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Parties Involved:
Attorney General, State of Florida
Appellee
Jimmy L. Kimbrough
Appellant
Secretary, Florida Department of Corrections
Appellee

Document Text:

[DO NOT PUBLISH]

IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT

________________________

No. 18-10502

Non-Argument Calendar

________________________

D.C. Docket No. 6:15-cv-00037-ACC-DCI

JIMMY L. KIMBROUGH, 

 Petitioner-Appellant,

versus

SECRETARY, FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS,

ATTORNEY GENERAL, STATE OF FLORIDA, 

 Respondents-Appellees.

________________________

Appeal from the United States District Court

for the Middle District of Florida

________________________

(April 22, 2020)

Before WILLIAM PRYOR, MARTIN and JILL PRYOR, Circuit Judges.

PER CURIAM: 

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Jimmy Kimbrough, a Florida prisoner proceeding with counsel, appeals the 

district court’s denial of his third amended 28 U.S.C. § 2254 petition for a writ of 

habeas corpus. In his federal habeas petition, Kimbrough argues that the trial court 

violated his due process rights by failing to rule on his motion to determine 

competency and his trial counsel was ineffective for misadvising him that the court 

had ruled on the competency motion. After careful review, we conclude that we 

are barred from considering these claims because they are procedurally defaulted. 

We therefore affirm. 

I. BACKGROUND

A. State Trial and Postconviction Proceedings

Kimbrough was charged by information with two counts of selling cocaine 

in violation of Florida law. His counsel filed a motion under Florida Rule of 

Criminal Procedure 3.210 to “determine [Kimbrough’s] competency.” Doc. 30-1 

at 7.1

 In the motion, counsel requested that the court hold a competency hearing to 

determine whether Kimbrough was competent to stand trial. Counsel stated that 

Kimbrough was unable to communicate and did not understand the charges against 

him, the possible punishment, or the role of his attorney and the criminal justice 

system. 

1 “Doc. #” refers to the numbered entry on the district court’s docket. 

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The trial court docket shows no action taken on the competency motion. 

While the motion apparently was still pending, Kimbrough’s counsel withdrew 

from representation. The court then appointed public defender Andrew Reid to 

represent Kimbrough. 

Kimbrough pled guilty to both counts. The plea agreement recited that 

Kimbrough had discussed the charges with his counsel and was not suffering from 

any physical or mental disabilities that would make him incapable of 

understanding the agreement. At the plea hearing, Kimbrough testified that he had 

gone to school until the tenth grade and could read, write, speak, and understand 

the English language. He was not under the influence of any drugs, medication, or 

alcohol, and he was thinking clearly. The court asked Kimbrough if he was 

“suffering from any mental condition . . . or anything else that would prevent [him] 

from being able to think well and make good decisions,” and after asking the court 

to repeat the question, he responded “no.” Doc. 30-1 at 74–75. After explaining 

the possible sentences, the court asked Kimbrough if he understood that he was 

giving up his right to have a trial, and Kimbrough said that he understood. He 

confirmed that he wanted to enter a plea and give up his right to a jury trial. He

also confirmed that he had talked to Reid about his decision to plead guilty. 

The court then asked Kimbrough if he had any questions, and Kimbrough 

responded that he had “several questions.” Id. at 81. Kimbrough said, “I just want 

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to know what you—I mean, now that I’m taking this plea, so I know it’s pretty 

bad, Judge.” Id. The court responded that it could not give Kimbrough “any 

indication whatsoever about what sentence [he] might receive.” Id. The following 

exchange occurred: 

COURT: Do you have any other questions for me? 

KIMBROUGH: It’s kind of hard to say right this minute. 

COURT: Any other questions? Please talk up because you are 

being recorded. 

KIMBROUGH: Everything just happened so fast. I really didn’t have . . .

COURT: Any other questions? 

KIMBROUGH: No, sir. 

