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Pietri v. State8/26/2004
hout objection. On August 27, 2002, the trial court issued a one-page order denying Pietri's claims. The order stated, "A copy of the State's [post- evidentiary hearing memorandum] is incorporated by reference and made a part of the record." Pietri now appeals the denial of his post-conviction motion, asserting ten claims of error. Pietri has also filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus in which he raises four issues.
3.850 APPEAL
Following the United States Supreme Court's decision in Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (1984), this Court has held that for ineffective assistance of counsel claims to be successful, two requirements must be satisfied:
A claim of ineffective assistance of counsel, to be considered meritorious, must include two general components. First, the claimant must identify particular acts or omissions of the lawyer that are shown to be outside the broad range of reasonably competent performance under prevailing professional standards. Second, the clear, substantial deficiency shown must further be demonstrated to have so affected the proceeding that confidence in the outcome is undermined.
Maxwell v. Wainwright, 490 So. 2d 927, 932 (Fla. 1986). Ineffective assistance of counsel claims present a mixed question of law and fact, and, therefore, are subject to plenary review based on the Strickland test. See id.; see also Stephens v. State, 748 So. 2d 1028, 1033 (Fla. 1999). Under this standard, this Court conducts an independent review of the trial court's legal conclusions, while giving deference to the trial court's factual findings. See id.
There is a strong presumption that trial counsel's performance was not ineffective. As Strickland provides: "Because of the difficulties inherent in making the evaluation, a court must indulge a strong presumption that counsel's conduct falls within the wide range of reasonable professional assistance," 466 U.S. at 689, and further: " counsel is strongly presumed to have rendered adequate assistance and made all significant decisions in the exercise of reasonable professional judgment." 466 U.S. at 690. The defendant alone carries the burden to overcome the presumption of effective assistance: " he defendant must overcome the presumption that, under the circumstances, the challenged action 'might be considered sound trial strategy.'" Id. at 689. The United States Supreme Court explained that
a court deciding an actual ineffectiveness claim must judge the reasonableness of counsel's challenged conduct on the facts of the particular case, viewed as of the time of counsel's conduct. A convicted defendant making a claim of ineffective assistance must identify the acts or omissions of counsel that are alleged not to have been the result of reasonable professional judgment. The court must then determine whether, in light of all the circumstances, the identified acts or omissions were outside the wide range of professionally competent assistance.
Id. at 690; see also Asay v. State, 769 So. 2d 974, 984 (Fla. 2000) (" he defendant bears the burden of proving that counsel's representation was unreasonable under prevailing professional standards and was not a matter of sound trial strategy."). Finally, " udicial scrutiny of counsel's performance must be highly deferential." 466 U.S. at 689. It is under this legal framework that we address Pietri's claims.
Failure to Present a Voluntary Intoxication Defense
In his first claim, Pietri argues that his trial counsel were ineffective for failing to investigate and present a voluntary intoxication defense, and that if they had performed effectively, it could have been demonstrated that due to Pietri
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