Opinion ID: 1737862
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 16

Heading: Claim X. Ineffective Assistance of Counsel as to Juror Misconduct

Text: In his tenth claim, Brown contends that his guilt-phase counsel was deficient in failing to question a juror as to the extent of her knowledge of a newspaper account of the trial. This claim is procedurally barred in that it should have been raised on direct appeal, and Brown attempts here to circumvent the procedural bar by couching the issue as ineffective assistance of counsel. See Kight v. Dugger, 574 So.2d 1066, 1073 (Fla.1990). However, the circuit judge who originally presided over these postconviction proceedings discussed the merits of this issue in his postconviction order (Order I) and found the claim to have no merit in that Brown had not proven both ineffective assistance and prejudice under Strickland. [14] As the circuit judge correctly found in his postconviction order, defense counsel made an appropriate request for the court to inquire of the jury concerning the article. Order I at 7-8. The trial court then made an inquiry as to whether any jurors had read the article or discussed it with anyone. Id. Only one juror had read the headline of the article. [15] Id. No other jurors had read the headline or the article. Id. Competent, substantial record evidence supports the trial court's factual findings concerning this issue. We find that neither ineffectiveness nor prejudice has been demonstrated pursuant to Strickland. Thus, we find no merit in this claim.