Owens v. State
The Fifth DCA affirmed the summary denial of six of seven ineffective-assistance claims in a 3.850 postconviction appeal but reversed on the claim involving trial counsel's failure to object to prosecutorial comments during voir dire that improperly suggested reasons a defendant might not testify and implied a burden on the defense. Applying the Florida Supreme Court's decision in Marston v. State, the court held that the record attached to the summary denial order did not conclusively refute the claim, and remanded for the postconviction court to either attach additional conclusive records or hold an evidentiary hearing.
Key facts
- Owens was convicted in trial court; he filed a postconviction 3.850 appeal raising seven ineffective-assistance-of-counsel claims.
- The postconviction court summarily denied all seven claims based on limited voir dire transcript pages attached to its order.
- +2 more key facts with a free trial
Why it matters
This opinion provides a detailed, practitioner-useful application of Marston v. State to the increasingly common scenario of prosecutors probing prospective jurors during voir dire about reasons a defendant might not… — full analysis with a trial
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