Supreme Court of Florida

In postconviction proceedings of a defendant convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to death, trial court's grant of a new penalty phase but denial of guilt-phase claims is affirmed where: 1) trial court did not err in denying defendant's claims of ineffective assistance of counsel in the guilt phase; 2) defendant has failed to establish a Giglio violation; 3) defendant's Brady claims are without merit; 4) defendant's claims of ineffective assistance of appellate counsel in his habeas petition are denied; and 4) defendant's claim that his appellate counsel was ineffective for failing to raise on direct appeal a Cronic violation of per se ineffectiveness is rejected as the ineffectiveness was not apparent on the face of the trial record.

Appellate Information

• Decided 01/14/2010
• Published 01/14/2010

Judges

Court

• Supreme Court of Florida

Counsel

• For Appellees:
  
• Frank J. Tassone, Jr. and Rick A. Sichta of Tassone and Sichta, LLC, Jacksonville, Florida, for Appellant/Cross-Appellee/Petitioner, Bill McCollum, Attorney General, and Meredith Charbula, Assistant Attorney General, Tallahassee, Florida, for Appellee/Cross-Appellant/Respondent