Thompson v. State

796 So. 2d 511
CourtSupreme Court of Florida
DecidedSeptember 20, 2001
DocketSC96641, SC00-473
StatusPublished
Cited by24 cases

This text of 796 So. 2d 511 (Thompson 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
Thompson v. State, 796 So. 2d 511 (Fla. 2001).

Opinion

796 So.2d 511 (2001)

Charlie THOMPSON, Appellant,
v.
STATE of Florida, Appellee.
Charlie Thompson, Petitioner,
v.
Michael W. Moore, Respondent.

Nos. SC96641, SC00-473.

Supreme Court of Florida.

September 20, 2001.

*513 Jack Crooks, Assistant CCRC, and Eric Pinkard, Assistant CCRC, Capital Collateral Regional Counsel-Middle, Tampa, FL, for Appellant/Petitioner.

Robert A. Butterworth, Attorney General, and Carol M. Dittmar, Assistant Attorney General, Tampa, FL, for Appellee/Respondent.

PER CURIAM.

Charlie Thompson appeals the trial court's summary denial of his motion for postconviction relief filed pursuant to Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.850. Thompson further petitions this Court for a writ of habeas corpus. We have jurisdiction. See art. V, § 3(b)(1), (9), Fla. Const. For the reasons detailed below, we remand for an evidentiary hearing on Thompson's ineffective assistance of counsel claims which are not rejected herein. In all other *514 respects, we affirm the trial court's summary denial, and decline to grant habeas relief.

PROCEDURAL HISTORY

In 1987, Thompson was convicted and sentenced to death for the first-degree murders of William Russel Swack and Nancy Walker. On direct appeal, we reversed and ordered a new trial based on the prosecutor's use of peremptory challenges to exclude African Americans from the jury, and the introduction of a portion of Thompson's confession after an equivocal request for counsel. See Thompson v. State, 548 So.2d 198 (Fla.1989). Upon retrial, Thompson was again convicted and sentenced to death in 1990. This Court, again, reversed and remanded for a new trial on the basis that, prior to obtaining incriminating statements from the defendant, the officers who advised him of his Miranda[1] rights failed to inform him that he had a right to have an attorney appointed if he could not afford one. See Thompson v. State, 595 So.2d 16 (Fla.1992). At the close of his third trial, Thompson was convicted and sentenced to death.[2] This time, the convictions and death sentences were both affirmed on direct appeal. See Thompson v. State, 648 So.2d 692 (Fla. 1994), cert. denied, 515 U.S. 1125, 115 S.Ct. 2283, 132 L.Ed.2d 286 (1995). The underlying facts and evidence presented at trial were extensively set forth in that opinion. See id. at 693-94.

In March 1997, Thompson filed his first motion for postconviction relief pursuant to Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.850. Two years later, in April 1999, he filed an amended 3.850 motion. After conducting a Huff[3] hearing, the trial court summarily denied all of the claims raised in Thompson's amended postconviction motion. Thompson now appeals the denial of his 3.850 claims,[4] and simultaneously petitions this Court for habeas corpus relief.

ANALYSIS

3.850 Appeal

At the outset, we dispose of the following postconviction claims because they are either procedurally barred, facially or legally insufficient, clearly without merit as a matter of law, or moot.[5] We *515 now turn to address the remainder of Thompson's 3.850 claims, all of which involve allegations of ineffective assistance of counsel. To establish a claim that defense counsel rendered ineffective assistance, a defendant must prove two elements:

First, the defendant must show that counsel's performance was deficient. This requires showing that counsel made errors so serious that counsel was not functioning as the "counsel" guaranteed the defendant by the Sixth Amendment. Second, the defendant must show that the deficient performance prejudiced the defense. This requires showing that counsel's errors were so serious as to deprive the defendant of a fair trial, a trial whose result is reliable. Unless a defendant makes both showings, it cannot be said that the conviction or death sentence resulted from a breakdown in the adversary process that renders the result unreliable.

Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 687, 104 S.Ct. 2052, 80 L.Ed.2d 674 (1984); see also Rutherford v. State, 727 So.2d 216 (Fla.1998). The Strickland Court added that in establishing prejudice:

*516 The defendant must show that there is a reasonable probability that, but for counsel's unprofessional errors, the result of the proceeding would have been different. A reasonable probability is a probability sufficient to undermine confidence in the outcome.

466 U.S. at 694, 104 S.Ct. 2052. Additionally, and because the Strickland standard requires establishment of both prongs, when a defendant fails to make a showing as to one element, it is not necessary to delve into whether he has made a showing as to the other element. See Strickland, 466 U.S. at 697, 104 S.Ct. 2052 ("[T]here is no reason for a court deciding an ineffective assistance claim ... to address both components of the inquiry if the defendant makes an insufficient showing on one."); Downs v. State, 740 So.2d 506, 518 n. 19 (Fla.1999) (finding no need to address prejudice prong where defendant failed to establish deficient performance element); Kennedy v. State, 547 So.2d 912, 914 (Fla. 1989) (noting that where defendant fails to establish prejudice prong court need not determine whether counsel's performance was deficient).

In this appeal, Thompson presents numerous claims of ineffective assistance of counsel.[6] With respect to three of these claims, we hold that Thompson is entitled to an evidentiary hearing. The claims clearly warranting a hearing are those relating to counsel's performance during jury voir dire (ineffectiveness sub-claim (a)); counsel's failure to investigate the derivation of a male Caucasian hair found on the female victim's body (portion of ineffectiveness sub-claim (b)); and counsel's failure to request a Richardson[7] hearing after it became apparent that the State might have violated a rule of discovery (ineffectiveness sub-claim (j)). We address each of those sub-claims in turn.

1. Jury Voir Dire

With respect to defense counsel's performance during voir dire, Thompson alleges that counsel failed to (1) inquire about possible racial prejudices despite the fact that Thompson was an African American who was accused of murdering a white man and woman; (2) question jurors about their beliefs regarding the credibility of police officers; (3) adequately question the panel about their views on the death penalty; (4) question jurors about their opinions concerning mental health experts and mental health mitigation as it related to the guilt and penalty phases; (5) excuse a juror who indicated that she would have difficulty believing that a defendant who remained silent was innocent.

Because we find that these claims are not conclusively refuted by the record, we remand for an evidentiary hearing. We specifically focus our attention on Thompson's *517 claim that trial counsel was ineffective in failing to challenge juror Wolcott for cause.[8] The record in this case indicates that juror Wolcott had extreme difficulty accepting the notion that a defendant has a right to not testify. Defense counsel did not seek Ms.

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796 So. 2d 511, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/thompson-v-state-fla-2001.