LARRY BUSH, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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Larry Bush appeals the summary denial of his post-conviction motion claiming ineffective assistance of counsel. The court reversed and remanded, holding that Bush's allegations of counsel's failure to investigate a potential suppression motion were sufficient to require an evidentiary hearing where the record did not refute his claims.
The court reversed the summary denial and remanded for an evidentiary hearing or for the trial court to attach record portions conclusively refuting Bush's claims. The court held that Bush's allegations, when not refuted by the record, satisfied both the deficient performance and prejudice prongs of the Strickland test necessary to obtain post-conviction relief.
[1] A defendant claiming ineffective assistance of counsel must establish both deficient performance and prejudice, as defined by Strickland v. …
[2] Deficient performance by counsel requires proof of conduct outside the broad range of competent performance under prevailing professional standards.
Previewing 2 of 6 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“To establish a claim that defense counsel was ineffective, a defendant must establish deficient performance and prejudice, as set forth in Strickland v. Washington”
Establishes the two-prong test for ineffective assistance of counsel claims
Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceBush entered a plea of no contest based on advice from his defense counsel that no defense would be successful at trial. Bush alleges he requested to …
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PER CURIAM.
Appellant Larry Bush appeals the trial court’s summary denial of his rule 3.850 motion. Bush argues the trial court erred in summarily denying his rule 3.850 motion as he entered his guilty plea based on erroneous advice of counsel. We reverse and remand for further proceedings.
“To establish a claim that defense counsel was ineffective, a defendant must establish deficient performance and prejudice, as set forth in Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 104 S.Ct. 2052, 80 L.Ed.2d 674 (1984).” Zakrzewski v. State, 866 So. 2d 688, 692 (Fla.2003).
As to the first prong, deficient performance, a defendant must establish conduct on the part of counsel that is outside the broad range of competent performance under prevailing professional standards. Second, as to the prejudice prong, the deficient performance must be shown to have so affected the fairness and reliability of the proceedings that confidence in the outcome is undermined.
Id. (internal citations omitted).
“A trial attorney’s failure to investigate a factual defense or a defense relying on the suppression of evidence, which results in the entry of an ill-advised plea of guilty, has long been held to constitute a facially sufficient attack upon the conviction.” Williams v. State, 717 So. 2d 1066, 1067 (Fla. 2d DCA 1998). “However, in order to establish the prejudice prong of Strickland the defendant ‘must show that there is a reasonable probability that, but for counsel’s errors, he would not have pleaded guilty and would have insisted on going to trial.’ ” Zakrzewski, 866 So. 2d at 694 (quoting Hill v. Lockhart, 474 U.S. 52, 57, 59, 106 S.Ct. 366, 88 L.Ed.2d 203 (1985)).
In this case, Bush argues he would not have entered a plea of no contest had defense counsel told him he could file a successful motion for suppression of his statements to the police rather than telling him no defense would be successful at trial. Bush alleges he asked to speak with an attorney and his mother1 prior to being questioned by the police and that the police failed to honor this request. There is no evidence found in the record refuting Bush’s assertion that trial counsel represented that no defense at trial would be successful. Without the benefit of an evidentiary hearing, it is impossible to determine whether Bush’s assertions are true. In Zakrzewski, a case similar to the instant case, trial counsel testified as to why he did not file a motion to suppress at an evidentiary hearing on the defendant’s rule 3.850 motion. 866 So. 2d at 694. In this case, there is no evidence showing the decision not to file a suppression motion was a strategy call or that defense counsel thought it would be futile to file a suppression motion. If there was no good reason for defense counsel’s failure to file the motion, counsel’s action constitutes deficient performance sufficient to satisfy the first prong of Strickland.
Further, as no evidentiary hearing was held below, this court must accept as true the factual allegations “to the extent they are not refuted by the record.” McLin v. State, 827 So. 2d 948, 954 (Fla.2002) (citing Foster v. State, 810 So. 2d 910, 914 (Fla.), cert. denied, 537 U.S. 990, 123 S.Ct. 470, 154 L.Ed.2d 359 (2002) (citations omitted)). This includes Bush’s assertion that had counsel advised him of a possibly successful motion to suppress, he would not have entered a plea, but would have gone to trial instead. This satisfies the prejudice prong of Strickland.
We reverse and remand the trial court summary denial of Bush’s rule 3.850 claim for either an evidentiary hearing, or attachment of those portions of the record which conclusively refute his claims.
STONE, POLEN and GROSS, JJ., concur. . Bush was a juvenile at the time of these offenses.
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Guevara v. State, 227 So. 3d 205 (Fla. 5th DCA 2017)…r, “in order to establish the prejudice prong of Strickland the defendant ‘must show that there is a reasonable probability that, but for counsel’s errors, he would not have pleaded guilty and would have insisted on going to trial.’ ” Bush v. State, 964 So. 2d 181, 182 (Fla. 4th DCA 2007) (citing Zakrzewski, 866 So. 2d at 694 (quoting Hill v. Lockhart, 474 U.S. 52, 57, 59, 106 S.Ct. 366, 88 L.Ed.2d 203 (1985))). As the State concedes, the facts as alleged by Appellant, which we are required to accept as true…
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Jahmar Stewart v. State, 248 So. 3d 284 (Fla. 2d DCA 2018)…motion is facially sufficient, that the claim is not conclusively refuted by the record, and that the claim is not otherwise procedurally barred, the trial court should hold an evidentiary hearing to resolve the claim."); see also Bush v. State, 964 So. 2d 181, 182-83 (Fla. 4th DCA 2007). Accordingly, we must reverse the order as it pertains to ground one of Mr. Stewart's motion. ---PAGE 4--- On remand, Mr. Stewart is entitled to an evidentiary hearing to determine if his allegation is true that his…
Authorities Cited
- Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (U.S. 1984)
- Hill v. Lockhart, 474 U.S. 52 (U.S. 1985)
- McLIN v. State, 827 So. 2d 948 (Fla. 2002)
- Foster v. State, 810 So. 2d 910 (Fla. 2002)
- Zakrzewski v. State, 866 So. 2d 688 (Fla. 2003)
- Williams v. State, 717 So. 2d 1066 (Fla. 2d DCA 1998)
- Audio Odyssey, Ltd. v. Brenton First Nat'l Bank, 537 U.S. 990 (U.S. 2002)
- Foster v. Florida, 537 U.S. 990 (U.S. 2002)