COURT: You said everything has happened so fast. It seems to 

me that you’ve understood everything we’ve done here 

this morning. You told me that you’ve had enough time 

to talk to your attorney, that he’s answered all your 

questions, and you’re satisfied with his work. . . . 

KIMBROUGH: Sir, I’m ready to take this plea, sir. I’m ready to take this 

plea. 

COURT: You’re completely prepared, you’re completely advised, 

and you understand everything that is going on? 

KIMBROUGH: Yes, sir, I do. 

Id. at 82–83. Kimbrough pled guilty to Counts 1 and 2. The court accepted the 

guilty plea as freely and voluntarily given, finding that Kimbrough was “alert, 

competent[,] and intelligent.” Id. at 84. 

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The court sentenced Kimbrough to 16 years in prison. Following an 

unsuccessful direct appeal, Kimbrough filed a Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 

3.850 motion. In the motion, Kimbrough argued that Reid was ineffective for, 

among other things, ignoring information about his mental state and failing to 

request a mental health evaluation. Kimbrough further asserted that Reid 

“misadvised [Kimbrough] that the mental health evaluation was vacated by the 

trial court,” when, in fact, the “motion for an evaluation was granted.” Doc. 30-4

at 74. Kimbrough argued that he was prejudiced by Reid’s deficient performance. 

In an amended Rule 3.850 motion, Kimbrough clarified that the “crux of this 

[ineffective assistance] claim is that [his] previous motion for a mental evaluation 

was granted[,] so [Reid] should have brought the issue to the attention of the court 

or requested on his own motion to have defendant complete a full mental health 

evaluation.” Id. at 96. 

The state postconviction court denied the original and amended Rule 3.850

motions. In addressing the ineffective assistance claim, the postconviction court 

noted that Kimbrough’s original defense counsel had filed a competency motion. 

The court explained that, after filing the motion, Kimbrough’s original counsel 

withdrew from the case, “so th[e] motion was never addressed by the [c]ourt.” Id. 

at 125. The court denied Kimbrough’s ineffective assistance claim, concluding

that his argument that he was prejudiced by the lack of investigation into his 

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incompetency was speculative. Kimbrough appealed, and the Fifth District Court 

of Appeal (“DCA”) affirmed without a written opinion. 

Kimbrough then filed a pro se successive Rule 3.850 motion based on newly 

discovered evidence. He argued that he had “newly discovered evidence 

consisting of [the postconviction] court’s conclusion that the motion to determine 

[his] competency was never addressed.” Doc. 30-6 at 9. Kimbrough explained 

that he did not know that the trial court had never addressed the competency 

motion until the postconviction court, in its order denying his original and 

amended Rule 3.850 motions, stated that the competency motion “was never 

addressed.” Id. at 10. He alleged that, during his criminal proceedings, he had 

asked Reid about “the competency issue,” and Reid had told him that “a motion for 

a mental health evaluation was orally granted” but later “was vacated by the trial 

court.” Id. at 9–10. Kimbrough argued that, due to Reid’s misleading statements, 

he never knew that the trial court had, in fact, not addressed the competency 

motion. Id. at 11. He asserted that his discovery that the court had never ruled on 

the motion thus constituted new evidence. Based on this new evidence, 

Kimbrough raised two claims: (1) Reid’s false statement that the trial court had 

ruled on the motion constituted ineffective assistance; and (2) the trial court’s 

failure to consider his competency motion was a “clear violation of [his] due 

process rights not to be tried while incompetent.” Id. at 58. 

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The postconviction court denied Kimbrough’s successive Rule 3.850 

motion. The court concluded that Kimbrough’s discovery that his competency 

motion never was addressed by the trial court was not new evidence under Florida 

law. The court further determined that, under Florida law, Kimbrough waived his 

right to challenge the competency issue when he pled guilty. Kimbrough appealed, 

and the DCA affirmed without a written opinion. 

