for his failure to raise his new claims in his first rule 3.850 motion. Therefore, we affirm the posteonviction court’s order because Hill’s motions are successive. See Fla. R.Crim. P. 3.850(f); Balko v. State, 934 So. 2d 662, 663 (Fla. 2d DCA 2006). Affirmed. ALTENBERND, SILBERMAN, and WALLACE, JJ„ Concur.…

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