Opinion ID: 76267
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Ineffective Assistance of Appellate Counsel Claim

Text: 28 More troubling is the district court's disposition of Clark's ineffective assistance of appellate counsel claim. An ineffective assistance of appellate counsel claim is governed by the familiar two-part performance-and-prejudice standard set forth in Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 687, 104 S.Ct. 2052, 2064, 80 L.Ed.2d 674 (1984); see also Grubbs v. Singletary, 120 F.3d 1174, 1176 (11th Cir.1997) (applying the Strickland test to a claim of ineffective assistance of appellate counsel). To understand our concerns regarding the disposition of this claim, it is necessary to briefly summarize the course of proceedings, in both state and federal court, with respect to this claim. 29 First, in the state habeas proceeding, the State conceded that an evidentiary hearing was required before the court could evaluate Clark's appellate counsel's performance under the deficient performance prong of the Strickland test. No evidentiary hearing was conducted, and the state habeas court did not issue a written opinion explaining the basis for its denial of Clark's claim. Clark then filed a Rule 3.850 motion, but he did not include an ineffective assistance of appellate counsel claim in his motion. Although Clark's appellate attorney appeared at the Rule 3.850 evidentiary hearing, his testimony focused primarily on his failure to raise a sentencing issue on direct appeal — he was asked only one question about his failure to raise the Gray decision, and the question only touched upon the propriety of raising an unpreserved issue and the use of a motion for rehearing to do so. And finally, the Rule 3.850 court, in its order, concluded that any claims relating to ineffective assistance of appellate counsel were not properly before it. 7 30 Then, in the federal habeas proceeding, the State again contended that the court should deny Clark's petition based on his failure to satisfy the prejudice prong of the Strickland test. With regard to the deficient performance inquiry, the State asserted that Clark's counsel was not required to anticipate the Gray decision, which Clark concedes, but the State acknowledged that Clark's counsel did not file a notice of supplemental authority or move for rehearing based on Gray. In similar fashion to its approach in the state habeas proceeding, the State invited the district court to resolve the issue based on Strickland 's prejudice requirement. 31 But the district court declined to do so, and instead denied Clark's ineffective assistance of appellate counsel claim on the ground that the performance of Clark's appellate counsel was not constitutionally deficient. To reach this conclusion, the court relied on Clark's appellate counsel's testimony at the Rule 3.850 evidentiary hearing, the Florida Rules of Appellate Procedure, and the court's understanding that, at the time of Clark's appeal, it was not clear how (or if) Gray would apply to a defendant who was also prosecuted under an alternative theory of premeditation. The court did not address Strickland 's prejudice inquiry. 32 The district court's reliance on the testimony from the Rule 3.850 evidentiary hearing was improper. When Clark's appellate counsel testified at the Rule 3.850 evidentiary hearing, Clark had not asserted an ineffective assistance of appellate counsel claim in his Rule 3.850 motion. Clark's counsel was asked only one question about Gray during the hearing, and that question did not probe counsel's ability to file a notice of supplemental authority or a motion for leave to file a supplemental brief. See supra note 4. Moreover, in the Rule 3.850 hearing, Clark had no incentive to challenge his appellate counsel's ability to raise the Gray decision. Finally, the Rule 3.850 court concluded that any issues relating to an ineffective assistance of appellate counsel claim were not properly before it. Because there has been no evidentiary hearing on this claim and because the district court's reliance on the Rule 3.850 testimony was misplaced, we vacate the court's denial of relief on this claim and remand for further proceedings. 8 Without an evidentiary hearing, the record in this case does not support a finding regarding that constitutional adequacy of Clark's appellate counsel's performance. 33 The State asks us to evaluate Clark's showing of prejudice under Strickland and invites us to affirm the district court's order on this alternate ground. However, the prejudice inquiry under Strickland is a mixed question of law and fact, Fuller v. Att'y Gen. of State of Ala., 197 F.3d 1109, 1111 (11th Cir.1999), and the district court did not discuss Strickland 's prejudice prong at all. We prefer, in this case, to have the district court address the issue in the first instance. 9