Ibar v. State

Summary

The Supreme Court of Florida held that Pablo Ibar received ineffective assistance of counsel in his capital murder trial. The court concluded that trial counsel was deficient for failing to present facial-identification expert testimony challenging the reliability of the surveillance video and related identifications, found prejudice, reversed the denial of post-conviction relief, and remanded for a new trial.

Holdings

1. Trial counsel performed deficiently by completely failing to present a facial-identification expert or forensic anthropologist to challenge the State's central videotape-based identification of Ibar.
2. Ibar established a reasonable probability sufficient to undermine confidence in the outcome because an expert could have substantially challenged the videotape identification in a case lacking physical evidence and containing previously recognized identification errors.

Questions Presented

1. Whether trial counsel provided ineffective assistance by failing to present a facial-identification expert or forensic anthropologist to challenge the State's identification of Ibar from the surveillance videotape.
2. Whether Ibar established prejudice under Strickland based on the importance of the videotape identification, the lack of physical evidence, and the errors identified on direct appeal.
3. Whether Ibar was entitled to relief on his remaining postconviction and habeas claims.

Disposition

reversed_and_remanded