Bing v. State of Florida

Summary

The First District Court of Appeal reversed the summary denial of Darren Bing’s successive motion for postconviction relief based on a trial witness’s notarized recantation. The court held that the recantation was not inherently incredible or obviously immaterial and remanded for either record evidence conclusively refuting the claim or an evidentiary hearing.

Holdings

1. The trial court erred by summarily denying Bing's motion because the motion adequately alleged newly discovered evidence and the record did not conclusively refute the claim.
2. Once a defendant properly alleges newly discovered evidence, an evidentiary hearing is ordinarily required to evaluate the new evidence and the trial evidence, unless the affidavit is inherently incredible or obviously immaterial to the verdict.
3. Excerpts from the State's closing argument could not demonstrate that the alleged newly discovered evidence was obviously immaterial to the verdict because closing argument is advocacy, not evidence.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the trial court properly summarily denied Bing's successive Rule 3.850 motion alleging newly discovered evidence without conducting an evidentiary hearing.
2. Whether the record conclusively demonstrated that Ritter's recantation was inherently incredible or obviously immaterial to the verdict.
3. Whether excerpts from the State's closing argument could conclusively refute the newly discovered-evidence claim.

Disposition

reversed_and_remanded