B. Federal Habeas Proceedings

In his pro se third amended § 2254 petition, Kimbrough argued that: (1) he 

had newly discovered evidence that the trial court failed to rule on his competency 

motion prior to conducting the plea hearing, which violated his due process rights; 

and (2) the newly discovered evidence showed that his trial counsel, Reid, was 

ineffective for erroneously advising him that the trial court had ruled on the 

motion.

2

 Doc. 17 at 39. 

The state responded in opposition to Kimbrough’s § 2254 petition. In a 

section of its response titled “EXHAUSTION/PROCEDURAL DEFAULT,” the 

state conceded that Kimbrough’s claims were exhausted. Doc. 28 at 9. In the 

section of its response labeled “MERITS,” the state argued that the postconviction 

court properly denied the competency claims raised in the successive Rule 3.850 

2 We have restated the claims for clarity. 

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motion because those claims were not based on newly discovered evidence under 

Florida law. Id. at 14. 

Kimbrough replied that the state postconviction court improperly denied him 

relief on his competency claims. He noted that the postconviction court did not 

address his competency “claims on [the] merits.” Doc. 35 at 33. He reasserted 

that the record established that the state court violated his due process rights by 

failing to rule on the competency motion and his counsel was ineffective for failing 

to seek such a ruling. 

The district court denied Kimbrough’s § 2254 petition. The court noted that 

the postconviction court had denied relief on Kimbrough’s competency claims on 

two grounds: first, the claims did not involve newly discovered evidence, and 

second, Kimbrough had waived his right to challenge his competency by pleading 

guilty. The court then denied those claims on a different ground—namely, that 

Kimbrough had not shown that there was a “legitimate doubt” about his 

competency to stand trial, so the trial court’s failure to rule on the competency 

motion was harmless. Doc. 51 at 16. For the same reason, the court concluded 

that Kimbrough failed to show that Reid was ineffective for failing to discover that 

the court had never actually ruled on the competency motion. 

This appeal followed. We granted a certificate of appealability (“COA”) on 

Kimbrough’s due process and ineffective assistance claims. 

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II. STANDARDS OF REVIEW

We review a district court’s denial of a habeas petition under § 2254 de novo 

and its factual findings for clear error. Sims v. Singletary, 155 F.3d 1297, 1304 

(11th Cir. 1998). Whether a claim is subject to the doctrine of procedural default is 

a mixed question of fact and law that we review de novo. Greene v. Upton, 644 

F.3d 1145, 1154 (11th Cir. 2011). 

Our review of Kimbrough’s petition is governed by the Antiterrorism and Effective 

Death Penalty Act of 1996 (“AEDPA”). Williams v. Taylor, 529 U.S. 362, 402–03 

(2000). Generally, AEDPA bars federal courts from granting habeas relief to a state 

petitioner on a claim that was adjudicated on the merits in state court unless the state 

court’s adjudication:

(1)resulted in a decision that was contrary to, or involved an 

unreasonable application of, clearly established Federal law, as 

determined by the Supreme Court of the United States; or

(2)resulted in a decision that was based on an unreasonable 

determination of the facts in light of the evidence presented in the 

State court proceeding.

28. U.S.C. § 2254(d). If the state habeas court did not adjudicate the petitioner’s claim 

on the merits but instead declined to address the claim based on an independent and 

adequate procedural ground under state law, we may not review that decision in a federal 

habeas proceeding unless the petitioner establishes cause and prejudice to excuse the 

procedural default. Coleman v. Thompson, 501 U.S. 722, 750 (1991). 

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In reviewing state court decisions, we “look through” the unreasoned decision of 

the state appellate court and presume that it adopts the reasoning of the last related state 

court decision, unless the state shows that the appellate court relied, or most likely did 

rely, on different grounds. Wilson v. Sellers, 138 S. Ct. 1188, 1192 (2018). 

