Robinson v. State

865 So. 2d 1259, 2004 WL 170362
CourtSupreme Court of Florida
DecidedJanuary 29, 2004
DocketSC04-46, SC04-64
StatusPublished
Cited by43 cases

This text of 865 So. 2d 1259 (Robinson 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
Robinson v. State, 865 So. 2d 1259, 2004 WL 170362 (Fla. 2004).

Opinion

865 So.2d 1259 (2004)

Johnny ROBINSON, Appellant,
v.
STATE of Florida, Appellee.
Johnny Robinson, Petitioner,
v.
James V. Crosby, Jr., Secretary, Florida Department of Corrections, Respondent.

Nos. SC04-46, SC04-64.

Supreme Court of Florida.

January 29, 2004.

*1260 John W. Jennings, Capital Collateral Regional Counsel—Middle Region, Peter J. Cannon, Assistant Capital Collateral Counsel, and Daphney Gaylord, Assistant Capital Collateral Counsel, Tampa, FL, for Appellant/Petitioner.

Charles J. Crist, Jr., Attorney General, and Kenneth S. Nunnelley and Barbara C. Davis, Assistant Attorneys General, Daytona Beach, FL, for Appellee/Respondent.

PER CURIAM.

Johnny Robinson, a prisoner under the sentence of death and an active death warrant, appeals an order of the circuit court *1261 denying a successive motion for postconviction relief filed under Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.851. We have jurisdiction. See art. V, § 3(b)(1), Fla. Const. Robinson has also filed a successive petition for writ of habeas corpus. We have jurisdiction. See art. V, § 3(b)(9), Fla. Const. These cases have been consolidated. We affirm the trial court's denial of postconviction relief, and we deny habeas relief.

BACKGROUND

The facts of this case are set forth in our opinions on direct appeal, wherein we affirmed Robinson's first-degree murder conviction and, after resentencing, affirmed his death sentence. See Robinson v. State, 574 So.2d 108, 110 (Fla.), cert. denied, 502 U.S. 841, 112 S.Ct. 131, 116 L.Ed.2d 99 (1991); Robinson v. State, 520 So.2d 1 (Fla.1988). In 1993, Robinson filed his initial rule 3.851 motion in circuit court. Robinson v. State, 707 So.2d 688, 690 (Fla.1998). The trial court summarily denied several claims and held an evidentiary hearing on the remaining claims. Id. The trial court denied Robinson relief on all claims. Id. On appeal from the trial court's order, this Court affirmed the trial court's denial of relief on all claims. Id. at 690-700.

Robinson filed a state petition for habeas corpus, which this Court denied on August 31, 2000. Robinson v. Moore, 773 So.2d 1, 7 (Fla.2000), receded from by Mann v. Moore, 794 So.2d 595, 598 (Fla. 2001) (receding from Robinson (specifically footnote 1) and holding that "the simultaneous filing requirement in rule 9.140(b)(6)(E) and 3.851(b)(2) does apply to defendants whose convictions and sentences were finalized prior to January 1, 1994, notwithstanding the provision of rule 3.851(b)(6)").

Thereafter, Robinson sought federal habeas relief in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida, which was denied.[1] The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals issued an opinion affirming the district court's denial of Robinson's petition for a writ of habeas corpus. Robinson v. Moore, 300 F.3d 1320 (11th Cir. 2002).

DEATH WARRANT PROCEEDINGS

On December 18, 2003, Governor Jeb Bush signed Robinson's first death warrant. Robinson's execution is presently set for February 4, 2004, at 6:00 p.m. In response to the signing of the death warrant, Robinson filed his second rule 3.851 motion, entitled "Successor Motion to Vacate Judgment and Sentence, and Request for Evidentiary Hearing and Stay of Execution," (hereinafter "Successor Motion"). On January 16, 17, and 19, 2004, the trial court held an evidentiary hearing. On January 19, 2004, Robinson filed a motion seeking the release of evidence for DNA testing in a motion entitled "Defendant's Motion to Release Evidence for DNA Testing" (hereinafter "DNA Motion"). On January 19, 2004, the trial court entered its order on the Successor Motion, entitled "Order on Successor Motion to Vacate Judgment and Sentence, Request for Evidentiary Hearing and Stay of Execution" (hereinafter "Order Denying Successor Motion"), which denied all of the claims alleged in the Successor Motion. On the same day, the circuit court denied the DNA Motion in an order entitled "Order on Motion to Release Evidence on DNA Testing."

SUCCESSIVE RULE 3.851 MOTION

Recantation Testimony

Robinson first argued that the newly discovered evidence of codefendant Clinton *1262 Fields's recantation establishes that Robinson is not guilty of first-degree murder. The State asserts that this claim is procedurally barred because it was argued by Robinson in his initial rule 3.851 motion. See Robinson v. State, 707 So.2d 688, 690-91 (Fla.1998). When this claim was argued initially, the trial court denied Robinson postconviction relief after Robinson produced an affidavit authored by Fields, in which Fields repudiated his trial testimony. Id. at 691. This Court affirmed the trial court's denial of that claim on the following bases: (1) It is undisputed that Robinson's account of the incident is that he accidentally shot the victim; (2) Fields's recantation in the form of an affidavit amounted to inadmissible hearsay; and (3) no independent corroborating evidence supports Fields's new story. Id. at 690-92. Fields testified at the most recent evidentiary hearing, curing the previous hearsay problem.

Nevertheless, we conclude that Robinson has not demonstrated error in the trial court's analysis and rejection of this claim. In considering a claim based upon newly discovered evidence, this Court explained in Jones v. State, 709 So.2d 512, 521 (Fla. 1998):

Two requirements must be met in order for a conviction to be set aside on the basis of newly discovered evidence. First, in order to be considered newly discovered, the evidence "must have been unknown by the trial court, by the party, or by counsel at the time of trial, and it must appear that defendant or his counsel could not have known [of it] by the use of diligence." Torres-Arboleda v. Dugger, 636 So.2d 1321, 1324-25 (Fla. 1994).
Second, the newly discovered evidence must be of such nature that it would probably produce an acquittal on retrial. To reach this conclusion the trial court is required to "consider all newly discovered evidence which would be admissible" at trial and then evaluate the "weight of both the newly discovered evidence and the evidence which was introduced at the trial."

Jones v. State, 709 So.2d 512, 521 (Fla. 1998) (citations omitted). Importantly, Robinson has failed to demonstrate error by the trial court on the critical credibility issue that arises with Fields's recantation testimony. The trial court has made a fact-based determination that the recantation is not credible. In light of conflicting evidence we must give deference to that determination. We addressed this concern in our opinion on Robinson's first 3.851 appeal, wherein we stressed that recantation testimony "may be unreliable and trial judges must `examine all of the circumstances in the case.'" Robinson, 707 So.2d at 691 (quoting State v. Spaziano, 692 So.2d 174, 176 (Fla.1997)).[2]

Robinson asserted below that Fields has a diminished mental capacity and that he is susceptible to coercion by law enforcement. We are satisfied that the trial court properly considered Fields's diminished capacity, his hearing testimony, and all of the other relevant circumstances in toto when denying this claim, including the statements and testimony previously given by Fields that conflict with his recantation.

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Bluebook (online)
865 So. 2d 1259, 2004 WL 170362, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/robinson-v-state-fla-2004.