Gordon v. Singletary

883 F. Supp. 671, 1995 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 5818, 1995 WL 254335
CourtDistrict Court, M.D. Florida
DecidedApril 28, 1995
DocketNo. 94-339-CIV-T-17A
StatusPublished

This text of 883 F. Supp. 671 (Gordon 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
Gordon v. Singletary, 883 F. Supp. 671, 1995 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 5818, 1995 WL 254335 (M.D. Fla. 1995).

Opinion

ORDER

KOVACHEVICH, District Judge.

This cause is before the Court on Petitioner’s Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254.

PROCEDURAL HISTORY

On May 4, 1983, Petitioner was arrested and charged with the robbery and first degree murder of an 85-year-old-woman, Sophie Biskup. On April 4, 1984, a jury found Petitioner guilty as charged. Petitioner was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum mandatory sentence of twenty-five years.

Petitioner took a direct appeal from his conviction. He raised one claim on appeal: Did the trial Court err in allowing prejudicial testimony concerning the arrest of appellant’s “girlfriend”? On March 1, 1985, the state appellate court affirmed his conviction. Gordon v. State, 467 So.2d 1004 (Fla. 2d DCA 1985).

Petitioner then filed a Rule 3.850 motion for post conviction relief, raising the following issues:

(1) Exclusion of Blacks from the Jury to My Prejudice. With no blacks on the jury, I was precluded from receiving a fair trial. This occurred with prosecution’s knowledge. The circumstances of the case meant certain conviction and sentence. The allusion to me and my girlfriend made me to appear as a pimp. Miss Patterson being an alleged prostitute and pregnant prejudiced the jury. Jurors were further influenced by age of victim, my race, and intimidated witness by threatening to send him to the electric chair. There is evi[673]*673dence in the record which shows promises or deals made with defendants.
(2) The state’s key witness was incompetent to give evidence due to insanity/Defendant was not sentenced for robbery. Documented court records show that Witness Jackson was not competent to stand trial. He has a record of mental illness, was under the influence of drugs, did not have accurate memory, could not maintain consistent explanation of facts in the ease. Witness Jackson had to repeatedly be re-questioned on same issues and only was motivated to speak freely when the death penalty was mentioned or was reminded of God. Mr. Jackson is and has been insane for many years by his own admission.
(3) Ineffective assistance of counsel who was court appointed/appellate counsel was ineffective. Both court appointed trial counsel and appellate counsel were ineffective in not appealing all white jury, for not appealing George Jackson’s state of mind, his use of drugs and the intimidation aspects used by the detectives on the case. Further, evidence was totally absent which showed Defendant actually took part in the crimes. The elements of the crimes were not satisfied by the needed proof. Both counsel knew or should have known that each criminal episode is to rest on its own facts and the facts were not sufficiently proven with evidence for conviction and sentence.
(4) Elements of crimes were not proved by evidence/jury instructions did not stipulate penalties for lesser included offenses. Reversible fundamental error occurred when each and every element of the offense were not satisfied by proof and evidence. The fact is, the jury instructions were incomplete in that the penalties for lesser included offenses were not included to my prejudice.
(5) Speedy trial had expired. Due to conflict of interest, Defendant suffered prejudice from not having motion for discharge filed. Defendant should not be prejudiced by conflict of interest which was no fault of his own.

On April 6, 1987, the state trial court denied the motion as time-barred.1 On May 22, 1987, the state appellate court per curiam affirmed the denial of the Rule 3.850 motion. Gordon v. State, 508 So.2d 17 (Fla. 2d DCA 1987).

Petitioner then filed a petition for habeas corpus relief in the state appellate court. Petitioner alleged ineffective assistance of both trial and appellate counsel. Petitioner claimed that he was factually innocent because the evidence against him was not credible 2 and that trial counsel was ineffective for not calling “three eye witnesses who could not put Petitioner at the scene of the crime” because the witnesses saw only two black men, not three, as they drove by in their car. Response, Exhibit 009. Petitioner’s application for habeas corpus relief was denied. Gordon v. Singletary, 630 So.2d 1109 (Fla. 2d DCA 1993). Response, Exhibit 010.

On May 18, 1993, Petitioner filed his first Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus in this Court. Petitioner raised the same ground that he raised in his direct appeal: Did the trial Court err in allowing prejudicial testimony concerning the arrest of appellant’s “girlfriend”? This Court dismissed the petition, without prejudice, on October 12, 1993.

Respondent has raised abuse of the writ as a defense to the present petition. However, because the Court dismissed the first petition without prejudice, the Court will not bar the present petition for abuse of the writ.

THE PRESENT PETITION

Petitioner raises the following grounds for habeas relief in the present petition:

(1) Denial of Effective Assistance of Counsel. There were three eye witnesses to said crime, and attorney (Defense) refused to have those witnesses in court. They [674]*674couldn’t place defendant at scene of crime. There would have been a different outcome at trial, if those three witnesses had testified.
(2) My constitutional right’s were violated. Fifth, Sixth, and Fourteenth Amendments, U.S. Constitution. Trial and Appellate counsel were ineffective, as trial counsel refused to have three eye witnesses to crime in court. None of those three witnesses could put Defendant at scene of crime, but did put two so called codefend-ants at scene of crime. Appellate counsel was ineffective, in that she would not bring this up on appeal, denying Defendant’s right to fair trial.

Ineffective Assistance of Trial Counsel

Petitioner seeks habeas relief based upon trial counsel’s failure to call three witnesses who he contends would have exonerated him. Petitioner raised this claim at the state court level in a petition for writ of habeas corpus. However, in the state court, allegations of ineffective assistance of trial counsel are not cognizable under a petition for writ of habeas corpus; instead, they are reviewable by motion for post conviction relief. Marshall v. Dugger, 526 So.2d 143, 145 (Fla. 2d DCA 1988).

Although Petitioner raised an ineffective assistance of trial counsel claim in his Rule 3.850 motion, he did not raise the issue he now raises in this Court: trial counsel’s failure to call three witnesses. A federal habeas petitioner may not present instances of ineffective assistance that the state court has not evaluated previously. Givens v. Green, 12 F.3d 1041 (11th Cir.1994). Therefore, Petitioner’s claim is procedurally barred in this court because the time for returning to state court to raise this issue in a Rule 3.850 motion has passed.

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Bluebook (online)
883 F. Supp. 671, 1995 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 5818, 1995 WL 254335, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/gordon-v-singletary-flmd-1995.