Porter v. State

653 So. 2d 374, 1995 WL 134745
CourtSupreme Court of Florida
DecidedMarch 28, 1995
Docket85410, 85404
StatusPublished
Cited by17 cases

This text of 653 So. 2d 374 (Porter 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
Porter v. State, 653 So. 2d 374, 1995 WL 134745 (Fla. 1995).

Opinion

653 So.2d 374 (1995)

Raleigh PORTER, Appellant,
v.
STATE of Florida, Appellee.
Raleigh PORTER, Petitioner,
v.
Harry K. SINGLETARY, Respondent.

Nos. 85410, 85404.

Supreme Court of Florida.

March 28, 1995.

*376 Martin J. McClain, Chief Asst. CCR and Todd G. Scher, Asst. CCR, Office of the Capital Collateral Representative, Tallahassee, for appellant/petitioner.

Robert A. Butterworth, Atty. Gen. and Robert J. Landry, Asst. Atty. Gen., Tampa, for appellee/respondent.

CORRECTED OPINION

PER CURIAM.

Raleigh Porter, a prisoner on death row, appeals the trial court's denial of his second motion for postconviction relief and a stay of execution. Porter also petitions this Court for a writ of habeas corpus and/or a motion to reopen direct appeal. We have jurisdiction. Art. V, § 3(b)(1), (9), Fla. Const. We affirm the trial court's denial of relief and deny the habeas petition and motion to reopen direct appeal.

Porter was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder. The jury recommended life, but the trial court sentenced him to death. On appeal, this court affirmed the convictions but remanded for resentencing due to a Gardner[1] violation. Porter v. State, 400 So.2d 5 (Fla. 1981). On remand, the trial court again imposed the death penalty, and this Court affirmed. Porter v. State, 429 So.2d 293 (Fla.), cert. denied, 464 U.S. 865, 104 S.Ct. 202, 78 L.Ed.2d 176 (1983).

The governor signed Porter's first death warrant in September 1985, and Porter filed a 3.850 motion raising eleven issues, including the claim that trial counsel had a conflict of interest. The trial court denied relief, and this Court affirmed. Porter v. State, 478 So.2d 33 (Fla. 1985).

Porter subsequently sought federal habeas relief. The United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida denied Porter's petition without an evidentiary hearing. On appeal, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit affirmed in part but granted a stay of execution and remanded for an evidentiary hearing on the issues of whether trial counsel had an actual conflict of interest and whether resentencing counsel rendered ineffective assistance of counsel. Porter v. Wainwright, 805 F.2d 930 (11th Cir.1986), cert. denied, 482 U.S. 918, 107 S.Ct. 3195, 96 L.Ed.2d 682 (1987), and cert. denied, 482 U.S. 919, 107 S.Ct. 3196, 96 L.Ed.2d 683 (1987). The court also found several of Porter's claims, including a claim that the heinous, atrocious, or cruel aggravator impermissibly channels the sentencer's discretion and thereby renders the death penalty arbitrary and capricious, were procedurally barred from federal habeas review pursuant to Wainwright v. Sykes, 433 U.S. 72, 97 S.Ct. 2497, 53 L.Ed.2d 594 (1977). Porter, 805 F.2d at 942.

After the federal district court held an evidentiary hearing on the conflict of interest and ineffective assistance of counsel issues in October 1988, Porter filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus in this Court. We denied relief. Porter v. Dugger, 559 So.2d 201 (Fla. 1990). The federal district court then denied Porter's federal petition for habeas corpus. Porter v. Dugger, 805 F. Supp. 941 (M.D.Fla. 1992). On remand from the Eleventh Circuit, the federal district court also considered and rejected several new issues raised by Porter. Id. The Eleventh Circuit affirmed the federal district court's denial of relief. Porter v. Singletary, 14 F.3d 554 (11th Cir.), cert. denied, ___ U.S. ___, 115 S.Ct. 532, 130 L.Ed.2d 435 (1994).

*377 3.850 Motion

On March 1, 1995, Governor Chiles signed Porter's second death warrant. Porter filed an application for a stay of execution and an emergency 3.850 motion in the trial court raising the following claims: (1) Porter was denied adversarial testing at the guilt and sentencing phases of his trial because Stephan Widmeyer, Porter's trial counsel, was burdened by an actual conflict of interest, in that he represented State witness Larry Schapp or State witness Matha Lee Thomas while representing Porter; (2) Porter was denied adversarial testing at the guilt and sentencing phases of his trial because critical exculpatory impeachment evidence establishing a deal between Thomas and the State was not disclosed to defense counsel; (3) no adversarial testing occurred because Wayne Woodward, who represented Porter at resentencing, prosecuted Porter for buying/receiving stolen property in 1976 and thus was burdened by a conflict of interest; and (4) newly discovered evidence establishing Porter's good conduct in prison and his rehabilitation requires the trial court to impose a life sentence because it constitutes mitigating evidence which, had it been presented at the time of sentencing, would have precluded an override of the jury's life sentence. After hearing and considering argument of counsel, the trial court, on March 23, 1995, entered an order stating:

a. Defendant's motion brought pursuant to Rule 3.850 is barred by the one year time limitation imposed by Rule 3.850(b) in all cases in which a death sentence has been imposed. The Court further finds that the Defendant has failed to comply with Rule 3.850(b)(1) in that the Defendant has failed to demonstrate that the facts on which the claim is predicated were unknown to him or to his attorney and could not have been ascertained by the exercise of due diligence.
b. The Court also finds that this is a second or successive motion which is barred by the express provisions of Rule 3.850(f).

We affirm.

Because the present motion is successive and was filed after the expiration of the time limits set forth in rule 3.850, Porter's claims supporting the imposition of a life sentence must be based on the existence of newly discovered evidence. We find the issues raised in Porter's 3.850 motion as well as the new issue Porter asserts in this appeal are procedurally barred because the evidence upon which they are based does not qualify as newly discovered. Rule 3.850 expressly provides:

No other motion shall be filed or considered pursuant to this rule if filed ... more that 1 year after the judgment and sentence become final in a capital case in which a death sentence has been imposed unless it alleges that
(1) 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... .

See also Scott v. Dugger, 604 So.2d 465, 468 (Fla. 1992) (quoting Hallman v. State, 371 So.2d 482, 485 (Fla. 1979)); Jones v. State, 591 So.2d 911, 915-16 (Fla. 1991).

We begin by addressing an issue raised in this appeal which was not presented to the judge in this motion. Porter claims that the original trial judge's statement in a newspaper interview, the contents of which were published on March 23, 1995, indicating that the trial judge had already decided to sentence Porter to death before receiving the jury's advisory sentence, establishes that Porter's life recommendation was overruled by a judge who was biased in favor of the death penalty.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
653 So. 2d 374, 1995 WL 134745, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/porter-v-state-fla-1995.