Morris v. State
Morris v. State
Opinion of the Court
Appellant challenges a decision of the circuit court that summarily denied post-conviction relief. We affirm in part, reverse in part and remand.
Appellant was charged with first-degree murder and armed robbery, but entered a negotiated plea of guilty to second degree murder and armed robbery, and received two concurrent 35-year prison terms. He did not take a direct appeal. Nearly two years after being convicted, he filed a motion for post-conviction relief pursuant to Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.850, raising six claims of ineffective assistance of counsel.
The lower court granted an evidentiary hearing on three of these claims, and denied the other three summarily. After an evidentiary hearing, the court denied the first three claims, as well. This appeal addresses only the three claims that were denied summarily. We find that only one requires reversal and therefore address only this issue.
Thus, we reverse that part of the lower court’s order that summarily denied appellant’s claim on preservation of suppression issues for appeal and remand to the lower court with instructions either to hold an evidentiary hearing on this matter or to attach to any subsequent order summarily denying relief materials from the record that conclusively demonstrate that appellant is not entitled to relief. As to all other issues raised by appellant, we affirm.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.