Opinion ID: 1890788
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 12

Heading: Habeas Issue I. CCP Instruction

Text: Pace asserts that his appellate counsel was ineffective for failing to raise on direct appeal the claim that the CCP instruction given during Pace's penalty phase was unconstitutionally vague. The instruction given was identical to that found unconstitutional in Jackson v. State, 648 So.2d 85, 89-90 (Fla.1994). When evaluating a claim of ineffective assistance of appellate counsel raised in a petition for writ of habeas corpus, this Court must determine first, whether the alleged omissions are of such magnitude as to constitute a serious error or substantial deficiency falling measurably outside the range of professionally acceptable performance and, second, whether the deficiency in performance compromised the appellate process to such a degree as to undermine confidence in the correctness of the result. Pope v. Wainwright, 496 So.2d 798, 800 (Fla.1986). The defendant has the burden of alleging a specific, serious omission or overt act upon which the claim of ineffective assistance of counsel can be based. Freeman v. State, 761 So.2d 1055, 1069 (Fla.2000). Pace's appellate counsel was not ineffective for failing to challenge the CCP instruction. Pace's trial counsel did not object to the CCP instruction on the ground that the wording of the statute was unconstitutionally vague. Therefore, this claim was not preserved for appeal. In the absence of fundamental error, an appellate attorney has no obligation to raise an issue that was not preserved for review. See Rutherford v. Moore, 774 So.2d 637, 646 (Fla.2000). Pace does not assert that the erroneous CCP instruction constituted fundamental error, and this Court has held that claims of error based on this Court's decision in Jackson are procedurally barred unless [t]he objection at trial [attacks] the instruction itself, either by submitting a limiting instruction or making an objection to the instruction as worded. Pope v. State, 702 So.2d 221, 223-24 (Fla. 1997). Additionally, appellate counsel cannot be considered ineffective for failing to challenge a jury instruction on the basis of decisions that had not yet been decided. Cf. Downs v. State, 740 So.2d 506, 518 (Fla.1999).