Anthony Rivera v. State of Florida

Summary

The Florida Second District Court of Appeal affirmed the denial as untimely of Anthony Rivera's Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.850 motion alleging juror misconduct based on nondisclosure during voir dire. The court held that the information concerning the juror's relatives, boyfriend, criminal records, and proximity to the crime scene was publicly discoverable through due diligence and therefore did not qualify as newly discovered evidence under rule 3.850(b)(1).

Holdings

1. Information derived from publicly available prison, arrest, criminal-case, marriage, property, and related records could have been ascertained through due diligence within the applicable two-year period and therefore did not qualify as newly discovered evidence under Rule 3.850(b)(1).
2. For purposes of the Rule 3.850(b)(1) due-diligence exception, the relevant period begins when the judgment and sentence become final, not when the defendant eventually discovers the alleged nondisclosure.
3. No evidentiary hearing was required because the record and attachments conclusively established as a matter of law that the alleged facts did not satisfy the newly discovered evidence exception.

Questions Presented

1. Whether Rivera's Rule 3.850 motion was timely under the newly discovered evidence exception in Rule 3.850(b)(1).
2. Whether information about a juror's relatives' and boyfriend's criminal histories and the juror's proximity to the crime scene could have been discovered through the exercise of due diligence within the two-year postconviction deadline.
3. Whether an evidentiary hearing was required to determine whether the alleged information constituted newly discovered evidence.

Disposition

affirmed