Dorn v. Singletary

26 F. Supp. 2d 1335, 1998 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 17834, 1998 WL 793424
CourtDistrict Court, M.D. Florida
DecidedNovember 6, 1998
DocketNo. 96-1838-CIV-T-17C
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 26 F. Supp. 2d 1335 (Dorn 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
Dorn v. Singletary, 26 F. Supp. 2d 1335, 1998 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 17834, 1998 WL 793424 (M.D. Fla. 1998).

Opinion

ORDER

KOVACHEVTCH, Chief Judge.

This cause is before the Court on Petitioner’s 28 U.S.C. § 2254 petition for writ of habeas corpus. Petitioner challenges his conviction rendered in the Sixth Judicial Circuit in and for Pinellas County, Florida. Petitioner was convicted by jury trial of at[1338]*1338tempted first-degree murder of Willie Young and armed robbery with a firearm, as charged by Indictment. On August 7, 1991, the court sentenced Petitioner as an habitual offender for a term of imprisonment of thirty-five years for each offense, sentences to run concurrently with one another.

PROCEDURAL HISTORY
Petitioner appealed his conviction to the Second District Court of Appeal, raising two issues:
ISSUE ONE
THE EVIDENCE WAS INSUFFICIENT TO SUSTAIN A CONVICTION FOR ATTEMPTED FIRST-DEGREE MURDER.
ISSUE TWO
THE LOWER COURT ERRED IN ADMITTING IMPROPER HEARSAY.

The Second District Court of Appeal affirmed, per curiam, without a written opinion, on May 1,1992. (Doc. No. 5)

On December 3, 1993, Petitioner filed a Rule 3.850 Motion for Post-conviction Relief in the trial court. Then, on January 24, 1995, Petitioner filed a Motion for Leave to Amend his post-conviction relief motion.

Petitioner raised the following grounds for relief in the Rule 3.850 motion:

GROUND ONE
THE TRIAL COURT COMMITTED FUNDAMENTAL ERROR IN DENYING PETITIONER A SPEEDY TRIAL AND IN FAILING TO RULE ON PETITIONER’S MOTION FOR SPEEDY TRIAL AND MOTION FOR DISCHARGE.
GROUND TWO
PETITIONER RECEIVED INEFFECTIVE ASSISTANCE OF COUNSEL BECAUSE COUNSEL OF RECORD FAILED TO 1) OBJECT TO THE ADMISSION OF A FIREARM INTO EVIDENCE, 2) OBJECT TO THE JURY INSTRUCTIONS, 3) REQUEST ALL NECESSARY INCLUDED OFFENSES OF ATTEMPTED FIRST-DEGREE MURDER AND ARMED ROBBERY, 4) INCLUDE RECORDS OF VOIR DIRE, OPENING AND CLOSING STATEMENTS, AND JURY INSTRUCTIONS ON APPEAL, AND 5) MOVE TO HAVE PETITIONER SENTENCED UNDER THE YOUTHFUL OFFENDER ACT.
GROUND THREE
THE TRIAL COURT COMMITTED ERROR IN MISCALCULATING PETITIONER’S POINTS ON HIS PRIOR RECORD.

On March 29, 1995, the trial court denied the Rule 3.850 motion without an evidentiary hearing. The court found that Ground One “should have been raised on direct appeal and thus is improper to raise under Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.850.” (Doc. No. 17) As to Ground Two, the trial court found that Petitioner did not show how the omissions that he listed constituted ineffectiveness or that the result would have been different without the alleged ineffectiveness. The trial court found that Petitioner failed to show any prejudice, and therefore denied this claim. The trial court found that there was no merit to the assertions in Ground Three, as Petitioner failed to show any miscalculation, and Petitioner was properly sentenced.

Petitioner appealed the trial court’s judgment, and the Second District of Appeal affirmed, per curiam, without a written opinion, on August 25,1995. (Doc. No. 5, Exhibit 007)

On May 11, 1995, Petitioner filed a state petition for writ of habeas corpus, raising one ground for relief:

GROUND ONE
PETITIONER RECEIVED INEFFECTIVE ASSISTANCE OF COUNSEL ON APPEAL BECAUSE COUNSEL OF RECORD HAD NOT MOVED TO SUPPLEMENT THE RECORD WITH MATERIALS THAT TRIAL COUNSEL HAD OMITTED WHEN THE RECORD WAS MADE UP FOR APPEAL. (Doc. No. 5, Exhibit 008)

[1339]*1339The Second District Court of Appeal denied Petitioner’s petition for writ of habeas corpus. (Doe. No. 5, Exhibit 010)

Petitioner then filed the present federal petition for writ of habeas corpus in which he raises four grounds for habeas relief:

GROUND ONE
THE TRIAL COURT COMMITTED FUNDAMENTAL ERROR IN DENYING PETITIONER A SPEEDY TRIAL AND IN FAILING TO RULE ON PETITIONER’S MOTION FOR SPEEDY TRIAL AND MOTION FOR DISCHARGE.
GROUND TWO
THE EVIDENCE WAS INSUFFICIENT TO SUSTAIN AN ATTEMPTED FIRST-DEGREE MURDER CONVICTION.
GROUND THREE
THE TRIAL COURT ERRED IN ADMITTING IMPROPER HEARSAY AND COMMENTS ON PETITIONER’S RIGHT TO REMAIN SILENT.
GROUND FOUR
PETITIONER RECEIVED INEFFECTIVE ASSISTANCE OF COUNSEL BECAUSE COUNSEL OF RECORD FAILED TO OBJECT TO JURY INSTRUCTIONS.

Respondent responded to the petition. (Doc. No. 5) Respondent contends that all four grounds of Petitioner’s present petition for writ of habeas corpus are procedurally barred. Respondent claims that Ground One is procedurally barred because it was not raised on direct appeal. Respondent contends that Ground Two is procedurally barred because Petitioner raised the issue as a matter of state law in his appellate brief, and cannot now raise the issue as a matter of constitutional law in a timely appeal. Respondent claims that Ground Three is procedurally barred because Petitioner did not object at trial to the incriminating line of questioning and the statements involved on the ground that they violated his right to remain silent; rather Petitioner objected at trial on hearsay grounds. Respondent claims that Ground Four is procedurally barred because Petitioner did not raise the issue in his Rule 3.850 Motion and cannot go back and do so now because of the State’s Successive Petition Doctrine.

Petitioner responded to Respondent’s response. (Doc. No. 11) Petitioner did not address Respondent’s assertion that Ground One was procedurally barred. Instead, Petitioner elaborated on Ground One, claiming that because so much time had passed between the alleged crime and the trial, the victim “chose to guess at certain questions,” because he could not remember how the events really happened. (Doc. No. 11) Petitioner contends that Ground Two is not pro-eedurally barred because he raised the issue on direct appeal. Petitioner claims that Ground Three is not procedurally barred because he objected at trial on both hearsay grounds and on the ground that the evidence was a comment on his right to remain silent. Petitioner does not address Respondent’s assertion that Ground Four is procedurally barred.

DISCUSSION

Procedural Default

In Tower v. Phillips, 7 F.3d 206 (11th Cir.1993), the court stated:

Federal courts are precluded from addressing claims that have been held to be procedurally defaulted under state law. Coleman v. Thompson, 501 U.S. 722, 729-30, 111 S.Ct. 2546, 2554, 115 L.Ed.2d 640 (1991).

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Bluebook (online)
26 F. Supp. 2d 1335, 1998 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 17834, 1998 WL 793424, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/dorn-v-singletary-flmd-1998.