Floyd v. State

17 P.3d 880, 135 Idaho 379, 2000 Ida. App. LEXIS 95
CourtIdaho Court of Appeals
DecidedDecember 8, 2000
DocketNo. 25772
StatusPublished

This text of 17 P.3d 880 (Floyd v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Idaho Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Floyd v. State, 17 P.3d 880, 135 Idaho 379, 2000 Ida. App. LEXIS 95 (Idaho Ct. App. 2000).

Opinion

PERRY, Chief Judge.

James Allen Floyd appeals from the district court’s order dismissing his application for post-conviction relief. For the reasons set forth below, we affirm.

I.

BACKGROUND

In July 1992, a jury found Floyd guilty of rape and kidnapping in the second degree. He was sentenced to concurrent unified terms of ten years, with minimum periods of incarceration of two years. Floyd filed an I.C.R. 35 motion for reduction of sentence, which was denied. Floyd appealed to this Court, which affirmed his judgments of conviction and sentences. See State v. Floyd, 125 Idaho 651, 873 P.2d 905 (Ct.App.1994).

On September 23, 1994, Floyd filed a pro se application for post-conviction relief pursuant to the Uniform Post-Conviction Procedure Act (UPCPA). Floyd was appointed counsel to pursue his post-conviction claims. Following an evidentiary hearing, the district court issued an order denying Floyd’s application for post-conviction relief. Floyd appeals, challenging the district court’s denial of relief on two of his stated claims.

II.

ANALYSIS

An application for post-conviction relief initiates a proceeding which is civil in nature. State v. Bearshield, 104 Idaho 676, 678, 662 P.2d 548, 550 (1983); Murray v. State, 121 Idaho 918, 921, 828 P.2d 1323,1326 (Ct.App.1992). In order to prevail in a post-conviction proceeding, the applicant must prove the allegations by a preponderance of the evidence. I.C. § 19-4907; Stuart v. State, 118 Idaho 865, 801 P.2d 1216 (1990).

In reviewing the district court’s granting or denying of post-conviction relief following a hearing as provided in I.C. § 19-4907, we must view the evidence in the light most favorable to the trial court’s findings. Howard v. State, 126 Idaho 231, 233, 880 P.2d 261, 263 (Ct.App.1994). We will not disturb the lower court’s factual findings unless they are clearly erroneous. I.R.C.P. 52(a); Russell v. State, 118 Idaho 65, 794 P.2d 654 (Ct.App.1990). The credibility of the witnesses, the weight to be given to their testimony, and the inferences to be drawn from the evidence are all matters solely within the province of the district court. Larkin v. State, 115 Idaho 72, 764 P.2d 439 (Ct.App.1988). We exercise free review of the district court’s application of the relevant law to the facts. Nellsch v. State, 122 Ida2o 426, 434, 835 P.2d 661, 669 (Ct.App.1992).

Specifically, Floyd argues that the district court erred when it determined that he had not received ineffective assistance of counsel during the underlying criminal trial. A claim of ineffective assistance of counsel may properly be brought under the post-conviction procedure act. Murray, 121 Idaho at 924-25, 828 P.2d at 1329-30. In order to prove a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel, an applicant must show that the attorney’s conduct fell below an objective standard of reasonableness. Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 687-88, 104 S.Ct. 2052, 2064, 80 L.Ed.2d 674, 693 (1984); Aragon v. State, 114 Idaho 758, 760, 760 P.2d 1174, 1176 (1988). There is a strong presumption that trial counsel’s performance falls within the wide range of “professional assistance.” Aragon, 114 Idaho at 760, 760 P.2d at 1176. An applicant must not only show incompetence, but must also show that the deficient conduct so undermined the proper functioning of the adversarial process that the trial cannot be relied upon as having produced a just result. Ivey v. State, 123 [381]*381Idaho 77, 80, 844 P.2d 706, 709 (1992). In order for the applicant to.satisfy the second prong of the Strickland test, he or she must establish that there is a reasonable probability that the outcome of the trial would have been different. Aragon, 114 Idaho at 761, 760 P.2d at 1177.

