Barbaro Heriberto Mesa-Rodriguez v. State of Florida

• Court: District Court of Appeal of Florida
• Decided: October 10, 2025
• Docket: 6D2023-3616
• Status: Published

Opinion

SIXTH DISTRICT COURT OF APPEAL STATE OF FLORIDA _____________________________

Case No. 6D2023-3616 Lower Tribunal No. 16-CF-000392 _____________________________

BARBARO HERIBERTO MESA-RODRIGUEZ,

Appellant,

v.

STATE OF FLORIDA,

Appellee. _____________________________

Appeal pursuant to Fla. R. App. P. 9.141(b)(2) from the Circuit Court for Lee County. Robert Branning, Judge.

October 10, 2025

GANNAM, J.

Barbaro Heriberto Mesa-Rodriguez appeals the trial court’s summary denial

of his motion for postconviction relief under Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure

3.850. His motion asserted nine grounds for relief based on ineffective assistance of

trial counsel and one ground based on cumulative error. We agree with the trial court

that ground 8 was insufficiently pleaded for failing to “provide any elaboration or

detail on what the victim could have been impeached on or which prior statements

were inconsistent with her trial testimony.” But we disagree that ground 8, as pleaded, is conclusively refuted by the record. Accordingly, we reverse the order

denying Mesa-Rodriguez’s motion as to ground 8 and remand for the trial court to

allow Mesa-Rodriguez at least one opportunity to amend it if he can, in good faith,

correct its deficiencies. See Spera v. State, 971 So. 2d 754, 761–62 (Fla. 2007). We

affirm the denial as to all other grounds in the motion.

AFFIRMED in part; REVERSED in part; REMANDED with instructions.

WHITE and MIZE, JJ., concur.

Ana M. Davide, of Ana M. Davide, P.A., Coral Gables, for Appellant.

James Uthmeier, Attorney General, Tallahassee, and David Campbell, Assistant Attorney General, Tampa, for Appellee.

NOT FINAL UNTIL TIME EXPIRES TO FILE MOTION FOR REHEARING AND DISPOSITION THEREOF IF TIMELY FILED