Opinion ID: 1703032
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Alleged Bribery Solicitation

Text: Judge Gross, the presiding judge during the first part of Maharaj's trial, was arrested on bribery charges in a separate case. [2] Maharaj told his attorney prior to trial that a woman, known by Maharaj's counsel to be an assistant state attorney, had approached him. According to Maharaj, the assistant state attorney told Maharaj that she had a special relationship with Judge Gross. She assured Maharaj he would be released on bond if he paid her $50,000. There is no other evidence in the record linking Judge Gross to this solicitation. After Judge Gross was arrested, the presiding judge offered to grant Maharaj a mistrial because Judge Gross would no longer be presiding in the case. Maharaj declined the offer. Maharaj's counsel testified in the hearing below that he made a strategic decision when he advised Maharaj not to accept the judge's offer for a mistrial because he was happy with the jury and the way things were going up to that point in the trial. He also testified that he thought the arrest of the judge might help his case because it supported his theory of defense by showing the jury that the legal system was fallible. Maharaj argues several points of error with regard to the alleged bribery solicitation by Judge Gross. To the extent that Maharaj argues any error in the trial court's failure to declare a mistrial after Judge Gross was arrested, such a claim is procedurally barred since it was raised and determined on the merits on direct appeal. See Maharaj, 597 So.2d at 790; see also Johnson v. State, 593 So.2d 206 (Fla.1992) (holding issues that could have been raised on direct appeal are procedurally barred). As for the other issues concerning the alleged bribery solicitation by the first trial judge, we find no reversible error. The issues presented here concerning the alleged solicitation of a bribe, e.g., that the original trial judge should have recused himself, that counsel was ineffective for failing to connect the actions of the assistant state attorney with the arrest of Judge Gross for bribery, etc. [3] are, as the defendant suggests, so interrelated that they will be discussed together and not as distinct and discrete subparts. The majority of Maharaj's allegations on this issue involve the effectiveness of counsel. In Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 104 S.Ct. 2052, 80 L.Ed.2d 674 (1984), the United States Supreme Court enunciated the standard to be applied to ineffective assistance of counsel claims, stating: A convicted defendant's claim that counsel's assistance was so defective as to require reversal of a conviction or death sentence has two components. First, the defendant must show that counsel's performance was deficient. This requires showing that counsel made errors so serious that counsel was not functioning as the counsel guaranteed the defendant by the Sixth Amendment. Second, the defendant must show that the deficient performance prejudiced the defense. This requires showing that counsel's errors were so serious as to deprive the defendant of a fair trial, a trial whose result is reliable. Unless a defendant makes both showings, it cannot be said that the conviction or death sentence resulted from a breakdown in the adversary process that renders the result unreliable. Id. at 687, 104 S.Ct. 2052. In Medina v. State, 573 So.2d 293, 297 (Fla.1990), this Court recognized that counsel cannot be ineffective for strategic decisions made during a trial. Under these standards, Maharaj has failed to demonstrate ineffective assistance of counsel. Counsel testified at the hearing below that he advised Maharaj to waive his right to a mistrial because he was happy with the jury that had been chosen and the way the State's main witness had testified. Counsel feared the State would better prepare its main witness for a subsequent trial and that his testimony could be much more damaging. In addition, counsel felt having Judge Gross arrested during the trial supported his contention that the legal system was not infallible. Maharaj did not testify at the hearing and did not present any evidence to rebut counsel's testimony that the decision not to move for a mistrial was strategic. Accordingly, this claim is without merit because counsel acted with a strategic purpose. See Medina, 573 So.2d at 297-98. Maharaj also argues counsel was ineffective for not moving to have Judge Gross recused prior to trial when counsel was informed that the judge had solicited a bribe. This argument assumes facts that have not been proven. The record reflects Maharaj was approached by an assistant state attorney who was leaving the state attorney's office to go into private practice. [4] The alleged bribery solicitation consisted of the assistant state attorney telling Maharaj she had a good relationship with Judge Gross, and if he gave her a $50,000 retainer she would be able to make sure he received a bond. Counsel knew the woman who had approached Maharaj and thought she worked for the State. However, after discussing the matter with the State, counsel concluded the assistant state attorney was going into private practice and was probably trying to steal his client. Counsel testified that he did not think the contact between the assistant state attorney and Maharaj was a bribery solicitation or that Judge Gross was involved. In fact, there is no indication in the exchange between Maharaj and the assistant state attorney that this contact was made on behalf of Judge Gross or with his knowledge and consent. No other witnesses were called to link this attorney's action with the judge. Any contrary conclusion is sheer speculation based on the action of Judge Gross in another case. Postconviction relief cannot be based on speculation or possibility. Accordingly, counsel was not ineffective because Maharaj has failed to demonstrate that competent counsel, without more evidence, would have acted differently. See Strickland, 466 U.S. at 668, 104 S.Ct. 2052. Maharaj further alleges counsel was ineffective for failing to connect the alleged bribery solicitation to Judge Gross after he was arrested for bribery in a separate case. This claim is also without merit. The fact that an attorney uses an alleged relationship with a judge as a bargaining chip to gain clients or for monetary gain does not demonstrate any involvement on the part of the judge. Even in these postconviction proceedings, there has been no linkage of this attorney's solicitation of Maharaj to Judge Gross. The fact that the judge was arrested and charged in another case does not demonstrate his involvement in this particular matter. There is simply no proof offered in this case that Judge Gross solicited a bribe from Maharaj. As a consequence, Maharaj has failed to demonstrate he was denied a fair trial due to counsel's allegedly ineffective performance. See Strickland, 466 U.S. at 668, 104 S.Ct. 2052. Additionally, Maharaj's claim that the trial judge should have recused himself from this case rests on the same faulty premise, that is, that the trial judge in fact solicited a bribe. Viewing the evidence in this record in a light most favorable to the defendant demonstrates that an attorney solicited money from the defendant. During the course of that solicitation, the attorney indicated that she could arrange a bond for the defendant based on her, the attorney's, relationship with the judge. This statement can be interpreted in a variety of ways. To say that this contact was made for or at the behest of the judge is a serious allegation. Such a serious allegation must be demonstrated and cannot be left to surmise from differing interpretations. Maharaj has not demonstrated that Judge Gross was in fact involved in a bribery solicitation in this case. We cannot base our conclusions on such a serious matter on the fact that the judge was involved in bribery in some other matter. On this record, Maharaj has failed to demonstrate reversible error.