Jeffrey Glenn Hutchinson v. State of Florida
Jeffrey Glenn Hutchinson v. State of Florida
Opinion
*881
Jeffrey Glenn Hutchinson appeals an order of the circuit court summarily denying a motion to vacate a judgment of conviction of first-degree murder and a sentence of death under Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.851. We have jurisdiction.
See
art. V, § 3(b)(1), Fla. Const. We affirm the circuit court's summary denial of Hutchinson's postconviction claim in light of our decisions in
Brant v. State
,
Hutchinson murdered Renee Flaherty and her three children, Logan, Amanda, and Geoffrey.
Hutchinson v. State
,
In 2005, Hutchinson filed his initial postconviction motion and an amended motion following the withdrawal of counsel and appointment of new counsel.
Hutchinson v. State
,
Hutchinson filed a federal habeas petition pro se on July 24, 2009, and Hutchinson's habeas counsel filed an amended habeas petition on November 23, 2009. The district court dismissed the amended petition as untimely.
Hutchinson v. Florida
, No. 5:09-CV-261-R5,
On January 11, 2017, Hutchinson's CHU counsel filed a successive postconviction motion in state court seeking relief under
Hurst v. Florida
, --- U.S. ----,
A circuit court's decision on whether to grant an evidentiary hearing on a postconviction motion is a pure question of law, reviewed de novo.
Mann v. State
,
To the extent that Hutchinson asserts that his penalty phase jury waiver was invalid because counsel was ineffective, the circuit court properly found that Hutchinson is not entitled to relief. This Court has determined that in order to succeed on a claim for ineffective assistance of counsel under
Strickland v. Washington
,
*883
While
Hurst
is retroactive to defendants whose sentences became final after
Ring
3
was decided,
Hurst
relief is not available for defendants who have waived a penalty phase jury.
See
Brant v. State
,
If a defendant remains free to waive his or her right to a jury trial, even if such a waiver under the previous law of a different jurisdiction automatically imposed judicial factfinding and sentencing, we fail to see how [the defendant], who was entitled to present mitigating evidence to a jury as a matter of Florida law even after he pleaded guilty and validly waived that right , can claim error. As our sister courts have recognized, accepting such an argument would encourage capital defendants to abuse the judicial process by waiving the right to jury sentencing and claiming reversible error upon a judicial sentence of death. [ State v. ] Piper , 709 N.W.2d [783,] 808 [ (S.D. 2006) ] (citing People v. Rhoades ,323 Ill.App.3d 644 ,257 Ill.Dec. 342 ,753 N.E.2d 537 , 544 (2001) ). This we refuse to permit.
Mullens v. State
,
Although Mullens is distinguishable from this case because the defendant in that case pled guilty, this Court's determination that his jury waiver precluded Hurst relief is applicable to this case. Here, the circuit court properly found that Hutchinson's colloquy supported the conclusion that his waiver was knowing, intelligent, and voluntary. Hutchinson maintains that his waiver became invalid as a result of the change in the law after Hurst .
Hutchinson contends that his case is distinguishable from Mullens and Brant because he challenges the validity of his waiver. Contrary to Hutchinson's assertion, the defendant in Brant also challenged the validity of his waiver, arguing that counsel was ineffective in light of the change in Hurst just as Hutchinson argues in this case. In both Mullens and Brant , this Court found that the defendants' waivers were knowingly, intelligently, and voluntarily made based on their colloquies, even though those waivers were made with the advice of counsel based on pre- Hurst law. See Brant , 197 So.3d at 1066 ; Mullens , 197 So.3d at 39-40. Hutchinson's waiver is no different.
Hutchinson also argues that he is entitled to an evidentiary hearing on this claim because this Court granted evidentiary hearings in
Meeks v. Dugger
,
A defendant's ability to waive a penalty phase jury did not change after
Hurst
. Unlike Hutchinson, the defendants in
Meeks
and
Hall
did not waive any rights. Had they waived their rights to present evidence during the penalty phase, they would not have been eligible for relief on their
Hitchcock
claims.
See
Tafero v. Dugger
,
Hutchinson also contends that under
Halbert v. Michigan
,
Unlike the right to first-tier postconviction counsel in Halbert , the right to a jury trial was well recognized before Hurst . Although Hutchinson contends that Halbert affected postconviction proceedings and therefore should be followed here, Halbert did not establish any rights related to successive postconviction proceedings like this one. As previously stated, this Court has explicitly rejected Hutchinson's argument, opining that "accepting such an argument would encourage capital defendants to abuse the judicial process by waiving the right to jury sentencing and claiming reversible error upon a judicial sentence of death. This we refuse to permit." Mullens , 197 So.3d at 40 (citations omitted).
Based on the foregoing, we affirm the decision of the circuit court and deny relief on Hutchinson's claim.
It is so ordered.
LABARGA, C.J., and PARIENTE, LEWIS, QUINCE, and LAWSON, JJ., concur.
CANADY and POLSTON, JJ., concur in result.
Hutchinson raised the following issues:
(1) whether the trial court improperly instructed the jury; (2) whether the trial court erred in admitting certain testimony as an excited utterance; (3) whether the trial court erred in repeatedly overruling objections to the State's closing argument; (4) whether the trial court erred in denying Hutchinson's motion for mistrial; (5) whether the trial court erred in denying Hutchinson's motion for judgment of acquittal; (6) whether the trial court erred in denying Hutchinson's motion for a new trial; (7) whether the trial court erred in considering section 921.141(5)(1), Florida Statutes (2000), as an aggravating circumstance; (8) whether the trial court erred in finding that Hutchinson committed the murder of the children during the course of an act of aggravated child abuse; (9) whether the trial court erred in finding heinous, atrocious, or cruel (HAC) as an aggravating circumstance in the murder of Geoffrey Flaherty; and (10) whether death is a proportional sentence.
Hutchinson
,
Hutchinson raised the following claims before this Court on appeal:
(1) trial counsel rendered ineffective assistance during the guilt phase by failing to present evidence that Hutchinson's voice was not on the 911 audio tape; (2) trial counsel rendered ineffective assistance during the guilt phase by failing to introduce into evidence the nylon stocking found at the crime scene; and (3) the trial court erred in summarily denying Hutchinson's claims of actual innocence and conflict of interest.
Hutchinson
,
Ring v. Arizona
,
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Jeffrey Glenn HUTCHINSON, Appellant, v. STATE of Florida, Appellee.
- Cited By
- 6 cases
- Status
- Published