Christopher Owens v. State of Florida

Summary

The Fifth District Court of Appeal of Florida reverses the summary denial of Christopher Owens’s Rule 3.850 claim alleging ineffective assistance of counsel for failing to object to prosecutorial comments during voir dire concerning his right to remain silent. The court holds that the records attached to the postconviction court’s order do not conclusively refute prejudice under Strickland and remands for an evidentiary hearing or attachment of additional records. Judge Lambert concurs separately, distinguishing the prosecutor’s comments from permissible comments in Grieve and Rosa.

Holdings

1. The attached records did not conclusively refute Owens's claim of prejudice from counsel's failure to object to the prosecutor's repeated comments concerning his right to remain silent, because the records lacked sufficient context to permit the required Strickland prejudice analysis.
2. When no evidentiary hearing is held, the appellate court must accept the defendant's factual allegations to the extent they are not refuted by the record.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the records attached to the postconviction court's second summary denial conclusively refuted Owens's claim that counsel's failure to object to the prosecutor's voir dire comments prejudiced him under Strickland.
2. Whether the postconviction court properly summarily denied ground four without conducting an evidentiary hearing.

Disposition

reversed_and_remanded