Floyd asserts that his trial counsel rendered ineffective assistance of counsel by failing to adequately object to the investigating officer’s participation during voir dire and the jury selection phase of the trial. The record reflects that the officer was not involved in serving a jury summons on any member of Floyd’s jury panel, that the officer was not in any way involved in the selection of the jury pool for Floyd’s case, and that the officer did not make any statements directly to the jury panel during the process of voir dire. The record indicates that the investigating officer was present, however, at the prosecution’s table during voir dire. The officer testified that during voir dire and jury selection if he “felt there was a problem [with a potential juror], I would either whisper that thought to [the prosecuting attorney] or if I thought there was something positive I would whisper, and/or ... I may have written some comments one way or the other about that person.” The record also shows that pursuant to a request by Floyd’s trial counsel and upon counsel’s withdrawal of his initial objection, the prosecutor informed the jury that the investigating officer was present only to aid the prosecution in selecting a jury and not as a law enforcement officer.

After listening to the testimony of the investigating officer at the evidentiary hearing, the district court determined that the officer “was present to aid the prosecution in selecting a jury by using his personal knowledge, wherever possible, to suggest possible prejudice in any prospective juror.” The district court concluded that Floyd’s allegation of ineffective assistance of counsel failed under both prongs of the Strickland analysis. The district court found that Floyd failed to present any evidence to support his claim that the prosecution’s use of the investigating officer’s knowledge during jury selection was prejudicial error. The district court further concluded that Floyd failed to show that the conduct of his trial counsel in withdrawing his objection fell outside the bounds of reasonable professional assistance and sound trial strategy. The district court also concluded that Floyd failed to show that there was a reasonable probability that the outcome of the trial would have been different but for the investigating officer’s participation during voir dire and jury selection.

Our review of the record indicates that there is substantial and competent evidence to support the district court’s findings. As support for his assertion that his trial counsel’s decision to withdraw his objection was based on ignorance of the law or lack of preparation, we note that Floyd cites cases which dealt with actual police participation in the selection of standby jurors. See Russell v. Wyrick, 736 F.2d 462 (8th Cir.1984); Anderson v. Frey,

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Related

Strickland v. Washington
466 U.S. 668 (Supreme Court, 1984)
Ross v. Oklahoma
487 U.S. 81 (Supreme Court, 1988)
United States v. Martinez-Salazar
528 U.S. 304 (Supreme Court, 2000)
James Russell v. Donald Wyrick
736 F.2d 462 (Eighth Circuit, 1984)
Nellsch v. State
835 P.2d 661 (Idaho Court of Appeals, 1992)
Larkin v. State
764 P.2d 439 (Idaho Court of Appeals, 1988)
Murray v. State
828 P.2d 1323 (Idaho Court of Appeals, 1992)
Aragon v. State
760 P.2d 1174 (Idaho Supreme Court, 1988)
State v. Floyd
873 P.2d 905 (Idaho Court of Appeals, 1994)
Russell v. State
794 P.2d 654 (Idaho Court of Appeals, 1990)
Ivey v. State
844 P.2d 706 (Idaho Supreme Court, 1992)
State v. Finlayson
2000 UT 10 (Utah Supreme Court, 2000)
State v. Finlayson
956 P.2d 283 (Court of Appeals of Utah, 1998)
Stuart v. State
801 P.2d 1216 (Idaho Supreme Court, 1990)
State v. Bearshield
662 P.2d 548 (Idaho Supreme Court, 1983)
Howard v. State
880 P.2d 261 (Idaho Court of Appeals, 1994)

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Bluebook (online)
17 P.3d 880, 135 Idaho 379, 2000 Ida. App. LEXIS 95, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/floyd-v-state-idahoctapp-2000.