Green v. State
Green v. State
Opinion of the Court
Appellant, Benjamin Green, appeals an order denying his motion for post-conviction relief, pursuant to Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.850, alleging as grounds therefor that his counsel provided ineffective assistance, and his conviction was obtained by means of a coerced confession. The trial court denied relief, finding the allegations of the motion refuted by the negotiated written plea of guilty, a copy of which purportedly was attached to the order denying relief. We reverse with respect to the claims of ineffective assistance of counsel.
On December 23, 1991, appellant pled guilty to first degree murder, and was sentenced to a 25-year minimum mandatory term of incarceration. In support of his claims of ineffective assistance of counsel, appellant alleged that his counsel told him “there was no way to beat the case;” that the state would seek the death penalty if the case went to trial; and “there was no way to appeal the death penalty.”
Accordingly, the order denying post-conviction relief is reversed and remanded for attachment of those portions of the record which conclusively refute appellant’s ineffective assistance of counsel claims, or for an evidentiary hearing.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.