Jimmie M. Evans v. the State of Florida

• Court: District Court of Appeal of Florida
• Decided: July 16, 2025
• Docket: 3D2024-1199
• Status: Published

Opinion

Third District Court of Appeal State of Florida

Opinion filed July 16, 2025. Not final until disposition of timely filed motion for rehearing.

________________

No. 3D24-1199 Lower Tribunal No. F11-16168 ________________

Jimmie M. Evans, Appellant,

vs.

The State of Florida, Appellee.

An Appeal from the Circuit Court for Miami-Dade County, Milton Hirsch, Judge.

Jimmie M. Evans, in proper person.

James Uthmeier, Attorney General, and David Llanes, Assistant Attorney General, for appellee.

Before SCALES, C.J., and LINDSEY and GORDO, JJ.

PER CURIAM. Affirmed. See Castro v. State, 240 So. 3d 877, 878 (Fla. 5th DCA

2018) (“A defendant is entitled to an evidentiary hearing on a claim that

counsel was ineffective for failing to call a witness to testify unless the motion

is conclusively refuted by the record or is otherwise procedurally barred.”);

Occhicone v. State, 768 So. 2d 1037, 1048 (Fla. 2000) (“[S]trategic decisions

do not constitute ineffective assistance of counsel if alternative courses have

been considered and rejected and counsel’s decision was reasonable under

the norms of professional conduct.”); Thomas v. State, 121 So. 3d 71, 74

(Fla. 3d DCA 2013) (“A decision not to raise certain possible defenses or call

certain defense witnesses is ordinarily a matter of personal judgment and

strategy within the prerogatives of defense counsel.” (quoting State v. Eby,

342 So. 2d 1087, 1089 (Fla. 2d DCA 1977))); Brown v. State, 907 So. 2d

612, 613 (Fla. 3d DCA 2005) (“The record reflects that the failure of defense

counsel to call the alibi witnesses was a tactical decision . . . . [A]s the record

conclusively refutes the defendant’s claim that defense counsel provided

ineffective assistance of counsel, we affirm the order denying the

defendant’s motion for postconviction relief.”).