Opinion ID: 1920952
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 12

Heading: Ineffective Assistance of Appellate CounselStandard of Review

Text: Claims of ineffective assistance of appellate counsel are appropriately presented in a petition for writ of habeas corpus. See Freeman v. State, 761 So.2d 1055, 1069 (Fla.2000). Consistent with the Strickland standard, to grant habeas relief based upon ineffectiveness of counsel, 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); see also Freeman, 761 So.2d at 1069. A defendant who raises a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel must allege a specific, serious omission or overt act upon which the claim can be based. See Freeman, 761 So.2d at 1069. Claims of ineffective assistance of appellate counsel may not be used to camouflage issues that should have been presented on direct appeal or in a postconviction motion. See Rutherford v. Moore, 774 So.2d 637, 643 (Fla.2000). Moreover, if a legal issue would probably have been found to be without merit had counsel presented the issue on direct appeal, the failure of counsel to assert the meritless issue will not render the performance of appellate counsel ineffective. See id. It is under this standard that the remainder of the claims raised by Doorbal must be analyzed.