AARON S. HOPE, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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Aaron Hope appeals the denial of his post-conviction motion for relief under Florida Rule 3.850, claiming ineffective assistance of counsel. The appellate court affirmed most of his claims but reversed and remanded one claim regarding counsel's failure to promptly convey his acceptance of a seven-year plea offer to the prosecutor.
The court affirmed the denial of most claims but reversed the summary denial of the ineffective assistance claim related to the plea offer communication and remanded that claim for an evidentiary hearing, finding that the post-conviction court's order did not conclusively refute the possibility of deficient performance and prejudice.
[1] A post-conviction court's summary denial of a motion for relief is affirmed in part and reversed in part when some claims are conclusively refuted by the record, while ot…
[2] A claim of ineffective assistance of counsel based on trial counsel's failure to promptly ascertain and convey a defendant's wish to accept a plea offer may require an ev…
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“Given the record evidence that Hope was sentenced to more than seven years' incarceration, the State recognizes that the post-conviction court's order and attachments did not conclusively refute the possibility that trial counsel performed deficiently, resulting in prejudice to the defense.”
Establishes the court's finding that the lower court's summary denial did not adequately address whether counsel was ineffective in communicating the plea offer.
Previewing 1 of 2 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceHope was sentenced to more than seven years in prison. At the time of sentencing, the State had offered a seven-year plea deal. Hope claims his trial …
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Aaron Hope appeals a final order summarily denying his sworn motion for post-conviction relief. As to Hope’s eleven issues on appeal, we affirm without discussion the denial of the claims that gave rise to appellate Issues Two through Five and Seven through Eleven., We issued an order pursuant to Toler v. State, 493 So.2d 489 (Fla. 1st DCA 1986), directing the State to show cause why the claims raised in appellate Issues One and Six should not be remanded to the post-conviction court for an evidentiary hearing, and affording Hope an opportunity to reply to the State’s response. Having reviewed the response and reply relating to the “jury instruction” claim raised in appellate Issue Six, we affirm the denial of relief on that issue. Agreeing with the State’s concession of error in the post-conviction court’s summary denial of appellate Issue One, we reverse that part of the order and remand for an evidentiary hearing on that issue only.
Appellate Issue One, which arose from Ground One in the Rule 3.850 motion, dealt with the claim of ineffective assistance based on trial counsel’s failure (1) to promptly ascertain Hope’s wish to accept the State’s seven-year plea offer and (2) to convey Hope’s decision to the prosecutor before the offer expired. Given the record evidence that Hope was sentenced to more than seven years’ incarceration, the State recognizes that the post-conviction court’s order and attachments did not conclusively refute the possibility that trial counsel performed deficiently, resulting in prejudice *131to the defense. Cf White v. State, 731 So.2d 74, 75 (Fla. 2d DCA 1999) (reversing and remanding for reconsideration of post-conviction claim that trial counsel was ineffective for the delay in communicating to the State the defendant’s acceptance of the State’s 52-month plea offer until after the State withdrew its offer, where the defendant alleged he would have received a less severe sentence than the one imposed after the trial).
The final order is AFFIRMED in part, REVERSED in part, and REMANDED for an evidentiary hearing as to appellate Issue One only.
THOMAS, RAY, and OSTERHAUS, JJ., concur.
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Citator
Authorities Cited
- Toler v. State, 493 So. 2d 489 (Fla. 1st DCA 1986)
- White v. State, 731 So. 2d 74 (Fla. 2d DCA 1999)