Anthony v. Singletary

839 F. Supp. 844, 1993 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 17232, 1993 WL 512047
CourtDistrict Court, M.D. Florida
DecidedDecember 6, 1993
DocketNo. 92-1150-CIV-T-17(A)
StatusPublished

This text of 839 F. Supp. 844 (Anthony v. Singletary) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, M.D. Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Anthony v. Singletary, 839 F. Supp. 844, 1993 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 17232, 1993 WL 512047 (M.D. Fla. 1993).

Opinion

ORDER

KOVACHEVTCH, District Judge.

PETITIONER SEEKS a writ of habeas corpus filed pursuant to Title 28, United States Code, Section 2254. Respondent filed a Response in which he. incorporated a request to dismiss the petition for writ of habeas corpus. Petitioner filed a Response to Respondent’s Motion to Dismiss, and subsequently filed a Motion for an Evidentiary Hearing Ad Testificandum. .

Petitioner challenges his conviction for sexual battery without a deadly weapon and unarmed burglary, imposed on or about May 30, 1989, in Pinellas County, Florida. The petition presents four grounds for relief: (1) conviction obtained by action of a grand jury or petit jury that was unconstitutionally selected and impaneled, (2) denial of effective assistance of counsel, (3) denial of a proposed jury instruction, and (4) prosecutorial mis-> conduct.

FACTS

James Lee Anthony (“Petitioner”) was charged with sexual battery with a deadly [846]*846weapon and armed burglary. On May 25, 1989, by jury verdict, Petitioner was found guilty of sexual battery without a deadly weapon and unarmed burglary. He was sentenced on May 30, 1989. Petitioner took a direct appeal of his judgment and sentence to the Second District Court of Appeal, raising three grounds for relief: (1) denial of directed verdict of acquittal, (2) denial of motion for mistrial, and (3) denial of proposed jury instruction. The Second District Court of Appeal affirmed on April 23, 1991. Anthony v. State, 577 So.2d 1333 (Fla. 2d DCA 1991).

On August 8, 1991, Petitioner filed a Motion for Post-Conviction Relief pursuant to Fla.R.Crim.P. 3.850. The motion was stricken because it was not properly sworn. Petitioner then filed a Motion For Rehearing, which was mooted when he subsequently filed a properly sworn Motion for Post-Conviction Relief on December 5, 1991.

The December 5, 1991, Motion for Post-Conviction Relief raised eight grounds for relief: (1) jury was unconstitutionally selected or impanelled, (2) ineffective assistance of trial counsel, (3) legality of sentence, (4) prosecutorial misconduct, (5) denial of petitioner’s proposed jury instruction, (6) insufficient evidence to sustain a conviction, (7) conviction obtained by the victim’s perjured testimony, and (8) limitation of cross-examination by defense counsel. The Court did not address the third ground because it was identical to a claim raised and considered in a separate Motion to Correct Sentence, pursuant to Fla.R.Crim.P. 3.800, which was granted on June 29, 1992. The court denied all other grounds. The Second District of Appeal affirmed with a brief opinion in Anthony v. State, 598 So.2d 149 (Fla. 2d DCA 1992).

Petitioner filed the instant, case on August 12, 1992, raising four grounds for relief: (1) conviction obtained by action of a grand jury or petit jury that was unconstitutionally selected and impaneled, (2) denial of effective assistance of counsel, (3) denial of a proposed jury instruction, and (4) prosecutorial misconduct.

Respondent admits that Petitioner has exhausted his state remedies.

