Opinion ID: 1831265
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 7

Heading: Proper Preparation of the Record

Text: Cummings-El claims that appellate counsel was ineffective for failing to include in the record a hearing during which the trial court addressed whether appointed trial counsel was ineffective. He asserts that in that hearing, the trial court failed to conduct an adequate inquiry into Cummings-El's claims of ineffective assistance of trial counsel, failed to rule on the motion as required by Hardwick v. State, 521 So.2d 1071, 1074-75 (Fla.1988), and failed to inform Cummings-El of his right to self-representation. This Court addressed a trial court's obligation regarding claims of incompetent counsel in Morrison v. State, 818 So.2d 432, 440 (Fla. 2002): In Hardwick v. State, 521 So.2d 1071 (Fla.1988), this Court adopted the procedure announced in Nelson v. State, 274 So.2d 256 (Fla. 4th DCA 1973), to be followed when a defendant complains that his appointed counsel is incompetent. When this occurs, the trial judge is required to make a sufficient inquiry of the defendant to determine whether or not appointed counsel is rendering effective assistance to the defendant. See Howell v. State, 707 So.2d 674, 680 (Fla. 1998). However, as a practical matter, the trial judge's inquiry can only be as specific as the defendant's complaint. See Lowe v. State, 650 So.2d 969 (Fla. 1994). This Court has consistently found a Nelson hearing unwarranted where a defendant presents general complaints about defense counsel's trial strategy and no formal allegations of incompetence have been made. See Davis v. State, 703 So.2d 1055, 1058-59 (Fla.1997); Gudinas v. State, 693 So.2d 953, 962 n. 12 (Fla.1997); Branch v. State, 685 So.2d 1250, 1252 (Fla.1996). Similarly, a trial court does not err in failing to conduct a Nelson inquiry where the defendant merely expresses dissatisfaction with his attorney. See Davis, 703 So.2d at 1058-59; Branch, 685 So.2d at 1252; Dunn v. State, 730 So.2d 309, 311-12 (Fla. 4th DCA 1999). A review of the transcript from the January 4, 1993, hearing reveals that although Cummings-El made general allegations of dissatisfaction, he did not make an express allegation of attorney incompetence. The trial court asked Cummings-El why he believed his trial counsel should be removed from the case. Cummings-El responded only that he believed trial counsel was siding with the prosecution in trying to persuade him to accept a plea and that trial counsel was not meeting with him on a regular basis. The record reveals that the trial court indeed specifically inquired into Cummings-El's claims and, based on Cummings-El's responses, concluded that there was no need for the court to conduct a separate hearing on this claim. We find that the record supports the trial court's findings in this regard and that Cummings-El's general allegations did not establish a sufficient basis to compel the trial court to hold a hearing to determine attorney competence. Morrison, 818 So.2d at 440. Accordingly, Cummings-El has not established that appellate counsel erred by failing to include the transcript of the hearing on appeal. Appellate counsel cannot be ineffective for failing to raise a claim that would have been rejected on appeal. Lambrix v. Singletary, 641 So.2d 847, 848-49 (Fla.1994).