Opinion ID: 1939904
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Conflict of Interest: Trial Counsel's Book and Song Deal with Brown

Text: Brown's final claim on appeal is trial counsel's conflict of interest arising from his alleged effort to improperly obtain intellectual property rights in Brown's life story, recordings, songs, and poetry. Brown's motion alleged that trial counsel operated at all times under multiple conflicts of interest, which prejudiced his ability to provide Mr. Brown with constitutionally effective assistance of counsel. As a subpart of this claim, Brown argued that trial counsel improperly sought to enter into agreements to obtain intellectual property rights in Brown's life story as well as his recordings, songs, and poetry. He also alleged that trial counsel sought to obtain these rights in order to enhance his wife's performing career. Whether a defendant's counsel labored under an actual conflict of interest that adversely affected counsel's performance is a mixed question of law and fact. Quince v. State, 732 So.2d 1059, 1064 (Fla.1999) (citing Cuyler v. Sullivan, 446 U.S. 335, 342, 100 S.Ct. 1708, 64 L.Ed.2d 333 (1980) (addressing the issue of attorney-client conflict in the context of multiple defendant representation)). To prove an ineffectiveness claim premised on an alleged conflict of interest, the defendant must establish that an actual conflict of interest adversely affected his lawyer's performance. Cuyler, 446 U.S. at 350, 100 S.Ct. 1708. A court must first determine whether an actual conflict existed, and then whether the conflict adversely affected the lawyer's representation. Herring v. State, 730 So.2d 1264, 1267 (Fla.1998). A lawyer suffers from an actual conflict of interest when he actively represent[s] conflicting interests. Cuyler, 446 U.S. at 350, 100 S.Ct. 1708. To demonstrate an actual conflict, the defendant must identify specific evidence in the record that suggests his interests were impaired or compromised for the benefit of the lawyer or another party. See Herring, 730 So.2d at 1267 (citing Buenoano v. Singletary, 74 F.3d 1078, 1086 n. 6 (11th Cir.1996)). In Strickland, the Supreme Court explained its decision in Cuyler and how it related to the test for ineffective assistance of counsel. 466 U.S. at 692, 104 S.Ct. 2052. The Court said that a conflict of interest is so egregious that it clearly establishes the first prong of Strickland and gives rise to a presumption of prejudice satisfying the second prong, even in the absence of other proof of actual prejudice. Id. However, the Court noted that the presumption of prejudice for conflicts of interest is not on par with the per se rule of prejudice that exists for certain other Sixth Amendment claims such as the denial of the right to counsel. Id. Trial counsel testified that any agreement entered into between Brown and himself, and anything relating to that agreement, happened after Brown's sentencing. Accordingly, he stated that Brown's defense was not affected because all these events occurred after sentencing. He testified that he met with Brown the morning of sentencing and that Brown indicated that he had some documents for him. He gave counsel the documents, which turned out to be poems. Trial counsel testified that at that time he was concerned with the forthcoming sentencing proceeding and that he didn't really look at them because that [was] not what [they] were dealing with at that moment. He testified that after the sentencing he looked at the documents and discussed with Brown the possibility of writing a book and converting the poems into music. Trial counsel followed up this discussion with a draft of a contract, but trial counsel signed that contract on October 8, 1991  months after the sentencing. Trial counsel's evidentiary hearing testimony somewhat conflicted with his legal assistant's testimony. Her testimony implies that trial counsel's ambitions to use Brown's poems were present during the ongoing representation of Brown at trial. She testified that trial counsel always wanted the poems that [Brown] wrote because he wanted his wife [sic] turn them into songs and that when Brown gave her a poem, she would take it to trial counsel and he did what he wanted with it. The trial court weighed this testimony and made the following findings: [T]he Court finds that Mr. Brown has failed to demonstrate that any actual conflict of interest existed between [trial counsel] and Mr. Brown as a result of [trial counsel]'s attempt to enter into intellectual property agreements to obtain the rights to Mr. Brown's life story. As such, no relief is warranted with respect to this portion of ground I-A. As to Mr. Brown's second contention of conflict of interest whereby counsel allegedly sought to obtain rights to Mr. Brown's poetry and recordings in order to enhance his wife's performing career, conflicting testimony was presented at the post conviction evidentiary hearing regarding whether [trial counsel] had any proprietary interest during his representation of Mr. Brown to the detriment of his client. [Trial counsel] testified, as discussed above, that any supposed agreement between himself and Mr. Brown was made after sentencing. . . . . . . . [T]he Court realizes that there is conflicting testimony as to whether counsel's attempt to gain any proprietary interest on his own behalf or that of his wife occurred after the representation of Mr. Brown, and therefore in assessing the credibility of both witnesses, finds the testimony of [trial counsel] to be more credible. Therefore, Mr. Brown fails to show that [trial counsel] labored under any conflict of interest to the detriment of Mr. Brown. As stated above, the trial court's factual findings are to be given deference. See Stephens v. State, 748 So.2d 1028, 1034 (Fla.1999). So long as the trial court's decisions are supported by competent, substantial evidence, this Court will not substitute its judgment for that of the trial court on questions of fact and, likewise, on the credibility of the witnesses and the weight to be given to the evidence by the trial court. Id. We have repeatedly acknowledged the trial court's superior vantage point in assessing the credibility of witnesses and in making findings of fact. See, e.g., Porter v. State, 788 So.2d 917, 923 (Fla.2001). Here, the trial court's decision to believe trial counsel's testimony over his legal assistant's is a factual finding that establishes that no actual conflict existed during the course of Brown's representation. Cuyler, 446 U.S. at 350, 100 S.Ct. 1708. Brown also failed to demonstrate an actual conflict because he did not identify specific evidence in the record that suggests that his interests were impaired or compromised for the benefit of the lawyer or another party. See Herring, 730 So.2d at 1267. Without a showing of inconsistent interests, the conflict is merely possible or speculative, and under Cuyler, is insufficient to impugn a criminal conviction. Id.