I.- JURY WAS UNCONSTITUTIONALLY SELECTED

Petitioner’s first ground for relief is that the jury was unconstitutionally selected because no blacks served on the jury, and, therefore, that the jury was not a fair cross section of the community. However, this issue can not be reviewed because Petitioner is procedurally barred from raising this ground in this Court because he did not raise it on appeal. This circuit, in Johnson v. Singletary, 938 F.2d 1166, 1173 (11th Cir.1991) (citing Harris v. Reed, 489 U.S. 255, 263, 109 S.Ct. 1038, 1043, 103 L.Ed.2d 308 (1989)), held that: “[fjederal review of a petitioner’s claim is barred by the procedural default doctrine if the last state court to review the claim states clearly and expressly that its judgment rests on a procedural bar ... and that bar provides an adequate and independent state ground for denying relief.” See Coleman v. Thompson, — U.S. -, 111 S.Ct. 2546, 2551, 115 L.Ed.2d 640 (1991); McCoy v. Newsome, 953 F.2d 1252 (11th Cir.1992); cf. Breedlove v. Singletary, 595 So.2d 8, 9 (Fla.1992) (“Habeas corpus is not a second appeal and cannot be used to litigate or relitigate issues which could have been, should have been, or were raised on direct appeal.”)

In the instant case, Petitioner failed to allege a claim of unconstitutional jury selection on direct appeal. The circuit court in Pinellas County, in response to Petitioner’s December 5, 1991, Motion for Post-Conviction Relief held: “Defendant’s first ground states that his conviction was obtained by action of a grand or petit jury which was unconstitutionally selected or impanelled. Defendant is not entitled to relief, as this issue could have been, or should have been brought on appeal.”

Because Petitioner failed to allege an unconstitutional jury selection on appeal, and because the last state court to review Petitioner’s claim stated clearly and expressly that its judgment rested on a procedural bar, federal review of the claim is barred.

II. INEFFECTIVE ASSISTANCE OF COUNSEL

In his second ground for relief, Petitioner lists five circumstances in which he [847]*847contends Ms defense counsel, Morris Bomstein, was ineffective. In evaluating claims for ineffectiveness of counsel, the defendant must meet the two-pronged test set, forth by the Umted States Supreme Court in Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 104 S.Ct. 2052, 80 L.Ed.2d 674 (1984).

In Strickland, the court held that a Petitioner must establish that: (1) counsel’s performance was deficient; and (2) the deficient performance prejudiced the defense. Id. 466 U.S. at 687, 104 S.Ct. at 2064. Prejudice exists when, “there is a reasonable probability that, but for counsel’s unprofessional error, the result of the proceeding would have been different. A reasonable probability is a probability sufficient to undermine confidence in the outcome ...” Id. at 694, 104 S.Ct. at 2068. The standard for performance of counsel is that of reasonably effective assistance in light of all the circumstances. Id. at 689, 104 S.Ct. at 2065.

The reviewing court must judge the reasonableness of counsel’s conduct on the facts of the particular case. Id. at 690, 104 S.Ct. at 2066. There exists a “strong presumption that counsel’s conduct falls within the wide range of reasonable professional assistance.” Id. at 689, 104 S.Ct. ,at 2065. Moreover, tMs circuit has held that effective assistance does not mean errorless assistance and that counsel’s performance must be judged in light of the entire record rather than on specific acts. Green v. Zant, 738 F.2d 1529, 1536 (11th Cir.1984).

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Related

Strickland v. Washington
466 U.S. 668 (Supreme Court, 1984)
Harris v. Reed
489 U.S. 255 (Supreme Court, 1989)
Coleman v. Thompson
501 U.S. 722 (Supreme Court, 1991)
Roosevelt Green, Jr. v. Walter D. Zant
738 F.2d 1529 (Eleventh Circuit, 1984)
United States v. William David Lively
803 F.2d 1124 (Eleventh Circuit, 1986)
Henry Lee McCoy v. Lansom Newsome, Warden
953 F.2d 1252 (Eleventh Circuit, 1992)
Breedlove v. Singletary
595 So. 2d 8 (Supreme Court of Florida, 1992)
Anthony v. State
598 So. 2d 149 (District Court of Appeal of Florida, 1992)
United States v. McLain
823 F.2d 1457 (Eleventh Circuit, 1987)
United States v. Herring
955 F.2d 703 (Eleventh Circuit, 1992)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
839 F. Supp. 844, 1993 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 17232, 1993 WL 512047, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/anthony-v-singletary-flmd-1993.