Opinion ID: 1597851
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Ineffective Assistance of Counsel Claim Failure to Create a Record

Text: Next, Bates claims that his resentencing counsel was ineffective for failing to create a record of certain jury excusals for hardship purposes that occurred outside the presence of lead defense counsel. [5] We find no error in the postconviction court's determination that this claim did not provide a basis for relief. In order to successfully advance a claim that counsel was ineffective for failing to obtain or have transcribed a portion of the record, a defendant must allege specific prejudice that resulted from not having that record. See, e.g., Johnson v. Moore, 837 So.2d 343, 345 (Fla.2002) (rejecting a claim that the failure to include items in the record constituted ineffective assistance because the defendant [did] not point to specific errors that occurred due to the omissions of this material); cf. Jones v. State, 923 So.2d 486, 489 (Fla.2006) (It is therefore clear that under our precedent, this Court requires that the defendant demonstrate that there is a basis for a claim that the missing transcript would reflect matters which prejudice the defendant.); Armstrong v. State, 862 So.2d 705, 721 (Fla. 2003) (Armstrong has failed to link a meritorious appellate issue to the allegedly missing record and thus cannot establish that he was prejudiced by its absence.). Bates did not do so. Accordingly, we affirm the postconviction court's summary denial of this claim.