III. DISCUSSION

On appeal, Kimbrough argues that the trial court violated his due process 

rights by failing to rule on his competency motion and that Reid violated his Sixth 

Amendment rights by misadvising him about the status of the motion and failing to 

discover that the trial court had never ruled on it. The state responds by arguing, 

among other things, that the state postconviction court properly denied 

Kimbrough’s claims as untimely because the evidence that the trial court never 

ruled on the competency motion was not newly discovered evidence that would 

extend the deadline for filing his postconviction motion under Florida law. In 

reply, Kimbrough argues that his claims are not procedurally defaulted, so we may 

properly address them on the merits. 

After careful review, we conclude that Kimbrough’s claims are procedurally 

barred. In reaching this conclusion, we hold that (1) the state did not waive the 

procedural default defense, (2) the postconviction court’s denial was based on an 

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independent and adequate state procedural ground, and (3) Kimbrough has not 

shown cause or prejudice to overcome the procedural default.3

A. Waiver of Procedural Default Defense

As a threshold matter, we must determine whether the state waived the 

procedural default defense. We conclude that it did not. 

“As a rule, a state prisoner’s habeas claims may not be entertained by a 

federal court when (1) a state court has declined to address those claims because 

the prisoner had failed to meet a state procedural requirement, and (2) the state 

judgment rests on independent and adequate state procedural grounds.” Maples v. 

3 We granted a COA on the issues of whether the trial court violated Kimbrough’s due 

process rights by failing to rule on the competency motion and whether his trial counsel was 

ineffective for misadvising him that the court had ruled on the motion. Although our review is 

limited to the issues specified in the COA, Spencer v. Sec’y, Dep’t of Corr., 609 F.3d 1170, 1180 

(11th Cir. 2010), we may “construe the issue specification in light of the pleadings and other 

parts of the record.” Murray v. United States, 145 F.3d 1249, 1251 (11th Cir. 1998). Because the 

parties address procedural default in their briefs, and given the state postconviction court’s denial 

of Kimbrough’s claims on a state procedural ground (discussed below), we construe the COA to 

include procedural default. See also Rozelle v. Sec’y, Fla. Dep’t of Corr., 672 F.3d 1000, 1009–

10 (11th Cir. 2012) (addressing a threshold issue “[n]ecessarily subsumed” within the COA, 

even though the COA did not expressly include the issue). 

Kimbrough argues that the COA includes a substantive due process challenge—

specifically, that he was not competent to plead guilty. We disagree. A substantive competency 

claim alleges that a defendant’s due process rights were violated because he was incompetent 

when he stood trial or pled guilty; by contrast, a procedural competency claim alleges that the 

court should have conducted a competency hearing but failed to do so. See James v. Singletary, 

957 F.3d 1562, 1569–72 (11th Cir. 1992) (distinguishing procedural competency claims from 

substantive competency claims). The COA grant—as well as Kimbrough’s successive Rule 

3.850 motion and § 2254 petition—all center on the trial court’s failure to rule on the 

competency motion, not Kimbrough’s competency to plead guilty. Thus, from the issue 

specification, pleadings, and other parts of the record, we conclude that the COA incorporates a 

procedural competency claim only. See Murry, 145 F.3d at 1251. Kimbrough’s substantive 

competency claim is therefore outside the scope of the COA, and we do not consider it. 

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Thomas, 565 U.S. 266, 280 (2012) (internal quotations and alterations omitted). 

The burden is on the state to demonstrate that a procedural default occurred. 

Gordon v. Nagle, 2 F.3d 385, 388 n.4 (11th Cir. 1993). “Procedural default is 

normally a defense that the [s]tate is obligated to raise and preserve if it is not to 

lose the right to assert the defense thereafter.” Trest v. Cain, 522 U.S. 87, 89 

(1997) (internal quotations and alterations omitted); see also Hills v. Washington, 

441 F.3d 1374, 1376 (11th Cir. 2006) (determining that the state waived its 

exhaustion-based procedural default defense by failing to raise it in the district 

court). 

