Reed v. State

447 So. 2d 933
CourtDistrict Court of Appeal of Florida
DecidedMarch 13, 1984
Docket82-206
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 447 So. 2d 933 (Reed v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court of Appeal of Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Reed v. State, 447 So. 2d 933 (Fla. Ct. App. 1984).

Opinion

447 So.2d 933 (1984)

Ronald Ellis REED, Appellant,
v.
The STATE of Florida, Appellee.

No. 82-206.

District Court of Appeal of Florida, Third District.

March 13, 1984.

*934 Jeffrey A. Ward, Miami, for appellant.

Jim Smith, Atty. Gen., and Calianne P. Lantz, Asst. Atty. Gen., for appellee.

Before BARKDULL, NESBITT and DANIEL S. PEARSON, JJ.

NESBITT, Judge.

The defendant appeals from the denial after evidentiary hearing of his motion for post-conviction relief pursuant to Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.850. We affirm.

The circumstances out of which the defendant's conviction arose may be briefly summarized. Late in the evening of September 10, 1981, the victim was killed while allegedly standing on the highway between his disabled vehicle and attached U-Haul *935 trailer. The investigating officer, relying upon the physical evidence which he observed at the scene, concluded that death was caused by the impact of the defendant's vehicle into the back of the trailer hurling the deceased into the concrete median strip.

The defendant was arrested and transported to the Dade County jail where a breathalyzer test was administered. The test indicated that the defendant had a blood alcohol level of.23%.[1]

Reed was charged with manslaughter by operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated in violation of Section 860.01(2), Florida Statutes (1979). On the advice of privately-retained counsel, he pled guilty and was sentenced to ten-years probation, conditioned on his serving one year in jail, surrendering his driver's license for five years,[2] and performing 500 hours of community service. After a motion to mitigate the sentence was denied, the defendant, through substituted counsel, filed his Rule 3.850 motion. An evidentiary hearing was held, subsequent to which the order appealed from was entered.

The defendant's motion for post-conviction relief was predicated upon his claim that his trial attorney provided ineffective assistance thereby causing the defendant's guilty plea to be unknowingly and unintelligently entered. More specifically, Reed alleged that counsel: (1) incorrectly advised him that if he pled guilty he would not receive any jail time; (2) failed to adequately prepare for the case; (3) failed to investigate the possible defense presented by the sole "eyewitness," Mr. Woodberry; (4) failed to inform him of that possible defense; and (5) failed to move to suppress the breathalyzer test.

THE STANDARD

The Florida supreme court, in Knight v. State, 394 So.2d 997 (Fla. 1981), has recently adopted the standards by which we may determine whether an attorney represented his client in a reasonably competent manner. The following fourstep analysis must be undertaken. First, the specific omission or overt act upon which the claim of ineffective assistance of counsel is based must be detailed in the appropriate pleading. Second, the defendant has the burden of showing that this specific omission or overt act was a substantial and serious deficiency measurably below that of competent counsel. Third, the defendant has the burden of showing that this deficiency was substantial enough to demonstrate a prejudice to the defendant to the extent that there is a likelihood that the deficient conduct affected the outcome of the court proceedings; and fourth, if the defendant makes a prima facie showing of prejudice, the state still has the opportunity to rebut these assertions by showing, beyond a reasonable doubt, that there was no prejudice.

In discussing the second step, the supreme court recognized that death penalty cases are different and consequently counsel's performance must be judged in light of those circumstances. Similarly, we find that when the defendant pleads guilty, the analysis of what is a substantial and serious deficiency must be considered within that framework. See Castro v. State, 419 So.2d 796 (Fla. 3d DCA 1982); Pollinzi v. Estelle, 628 F.2d 417 (5th Cir.1980).

A conviction based upon a plea of guilty rests upon the defendant's own admission in court that he did in fact commit the crime with which he is charged. Such a plea constitutes a waiver of fundamental constitutional rights as well as all nonjurisdictional defenses known and unknown. Bradbury v. Wainwright, 658 F.2d 1083 (5th Cir.1981), cert. denied, 456 U.S. 992, 102 S.Ct. 2275, 73 L.Ed.2d 1288 (1982); Edwards v. United States, 256 F.2d 707 (D.C. Cir.), cert. denied, 358 U.S. 847, 79 S.Ct. 74, 3 L.Ed.2d 82 (1958). Guilty pleas are *936 meant to be, and should be final, Colson v. Smith, 438 F.2d 1075 (5th Cir.1971); nothing remains but to give judgment and sentence. Robinson v. State, 373 So.2d 898 (Fla. 1979).

A necessary corollary of the seriousness with which such pleas are entered is the requirement that the defendant enter his plea knowingly and voluntarily. Mendenhall v. Hopper, 453 F. Supp. 977 (S.D. Ga. 1978), aff'd, 591 F.2d 1342 (5th Cir.1979). It is therefore the lawyer's duty to ascertain that the defendant possesses sufficient awareness of the relevant circumstances and likely consequences. Brady v. United States, 397 U.S. 742, 90 S.Ct. 1463, 25 L.Ed.2d 747 (1970); Lamb v. Beto, 423 F.2d 85 (5th Cir.), cert. denied, 400 U.S. 846, 91 S.Ct. 93, 27 L.Ed.2d 84 (1970). To do so, of course, the attorney must familiarize himself with the facts and the law enough to advise the defendant meaningfully of his options. Bradbury.

Focusing on the level of competency required of counsel in advising his client to plead guilty, we proceed to the claims in the present case.

PROMISE OF NO JAIL TIME

We readily reject the defendant's first contention that he was incorrectly promised he would serve no jail time because we find that the plea colloquy unequivocally indicates that no such bargain was contemplated.[3]

His argument, that despite the plea colloquy he believed another agreement was struck, is equally unavailing on the record before us. The attorney testified at the evidentiary hearing that "there was no other deal struck or discussed or contemplated," and when asked whether there was any conversation with the client wherein the attorney indicated that if Reed did not have any felony convictions he would not receive jail time, the attorney responded in the negative.

FAILURE TO PREPARE A DEFENSE

The defendant's second contention in support of his 3.850 motion was that the attorney failed to adequately prepare for the case. This allegation, standing alone, would be insufficient to warrant an evidentiary hearing. See United States v. Crook, 607 F.2d 670 (5th Cir.1979); Matthews v. United States, 518 F.2d 1245 (7th Cir.1975).

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447 So. 2d 933, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/reed-v-state-fladistctapp-1984.