In Hankins v. State, 38 Fla. L. Weekly D2198a (Fla. 5th DCA 2013), Hankins sought another appeal, alleging ineffective assistance of appellate counsel for counsel's failure to argue that his convictions and sentences violated double jeopardy.The court affirmed his...
Tampa Federal Criminal Defense Lawyer
Appeals/Post-Conviction Motions
Ineffective Assistance of Counsel
The Sixth Amendment right to counsel requires not only that a person accused of a crime have the assistance of counsel for his or her defense, but also that such assistance be "effective." Ineffective assistance of counsel is established when a defendant shows two...
New Trial After Newly Discovered Evidence
Obtaining a new trial is often done through appeals/post-conviction motions. Pursuant to the Florida Supreme Court in Jones v. State, 27 So.3d 11 (Fla. 2010), in order to obtain a new trial based on newly discovered evidence, a defendant must meet two requirements....
Appellate Court Cautions Against Pro Se Post-Conviction Motions
In a recent post-conviction case, the Fourth District Court of Appeal prevented a pro se defendant from filing documents with the Court and considered disciplinary procedures where the Defendant had filed repetitive and untimely motions.In Holley v. State, 38 Fla. L....
Supreme Court of the United States to Hear 924c Issue
The Supreme Court of the United States granted certiorari last week in Alleyne v. United States, No. 11-9335. The federal question of importance is whether under the Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution, a jury, not a judge, must find that the defendant...
Shelton – What Did the Eleventh Circuit Really Decide?
It is now common knowledge that the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta, Georgia reversed Judge Scrivens' decision in Shelton.Or did it? Let us consider the following and regroup.Shelton v. DOC, et al., arrived in federal court by way of a habeas petition...
US Supreme Court releases decision
A new development from the Supreme Court of the United States was released to the public earlier this week. In Evans v. Michigan, No. 11-1327, the Supreme Court granted cert this morning to decide whether a court's directed verdict or judgment of acquittal issued at...
Two Important US Supreme Court Cases: Analysis
Missouri v. Frye, No. 10-444 (U.S. Sup. Ct. March 21, 2012) (Justice Kennedy) Lafler v. Cooper, No. 10-209 (U.S. Sup. Ct. March 21, 2012) (Justice Kennedy)In these two companion decisions, a sharply divided Supreme Court held for the first time that criminal...
What Are Post-Convictions Motions?
Post-convictions motions are not appeals but they are very similar. Post-convictions motions generally fall into two categories: 1) a motion to correct an illegal sentence or 2) a motion for ineffective assistance of counsel. This article will discuss ineffective...