Where the state fails to raise a procedural default defense, we are not 

required to raise the issue of procedural default sua sponte. Trest, 522 U.S. at 89. 

Here, though, we conclude that the state did raise a procedural default defense; it 

demonstrated that the state postconviction court’s decision rested on an 

independent and adequate state procedural ground. It is true, as Kimbrough points 

out, that in a section of the state’s responsive brief in the district court titled 

“EXHAUSTION/PROCEDURAL DEFAULT,” the state noted that Kimbrough’s 

competency claims were exhausted but failed to mention any other procedural 

default defenses. Doc. 28 at 9. However, in the “MERITS” section of its brief, the 

state argued that the state postconviction court’s denial of the successive Rule 

3.850 motion was based on Kimbrough’s failure to present newly discovered 

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evidence—a state procedural requirement for filing a successive Rule 3.850 

motion. See Fla. R. Crim. P. 3.850(b)(1). Thus, the state raised the argument that 

the postconviction court’s denial was based on a state procedural ground, even 

though it mislabeled the argument as merits-based. Indeed, Kimbrough recognized 

that the postconviction court denied his claims on a procedural ground by 

acknowledging in the district court that the postconviction court did not reach the 

“merits” of his competency claims. Doc. 35 at 33.

The state raised the independent-and-adequate-state-procedural-ground 

defense in its responsive brief on appeal. Again, the state mischaracterized the 

defense as a merits-based argument. But despite that mischaracterization, the state 

raised the procedural default defense on appeal by arguing that the postconviction 

court correctly concluded that Kimbrough’s evidence was not “newly discovered” 

under Florida law. Appellee’s Br. at 26. Kimbrough acknowledges that

procedural default defense: In his reply brief on appeal, he argued that the state’s 

“newly discovered evidence argument” fails because the postconviction court’s 

denial was not based on an independent and adequate state procedural ground. 

Reply Br. at 10. 

We conclude that the state has not waived the procedural default defense. 

The parties have addressed in some fashion—both in the district court and on 

appeal—the independent-and-adequate-state-procedural-ground defense. And 

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there is nothing in the record to suggest that Kimbrough would be prejudiced by 

our consideration of that defense. Therefore, we will consider it on appeal.

4

B. Independent and Adequate State Procedural Ground

We now turn to whether the postconviction court’s denial of Kimbrough’s 

competency claims was based on an independent and adequate state procedural 

ground. We conclude that it was. 

We use a three-part test to determine whether a state court’s procedural 

ruling is based on an independent and adequate state procedural ground. Judd v. 

Haley, 250 F.3d 1308, 1313 (11th Cir. 2001). First, the last state court rendering a 

judgment must “clearly and expressly state that it is relying on state procedural 

rules to resolve the federal claim without reaching the merits of that claim.” Id. 

Second, the state court’s decision must rest solely on state law grounds, and “may 

not be intertwined with an interpretation of federal law.” Id. (internal quotation 

marks omitted). Third, the state procedural rule must be adequate, meaning that it 

is not applied in an arbitrary or unprecedented fashion, nor can it be “manifestly 

unfair in its treatment of the petitioner’s federal constitutional claim.” Id. (internal 

quotation marks omitted). 

4 The state argues on appeal that Kimbrough’s claims are procedurally defaulted because 

they are unexhausted. By expressly acknowledging in the district court that Kimbrough’s claims 

were exhausted, however, the state waived its exhaustion defense. See 28 U.S.C. § 2254(b)(3) (a 

state may waive the exhaustion requirement, provided that its waiver is expressly made). Thus,

we do not consider the state’s exhaustion arguments. 

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The postconviction court’s denial of Kimbrough’s successive Rule 3.850 

motion was based on the procedural requirements of Rule 3.850, which is an 

independent and adequate state procedural ground. See LeCroy v. Sec’y, Fla. 

