JOSEPH S. MCDONALD, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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Joseph McDonald appealed the trial court's denial of his post-conviction relief motion, challenging the summary dismissal of a claim that his defense counsel was ineffective for failing to object to prejudicial prosecutor comments. The appellate court found reversible error in the trial court's failure to attach trial transcript portions conclusively demonstrating McDonald was not entitled to relief on one ground.
The trial court reversibly erred in summarily denying ground 10 because it failed to provide attachments that conclusively showed McDonald was not entitled to relief. The court should have either attached portions of the record conclusively demonstrating McDonald was not entitled to relief or conducted an evidentiary hearing on the claim.
[1] A trial court reversibly errs in summarily denying a post-conviction relief claim when it fails to attach record attachments that conclusively show the defendant is not e…
[2] A post-conviction relief claim alleging ineffective assistance of counsel for failure to object to prosecutorial misconduct requires a showing of prejudice to be denied s…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“the trial court reversibly erred in summarily denying ground 10 of the defendant's post-conviction motion because the court failed to provide attachments that conclusively showed that the defendant was not entitled to receive any relief”
Statement of the primary legal error and the court's holding on the main issue
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceMcDonald filed a post-conviction relief motion under Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.850 raising multiple grounds for relief. In ground 10, he cl…
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Joseph McDonald (the defendant) appeals the final order entered by the trial court denying his claims for post-conviction relief. See Fla. R. Crim. P. 3.850. We conclude that the trial court reversibly erred in summarily denying ground 10 of *190the defendant’s post-conviction motion because the court failed to provide attachments that conclusively showed that the defendant was not entitled to receive any relief. In all other respects, the trial court’s order is affirmed.
In ground 10 of his motion, the defendant alleged that defense counsel was ineffective for failing to object to “inappropriate and prejudicial comments and cumulative errors” made by the prosecutor during trial. In summarily denying this claim, the trial court held that the claim was without merit because the defendant failed to demonstrate prejudice resulting from the prosecutor’s comments and that the comments were “either non-objectionable or a fair comment on the defense theory or evidence adduced at trial.” The defendant challenges the trial court’s ruling, arguing that reversal of the summary denial is warranted because the court failed to attach portions of the trial transcript conclusively refuting the claim. We agree. Accordingly, the trial court’s summary denial of ground 10 is reversed and this matter remanded for the court to either attach portions of the record that demonstrate conclusively that the defendant is not entitled to receive post-conviction relief on ground 10 or to conduct an evidentiary hearing thereon. See Goswick v. State, 658 So.2d 1215 (Fla. 1st DCA 1995).
AFFIRMED in part; REVERSED in part; REMANDED.
PALMER, EVANDER and LAMBERT, JJ., concur.
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Citator
Authorities Cited
- Wright v. Scott, 658 So. 2d 1215 (Fla. 1st DCA 1995)
- Goswick v. State, 658 So. 2d 1215 (Fla. 1st DCA 1995)