ERIC LUCAS, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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Lucas appealed a trial court order striking his Rule 3.850 postconviction motion. The Fourth DCA reversed, holding that Lucas adequately pleaded an ineffective assistance of counsel claim regarding his trial counsel's failure to hire an expert ophthalmologist, and remanded for the trial court to address all remaining claims.
The court held that a defendant is not required to name a specific expert witness when claiming that trial counsel failed to secure an expert in a named field of expertise, provided the motion sufficiently explains the relevance of the expected testimony and alleges the outcome would have been different. The trial court also erred in striking the entire motion without addressing the other three claims.
[1] A postconviction motion is not facially insufficient for failing to name a specific expert witness when the claim alleges ineffective assistance of counsel for failing to…
[2] A trial court errs by striking a postconviction motion in its entirety when only one claim within the motion is deemed facially insufficient and other claims remain unadd…
Previewing 2 of 4 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“Although the defendant is usually required to identify fact witnesses by name, we are aware of no authority requiring the defendant to provide the name of a particular expert where the defendant claims that trial counsel failed to secure an expert in a named field of expertise.”
Establishes the legal standard that defendants need not name specific experts when claiming trial counsel failed to hire an expert in a particular field
Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceLucas was convicted and filed a postconviction motion claiming his trial counsel was ineffective for failing to consult and hire an ophthalmologist ex…
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We reverse the trial court’s order which struck appellant’s rule 3.850 motion based on insufficiency of one claim. Appellant filed a premature appeal of the order which had granted leave to amend within thirty days. The postconviction time limit expired. Pursuant to Christner v. State, 984 So.2d 561 (Fla. 2d DCA 2008), we relinquished jurisdiction to the trial court. The court responded explaining that no amended motion had been filed within the time provided. The trial court entered a final order adopting its prior order striking the motion in its entirety.
In the claim at issue, appellant alleged that his counsel was ineffective in failing to consult and hire an ophthalmologist expert to rebut the State’s claim that the victim suffered “permanent damage” as an element of aggravated battery. The trial court agreed with the State that the claim was facially insufficient because appellant did not identify a specific witness, explain the testimony that could be elicited, or allege that the witness was available to testify at trial. Nelson v. State, 875 So.2d 579, 583 (Fla.2004). The court struck the entire motion with leave to amend. Neither the court, nor the State, addressed appellant’s other three claims. No records were attached.
The trial court erred in failing to follow our binding precedent. We confronted this issue in Terrell v. State, 9 So.3d 1284 (Fla. 4th DCA 2009), and explained:
As a threshold matter, the state asserts that this claim was facially insufficient because the defendant did not name the expert whom he wished to testify. Although the defendant is usually required to identify fact witnesses by name, we are aware of no authority requiring the defendant to provide the name of a particular expert where the defendant claims that trial counsel failed to secure an expert in a named field of expertise. We thus do not agree that the defendant’s postconviction claim was facially insufficient.
Id. at 1289. Appellant’s motion sufficiently explained the relevance and substance of the expected testimony and alleged that the outcome of the proceedings would have been different.
The State in this appeal acknowledges that this matter should be remanded for the trial court to consider appellant’s other claims which were not addressed in the proceedings below. See Fla. R. Crim. P. 3.850(f)(3). We agree.
*613Accordingly, we reverse and remand for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.
Reversed and Remanded.
DAMOORGIAN, C.J., TAYLOR and MAY, JJ., concur.
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State v. Lucas, 183 So. 3d 1027 (Fla. 2016)…LABARGA, C.J. The State seeks review of the decision of the Fourth District Court of Appeal in Lucas v. State, 147 So. 3d 611 (Fla. 4th DCA 2014), on the ground that it expressly and directly conflicts with a decision of this Court, Nelson v. State, 875 So. 2d 579 (Fla.2004), on a question of law. We have [*1029] jurisdiction. See art. V, § 3(b)(3), Fla. Const. The questio…
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Rushawn Cooper v. State (Fla. 2d DCA 2022)
Authorities Cited
- Nelson v. State, 875 So. 2d 579 (Fla. 2004)
- Terrell v. State, 9 So. 3d 1284 (Fla. 4th DCA 2009)
- Brandin Christner v. State, 984 So. 2d 561 (Fla. 2d DCA 2008)