Opinion ID: 1588587
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Caperton Claim

Text: Marek argues that his constitutional right to due process was violated under Caperton when Judge Kaplan presided over Marek's 1984 sentencing and the 1988 evidentiary hearing on his initial motion for postconviction relief. Marek raised a substantially similar claim in his recent appeal, arguing that when Caperton was issued, it would apply to his claim. In our previous opinion, we agreed with the postconviction court that Marek's due process claim was legally insufficient and meritless, and we found it likely that any decision in that case would be irrelevant to Marek's case. Marek, 8 So.3d at 1131. In Caperton, the Supreme Court determined on the basis of extraordinary facts regarding a litigant's campaign contributions to a state supreme court justice that the Constitution required the justice to grant the opposing party's motion to disqualify him in the case. Caperton, 129 S.Ct. at 2257. Now that Caperton is final, we are certain that it is irrelevant to Marek's case. The claim is procedurally barred. See Fla. R.Crim. P. 3.851(d). Accordingly, the trial court did not err in denying this claim in Marek's fourth successive postconviction motion.