Opinion ID: 1879031
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 8

Heading: Supplemental Claim

Text: In a supplement to his initial petition, Happ argues that appellate counsel failed to argue on appeal that the trial court's written final order did not conform with the court's oral pronouncement during the sentencing hearing and that the trial court failed to file the written order contemporaneously with its oral pronouncement of sentence as required by Grossman v. State, 525 So.2d 833 (Fla.1988). The record reflects that the jury found Happ guilty of first-degree murder on July 28, 1989. The trial court reconvened on July 31, 1989, for the penalty phase of the trial where the jury recommended that Happ be sentenced to death. That same day, the trial court sentenced Happ to death. The record reflects that trial counsel did not object to this procedure. [11] In sentencing Happ, the trial judge read from a preliminary draft of a sentencing order which he had apparently prepared prior to the time the jury rendered its recommendation. After rendition of sentence, the court informed the attorneys that the preliminary draft of the sentencing order would be reduced to a final draft within the next few minutes. The court then asked if the parties wished to be heard on anything else, to which both the State and the defense answered no. Thus, the record very clearly illustrates that trial counsel did not object to the trial court's oral pronouncement of sentence or the procedure utilized and disclosed by the court in rendering sentence. Because of trial counsel's failure to properly object, we conclude that appellate counsel cannot be deemed ineffective for failing to raise this issue on appeal. See Roberts, 568 So.2d at 1261. [12]