Foster v. State

810 So. 2d 910, 2002 WL 220633
CourtSupreme Court of Florida
DecidedFebruary 14, 2002
DocketSC01-240, SC01-767
StatusPublished
Cited by72 cases

This text of 810 So. 2d 910 (Foster v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Foster v. State, 810 So. 2d 910, 2002 WL 220633 (Fla. 2002).

Opinion

810 So.2d 910 (2002)

Charles Kenneth FOSTER, Appellant,
v.
STATE of Florida, Appellee.
Charles Kenneth Foster, Petitioner,
v.
Michael W. Moore, etc., et al., Respondents.

Nos. SC01-240, SC01-767.

Supreme Court of Florida.

February 14, 2002.

*912 Joseph F. McDermott, St. Pete Beach, FL, for Appellant/Petitioner.

Robert A. Butterworth, Attorney General, and Charmaine M. Millsaps, Assistant Attorney General, Tallahassee, FL, for Appellee/Respondent.

PER CURIAM.

Charles Kenneth Foster, a prisoner under the sentence of death, appeals an order entered by the trial court denying his postconviction motion filed pursuant to Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.850. Foster also petitions this Court for writ of habeas corpus. We have jurisdiction. See art. V, § 3(b)(1), (9), Fla. Const. These cases have been consolidated. We affirm the trial court's denial of postconviction relief, and we deny habeas relief.

PROCEEDINGS TO DATE

The prior proceedings in this case have been extensive, both in the trial court and on appeal. The facts are set out in detail in Foster v. State, 369 So.2d 928 (Fla.1979). Foster was convicted of the first-degree murder and robbery of Julian Lanier, and, after the jury recommended death, the trial court sentenced him to death. See id. at 931. Foster's conviction and sentence were affirmed by this Court. See id. at 932.

This Court subsequently affirmed the trial court's denial of Foster's first postconviction motion, see Foster v. State, 400 So.2d 1 (Fla.1981), and also affirmed the trial court's denial of Foster's second postconviction motion. See Foster v. State, 518 So.2d 901 (Fla.1987). However, this Court granted Foster's habeas petition and remanded for a new sentencing proceeding based on a Hitchcock[1] error. See id. at 902. Foster's resentencing jury recommended death by an eight-to-four vote *913 and the trial court imposed a death sentence. See Foster v. State, 614 So.2d 455, 458 (Fla.1992). In addition, pending resentencing, Foster filed a third postconviction motion, which the trial court summarily denied. See id. Upon review of the denial of postconviction relief and of resentencing, this Court affirmed the denial of Foster's third postconviction motion, but vacated Foster's death sentence and remanded the case for the trial court to enter a new sentencing order consistent with Rogers v. State, 511 So.2d 526 (Fla. 1987), and Campbell v. State, 571 So.2d 415 (Fla.1990). See Foster, 614 So.2d at 465.

Pursuant to our remand, the trial court entered a new sentencing order, reimposing the death sentence, and this Court subsequently affirmed the sentence. See Foster v. State, 654 So.2d 112, 113 (Fla. 1995). The trial court found three statutory aggravators: (1) the murder was committed while Foster was engaged in the commission of or attempt to commit robbery; (2) the crime was especially heinous, atrocious, or cruel; and (3) the murder was committed in a cold, calculated, and premeditated manner (CCP). See id. at 113-14. The trial court found fourteen nonstatutory mitigators: (1) Foster murdered Lanier while he was under the influence of emotional or mental disturbance (little weight); (2) Foster's capacity to appreciate the criminality of his conduct or to conform his conduct to the requirement of the law was impaired (little weight); (3) Foster has an abusive family background (very little weight); (4) Foster's poverty (very little weight); (5) Foster's physical illnesses (very little weight); (6) Foster's love for, and love by, his family (very little weight); (7) Foster's alcohol and/or drug addiction (very little weight); (8) Foster's troubled personal life (very little weight); (9) Foster's physical injuries (very little weight); (10) Foster's lack of childhood development (very little weight); (11) Foster's struggle with the death of loved ones (very little weight); (12) Foster's learning disabilities; (13) Foster's potential for positive sustained human relationships (very little weight); and (14) Foster's remorse for the crime (very little weight). See id. at 113 n. 5.

THIS APPEAL AND PROCEEDING

On September 7, 1999, Foster filed his fourth 3.850 motion, which represents the first 3.850 motion filed after the trial court entered a new sentencing order pursuant to our remand citing Campbell.[2] A Huff[3] preliminary hearing on this motion was held on November 27, 2000. On December 29, 2000, the trial court summarily denied the motion on all grounds.[4] Foster *914 now appeals the trial court's summary denial of his fourth 3.850 motion, alleging that the trial court erred in denying him an evidentiary hearing, and he petitions this Court separately for a writ of habeas corpus.

3.850 APPEAL

Foster's claims on appeal from the summary denial of his 3.850 motion may be summarized as: (1) the trial court erred by denying without a hearing Foster's claim that his right to an impartial jury was violated; (2) the trial court erred by denying without a hearing Foster's claim that his conviction violated double jeopardy; (3) the trial court erred by denying without a hearing Foster's Brady claim; (4) the trial court erred by denying without a hearing Foster's claim that the twenty-three years that Foster has spent on death row constitute cruel and unusual punishment; and (5) the Florida Supreme Court engaged in a constitutionally flawed harmless error analysis in Foster v. State, 654 So.2d 112 (Fla.1995).

This Court has summarized the standard of review for summary denial of a 3.850 claim:

To uphold the trial court's summary denial of claims raised in a 3.850 motion, the claims must be either facially invalid or conclusively refuted by the record. Further, where no evidentiary hearing is held below, we must accept the defendant's factual allegations to the extent they are not refuted by the record.

Peede v. State, 748 So.2d 253, 257 (Fla. 1999) (citations omitted). However, this Court has also held the following:

A motion for postconviction relief can be denied without an evidentiary hearing when the motion and the record conclusively demonstrate that the movant is entitled to no relief. A defendant may not simply file a motion for postconviction relief containing conclusory allegations that his or her trial counsel was ineffective and then expect to receive an evidentiary hearing. The defendant must allege specific facts that, when considering the totality of the circumstances, are not conclusively rebutted by the record and that demonstrate a deficiency on the part of counsel which is detrimental to the defendant.

Kennedy v. State, 547 So.2d 912, 913 (Fla. 1989) (citations omitted).

We affirm the trial court's summary denial of Foster's 3.850 claims, as they each fall into one of three categories: procedurally barred, without merit, or conclusively refuted by the record.

RIGHT TO AN IMPARTIAL JURY

Foster claims the trial court erred by summarily denying the claim that his right to have an impartial jury was violated because a fair cross-section of the community was not available to serve on his jury due to the trial judge excusing a certain class of prospective jurors.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
810 So. 2d 910, 2002 WL 220633, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/foster-v-state-fla-2002.