Dep’t of Corr., 421 F.3d 1237 (11th Cir. 2005) (concluding that a state 

postconviction court’s denial of a defendant’s Rule 3.850 motion rested on an 

independent and adequate state ground where the court determined that the 

defendant failed to comply with the procedural requirements of Rule 3.850); see 

also Whiddon v. Dugger, 894 F.2d 1266, 1267–68 (11th Cir. 1990) (determining 

that the procedural requirements of Rule 3.850 constitute independent and 

adequate state grounds). Under Rule 3.850, a petitioner must file a motion for 

postconviction relief within two years of the criminal judgment, and any motion 

filed outside of that two-year period may not be considered unless the motion 

alleges that the facts on which the claims for relief are predicated could not have 

been discovered earlier by the exercise of due diligence. Fla. R. Crim. P. 

3.850(b)(1) (providing that no motion “shall be filed or considered pursuant to 

[Rule 3.850] if filed more than 2 years after the judgment and sentence become 

final unless it alleges that [] the facts on which the claim is predicated were 

unknown to the movant . . . and could not have been ascertained by the exercise of 

due diligence.”) 

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The postconviction court’s order clearly relied on Rule 3.850(b)(1) in 

denying the successive motion, as it (1) explained that Kimbrough had not 

demonstrated that he had newly discovered evidence, and (2) in support of that 

conclusion, cited Florida case law that discussed Rule 3.850’s newly discovered 

evidence exception to the two-year time limit. See Judd, 250 F.3d at 1313. 

Kimbrough notes that the postconviction court also cited his guilty plea as a reason 

for denying relief, which, he argues, indicates that the court did not rely solely on 

Rule 3.850 to deny his motion. But that is not how we read the postconviction 

court’s order. The postconviction court unequivocally stated—albeit without 

explanation—that the successive motion failed because “[t]he example given by 

[Kimbrough] [was] not newly-discovered evidence.” Doc. 30-6 at 68. Only after 

reaching that conclusion did the postconviction court cite an alternative ground for 

denying the motion: Kimbrough’s waiver of his right to challenge any issues 

arising prior to his plea by pleading guilty. The court’s identification of an 

alternative ground for denial does not change that it denied the motion for failure

to comply with Rule 3.850. See Bailey v. Nagle, 172 F.3d 1299, 1305 (11th Cir. 

1999) (holding that a state postconviction court’s decision rested on an 

independent and adequate state procedural ground even where the court identified 

an alternative, merits-based ground for denial). 

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Further, the denial rested solely on state procedural grounds rather than 

federal law. The postconviction court did not cite to or otherwise reference federal 

law in its denial; its ruling was not intertwined with federal law. See Judd, 250 

F.3d at 1313. And the procedural rule was adequate to support the denial. See id. 

For his successive motion to be timely, Kimbrough was required under Rule 

3.850(b)(1) to demonstrate that newly discovered evidence—that is, evidence that 

he could not have discovered earlier through the exercise of due diligence—

supported his competency claims, and the postconviction court concluded the 

purported new evidence failed to meet that standard. Further, Kimbrough has 

pointed to nothing in the record showing that the postconviction court’s denial on 

that ground was arbitrary, unprecedented, or manifestly unfair.5 We are satisfied 

that the decision rested on an independent and adequate state procedural ground; 

we next consider whether Kimbrough can overcome the procedural default such 

that we can review his claims on federal habeas.

5 Kimbrough argues that the postconviction court’s “finding that [his] claims were not 

based on newly discovered evidence is manifestly unfair” because it was based in part on “an 

incorrect understanding that [he] previously raised the same competency claim” in his prior Rule 

3.850 motions. Reply Br. at 13. We disagree that the postconviction court’s application of Rule 

3.850 was manifestly unfair. Even if, as Kimbrough now argues, the postconviction court 

incorrectly concluded that he was raising the same competency claim as his earlier Rule 3.850 

motions, he nonetheless was required to comply with Rule 3.850(b)(1) because his motion was 

filed more than two years after the state court entered judgment.

