Long v. State

Summary

The Florida Supreme Court affirmed the denial of Robert Long’s postconviction motion challenging his death sentence and convictions. The court held that Long failed to establish ineffective assistance of counsel concerning the consequences of his guilty pleas and waived or lacked merit in his claim regarding prosecutorial comments during the penalty phase.

Holdings

1. Long failed to establish ineffective assistance of counsel because competent, substantial evidence supported the finding that counsel adequately explained the plea agreement and its consequences, including the waiver of challenges to the confession's admissibility.
2. Long's claim was waived on appeal because his brief did not identify the specific allegedly improper comments, and the claim was also meritless because the challenged comments were proper in context.
3. A postconviction claim may be summarily denied when it is legally insufficient, procedurally improper, or conclusively refuted by the record; otherwise, an evidentiary hearing is required when the claim is facially sufficient and presents a factual issue.

Questions Presented

1. Whether trial counsel was ineffective for failing to adequately advise Long about the consequences of his guilty pleas, including the plea agreement's waiver of challenges to the admissibility of his confession and physical evidence.
2. Whether trial counsel was ineffective for failing to object to allegedly improper prosecutorial comments during the penalty phase.
3. Whether the circuit court properly summarily denied the postconviction claims that were not resolved after an evidentiary hearing.

Disposition

affirmed