Moore v. State

132 So. 3d 718, 38 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 869, 2013 WL 6223205, 2013 Fla. LEXIS 2607
CourtSupreme Court of Florida
DecidedNovember 27, 2013
DocketNo. SC12-459
StatusPublished
Cited by19 cases

This text of 132 So. 3d 718 (Moore 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
Moore v. State, 132 So. 3d 718, 38 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 869, 2013 WL 6223205, 2013 Fla. LEXIS 2607 (Fla. 2013).

Opinion

PER CURIAM.

This case is before the Court on appeal from an order denying Thomas James [721]*721Moore’s second successive motion to vacate his judgment of conviction for first-degree murder and sentence of death, filed pursuant to Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.851. Because the order concerns postconviction relief from a capital conviction for which a sentence of death was imposed, this Court has jurisdiction of the appeal under article V, section 3(b)(1), of the Florida Constitution. For the reasons set forth below, we affirm the denial of postconviction relief.

FACTS

The facts were summarized by this Court on direct appeal as follows:

Moore [who was nineteen years old at the time of the crime] was convicted of robbing and killing Johnny Parrish — an adult resident of his neighborhood — and burning down Parrish’s house. The two were friends, and Moore occasionally visited Parrish’s home. On January 21, 1993, at about 3 p.m., Moore sat outside Parrish’s house drinking with the victim. Moore claims that two other youths, Clemons and Gaines, approached the house. Moore claimed he saw the pair chase a neighborhood youth named “Little Terry” with a gun earlier that day, but Clemons denied it at trial. Clemons and Gaines testified that they had a conversation with Moore about robbing Parrish. Clemons said he agreed to go in the house with Moore, and Gaines was to be the lookout. Gaines said he stood outside but did not see either man go in. He said he heard two shots and then saw Clemons come out of the house and go back in. When Gaines started to walk away, Clemons caught up with him and told him Moore had shot Parrish.
Clemons said that when he and Moore went into the house, Moore pulled out a gun. Moore asked Parrish where his money was and then shot him when he got no response. Later, neighbors saw smoke in Parrish’s house and ran in and pulled out Parrish. Parrish was already dead when exposed to the fire, and a fire investigator, Captain Mattox, said that there were two separate fires in the house, both of which were intentionally set.
A witness named Shorter testified that Moore brought him a bag of clothes and asked him to burn them. Shorter also testified that Moore told him he had shot Parrish and set fire to the house. Shorter stated that Moore said he shot Parrish twice, that Clemons ran out of the house, and that Moore took the top off a lawn mower he found and set it on fire to clean the house of fingerprints. Shorter did not call the police but did call his mother, who called the police.
A jail inmate, Jackson, testified that Moore told him that he did not mean to kill Parrish but had to because Parrish would recognize him. Another neighbor, Dean, testified that Moore asked him to rob Parrish.
At the penalty phase, the State submitted evidence of Moore’s prior convictions of armed robbery and aggravated battery. Also, the State called Parrish’s daughter for “victim impact evidence” limited to the fact that Parrish was a good man. The defense called Moore’s mother, who testified that Moore was a bright child who had been troubled because his father, who had died when Moore was young, was married to another woman. Other family and friends testified that Moore had been a good student and a polite young man.

Moore v. State, 701 So.2d 545, 547-48 (Fla.1997). The jury convicted Moore of first-degree murder, among other crimes, and, after hearing the evidence presented in the penalty phase, recommended death by a vote of nine to three. The trial court [722]*722sentenced Moore to death, finding three aggravators: (1) a prior violent felony; (2) the murder was committed to avoid arrest; and (3) the murder was committed for pecuniary gain.

Moore subsequently filed an initial post-conviction motion, which was summarily denied. This Court affirmed the denial of postconviction relief and denied his petition for a writ of habeas corpus. See Moore v. State, 820 So.2d 199 (Fla.2002). After the United States Supreme Court issued its decision in Ring v. Arizona, 536 U.S. 584, 122 S.Ct. 2428, 153 L.Ed.2d 556 (2002), Moore filed a successive postconviction motion arguing that he was entitled to relief under Ring. This Court affirmed the denial of relief. Moore v. State, 886 So.2d 227 (Fla.2004) (table decision). Moore filed two additional petitions for a writ of habeas corpus, both of which were denied. Moore v. Crosby, 923 So.2d 1163 (Fla.2005) (table decision); Moore v. Crosby, 900 So.2d 554 (Fla.2004) (table decision).

Moore then instituted this second successive postconviction motion, raising three claims: (1) the State intentionally presented false evidence at trial with regard to witness Randy Jackson; (2) Moore is entitled to a new trial based on Brady,1 Giglio2, ineffective assistance of counsel, and newly discovered evidence, which establishes that Moore is innocent because Moore’s codefendants confessed to other juvenile inmates that Carlos Clemons killed the victim and blamed Moore, who was not even present; and (3) Moore’s conviction violates due process, as newly discovered evidence establishes Moore’s innocence. Moore amended his second successive postconviction motion numerous times.

The postconviction court held an eviden-tiary hearing, during which both defense counsel and the State presented witnesses in support of their respective positions. After the postconviction court denied relief, Moore appealed to this Court. Based upon a thorough examination of the record and having fully reviewed the arguments of the parties, we reject all of the issues raised by Moore and affirm the postconviction court’s denial of relief.

ANALYSIS

In this appeal, Moore raises two claims: (1) the State knowingly presented false or misleading evidence that it failed to correct at Moore’s trial in violation of Giglio; and (2) newly discovered evidence establishes that Moore is innocent.3 Pursuant to Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.851, any motion to vacate a judgment of conviction and sentence of death shall be filed within one year after the judgment becomes final. Fla. R.Crim. P. 3.851(d)(1). As this case concerns a successive postcon-viction motion filed more than one year after Moore’s conviction and sentence became final, in order for this motion to be considered, the successive postconviction motion must allege one of the following three exceptions to the one-year time bar:

(A) the facts on which the claim is predicated were unknown to the movant or the movant’s attorney and could not have been ascertained by the exercise of due diligence, or
[723]*723(B) the fundamental constitutional right asserted was not established within the period provided for in subdivision (d)(1) and has been held to apply retroactively, or
(C) postconviction counsel, through neglect, failed to file the motion.

Fla. R.Crim. P. 3.851(d)(2). Based on the claims raised, Moore relies on rule 3.851(d)(2)(A), the newly discovered evidence subsection. We address each claim in turn.

I. Giglio Violations

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Bluebook (online)
132 So. 3d 718, 38 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 869, 2013 WL 6223205, 2013 Fla. LEXIS 2607, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/moore-v-state-fla-2013.