JOHN T. ADAMS, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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John T. Adams appealed the denial of his Rule 3.850 postconviction motion alleging he did not voluntarily waive his right to counsel at sentencing due to the trial court forcing him to choose between attorneys with ethical conflicts. The Florida Second District Court of Appeal affirmed most claims but reversed and remanded the sixth claim regarding the validity of his waiver of counsel.
Claims that a trial court erroneously denied a defendant the assistance of counsel at sentencing by forcing a choice between conflicted attorneys are cognizable in a Rule 3.850 postconviction motion and are not barred merely because they could have been raised on direct appeal. The case was reversed and remanded for the postconviction court to reconsider the claim on the merits.
[1] A claim that a trial court compelled a defendant to choose between attorneys with ethical conflicts, thereby forcing self-representation at a critical stage, is cognizabl…
[2] A postconviction court must either attach record portions conclusively refuting a claim or conduct an evidentiary hearing.
Previewing 2 of 3 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“Claims of this nature are cognizable in a motion for postconviction relief.”
Establishes that claims of being forced to choose between conflicted counsel at sentencing can be raised in postconviction relief, not barred as procedural defaults.
Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAt sentencing, the trial court allegedly compelled Adams to choose between two attorneys despite knowing each had ethical conflicts with him and one h…
The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.
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CASANUEVA, Judge.
John T. Adams appeals the summary denial of his motion for postconviction relief filed pursuant to Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.850. We affirm the order in all respects except as to claim six, which we reverse and remand for further proceedings.
In claim six, Mr. Adams alleged that he did not make a voluntary or intelligent waiver of his right to the assistance of counsel at his sentencing hearing. He asserted that the trial court compelled him to choose between two attorneys, even though the court knew that he had ethical conflicts with each and, furthermore, that one had already withdrawn from his representation. Consequently, Mr. Adams claimed, he was forced to represent himself at the sentencing hearing. He also asserted that the trial court then failed to inform him of the rights he was waiving or the dangers of self-representation. The postconviction court denied Mr. Adams’ claim on the basis that this claim of trial court error should have been raised on direct appeal.
The thrust of Mr. Adams’ claim is that the trial court, by forcing him to choose between two lawyers who should have been barred from representing him by vir tue of their ethical conflicts, essentially left him unrepresented at a critical stage of the proceedings. “Claims of this nature are cognizable in a motion for postconviction relief.” Brown v. State, 589 So. 2d 987, 987 (Fla. 2d DCA 1991); see Austin v. State, 826 So. 2d 387, 339 (Fla. 2d DCA 2002) (addressing, as a matter of fundamental error, the claim that the trial court erroneously denied the defendant the assistance of counsel at his sentencing hearing but rejecting it on the merits because a full Faretta1 hearing was conducted). The postconviction court’s attachments to its order do not refute Mr. Adams’ claim. Accordingly, we reverse and remand for the postconviction court to reconsider Mr. Adams’ sixth claim. On remand, the post-conviction court shall either attach those portions of the record that conclusively refute Mr. Adams’ claim or conduct an evidentiary hearing on the issue.
Affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded.
FULMER and CANADY, JJ., Concur. . Faretta v. California, 422 U.S. 806, 95 S.Ct. 2525, 45 L.Ed.2d 562 (1975).
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Authorities Cited
- Faretta v. California, 422 U.S. 806 (U.S. 1975)
- Kevin v. Brown, 589 So. 2d 987 (Fla. 2d DCA 1991)