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C. Cause and Prejudice

To overcome this procedural default, Kimbrough must “demonstrate cause 

for the default and actual prejudice as a result of the alleged violation of federal 

law, or demonstrate that failure to consider the claims will result in a fundamental 

miscarriage of justice.” Coleman, 501 U.S. at 750 (1991).6

 

Kimbrough advances two reasons why he had cause for any default of his 

due process claim: (1) Reid’s ineffectiveness in misadvising him that the trial 

court had ruled on the motion; and (2) an “objective external impediment.” Reply 

Br. at 8–9. As to (1), Reid’s ineffectiveness cannot supply “cause” for the 

purposes of overcoming the procedural default on his due process claim. That is 

because, as we determined above, his ineffective assistance claim itself is 

procedurally defaulted. That claim could only serve as cause to excuse the 

procedurally-defaulted due process claim if the ineffective assistance claim itself 

satisfied the cause and prejudice standard. See Edwards v. Carpenter, 529 U.S. 

446, 453 (2000) (holding that an ineffective assistance claim can only supply cause 

to overcome the procedural default of another constitutional claim if the petitioner 

can show that cause and prejudice excused the procedural default of the ineffective 

6 On appeal, Kimbrough does not argue that a fundamental miscarriage of justice excuses 

the procedural default. Thus, he has abandoned that argument, and we do not consider it. See 

Timson v. Sampson, 518 F.3d 870, 874 (11th Cir. 2008) (holding that, when an appellant fails to 

raise an issue on appeal, the issue is deemed abandoned, and we will not consider it). 

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assistance claim itself). Kimbrough has not argued that the ineffective assistance 

claim itself is excused by cause and prejudice, so he cannot rely on it to show 

cause to overcome his procedural default of the due process claim. See id; see 

also Timson v. Sampson, 518 F.3d 870, 874 (11th Cir. 2008). 

As to (2), Kimbrough asserts that the trial court’s failure to properly manage 

its case docket constitutes an objective factor that prevented him from raising his 

procedural due process claim earlier. Whether the trial court’s mismanagement of 

its docket constitutes “cause” is a closer question, but we conclude that Kimbrough 

has not made the requisite showing. True, it was through no fault of Kimbrough’s 

own that the trial court never acted on the motion for a competency hearing. See 

Alexander v. Dugger, 841 F.2d 371, 374 (11th Cir. 1988) (holding that petitioner 

demonstrated cause for procedural default where his attempt to comply with a state 

procedural rule “was frustrated through no fault of his own”). But even though 

Kimbrough mistakenly thought the court had granted his competency motion and 

then vacated its ruling, he could have raised essentially the same due process claim

in his initial Rule 3.850 motion that he raised in his successive Rule 3.850 

motion—namely, that the trial court failed to hold a competency hearing. Nothing 

about his claim was particularly novel, such that he was prevented from raising it 

on direct appeal or in his first Rule 3.850 motion. See Reed v. Ross, 468 U.S. 1, 16

(1984) (holding that, “where a constitutional claim is so novel that its legal basis is 

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not reasonably available,” a defendant has “cause” to overcome procedural 

default). Nor was Kimbrough unfamiliar with the essential facts of his claim; he 

knew that his original counsel had filed a competency motion, and he knew that the 

court never held a hearing to determine whether he was competent. Kimbrough

could have raised the issue of his competency at any time after his counsel filed the 

competency motion once he realized that he had not gotten a hearing, yet he failed 

to do so. We are unconvinced that the court’s mismanagement of its docket 

prevented Kimbrough from raising his competency claim before the two-year time 

for filing a Rule 3.850 motion expired. 

In sum, Kimbrough has failed to show “cause” to overcome the procedural 

default. His due process claim is thus procedurally barred from federal habeas 

review.

IV. CONCLUSION

For the foregoing reasons, we affirm the district court’s denial of 

Kimbrough’s § 2254 petition. 

AFFIRMED.

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