Opinion ID: 1697961
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Ineffective Assistance of Counsel/Concession of Guilt

Text: We initially held that Nixon was entitled to a new trial because the defense attorney conceded his guilt to first-degree murder without obtaining his consent to this trial strategy. See Nixon v. State, 857 So.2d 172 (Fla.2003). Our grant of a new trial was based on this Court's earlier opinion in this case which held that the per se standard of ineffective assistance of counsel was applicable to a situation where the defendant had not agreed to trial counsel's strategy of conceding guilt to the crime charged. See Nixon v. Singletary, 758 So.2d 618 (Fla.2000). However, the United States Supreme Court granted certiorari review and said: We granted certiorari, [ Florida v. Nixon, ] 540 U.S. 1217, 124 S.Ct. 1509, 158 L.Ed.2d 152 (2004), to resolve an important question of constitutional law, i.e., whether counsel's failure to obtain the defendant's express consent to a strategy of conceding guilt in a capital trial automatically renders counsel's performance deficient, and whether counsel's effectiveness should be evaluated under Cronic or Strickland. Florida v. Nixon, 543 U.S. 175, 186-87, 125 S.Ct. 551, 160 L.Ed.2d 565 (2004). After a discussion of the issue, the supreme court answered this question and held: To summarize, in a capital case, counsel must consider in conjunction both the guilt and penalty phases in determining how best to proceed. When counsel informs the defendant of the strategy counsel believes to be in the defendant's best interest and the defendant is unresponsive, counsel's strategic choice is not impeded by any blanket rule demanding the defendant's explicit consent. Instead, if counsel's strategy, given the evidence bearing on the defendant's guilt, satisfies the Strickland standard, that is the end of the matter; no tenable claim of ineffective assistance would remain. Id. at 192, 125 S.Ct. 551. Therefore, in order to obtain relief based on ineffective assistance of counsel for conceding guilt without the defendant's consent, the defendant must demonstrate that counsel's performance was deficient and that the defendant was prejudiced by the deficient performance as required under Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 104 S.Ct. 2052, 80 L.Ed.2d 674 (1984). As to the performance prong of Strickland, the defendant must establish that counsel made error so serious that counsel was not functioning as the `counsel' guaranteed by the Sixth Amendment. Strickland 466 U.S. at 687, 104 S.Ct. 2052. On the prejudice prong, the reviewing court must determine whether there is a reasonable probability that, but for the deficiency, the result of the proceeding would have been different. See id. at 695, 104 S.Ct. 2052. A reasonable probability is defined as a probability sufficient to undermine confidence in the outcome of the proceeding. Id. at 694, 104 S.Ct. 2052. Unless a defendant makes both showings, it cannot be said that the conviction or death sentence resulted from a breakdown in the adversary process that renders the result unreliable. Id. at 687, 104 S.Ct. 2052. This issue was first brought to this Court's attention during the direct appeal proceedings. Nixon argued that his trial counsel was ineffective for conceding his guilt during the guilt/innocence phase of the trial. We did not address the issue at that time, [7] but invited the defendant to raise the issue in postconviction proceedings. The issue was in fact raised in Nixon's 1993 motion for postconviction relief. The trial judge summarily denied relief, and specifically denied Nixon's claim that under United States v. Cronic counsel was per se ineffective for conceding the defendant's guilt. On appeal, this Court reversed the summary denial and held the ineffective assistance of counsel claim should be analyzed under the framework of Cronic and remanded to the trial court for an evidentiary hearing on this issue. See Nixon II, 758 So.2d at 625. At the subsequent evidentiary hearing, the only witness was Nixon's trial counsel, Mr. Corin; Nixon did not testify at the hearing. Counsel testified that his strategy was to attempt to save Nixon's life. He indicated that he wanted to show that while the State could prove Nixon committed certain acts, there were still good reasons why the defendant should not be sentenced to death. Corin further testified that he explained this strategy to Nixon on several occasions, and Nixon did not say or do anything after the discussions. Corin's testimony was consistent with the testimony he gave at an evidentiary hearing in 1988. The trial judge found that Nixon's normal pattern of communicating with trial counsel was by passively receiving information. The Supreme Court, viewing the same facts and testimony, found trial counsel was not required to get the express consent of Nixon to the trial strategy. Specifically the Court said: Corin was obliged to, and in fact several times did, explain his proposed trial strategy to Nixon. See supra, at 181, 186[, 125 S.Ct. 551]. Given Nixon's constant resistance to answering inquiries put to him by counsel and court, see Nixon III, 857 So.2d, at 187-188 (Wells, J., dissenting), Corin was not additionally required to gain express consent before conceding Nixon's guilt. The two evidentiary hearings conducted by the Florida trial court demonstrate beyond doubt that Corin fulfilled his duty of consultation by informing Nixon of counsel's proposed strategy and its potential benefits. Nixon's characteristic silence each time information was conveyed to him, in sum, did not suffice to render unreasonable Corin's decision to cede guilt and to home in, instead, on the life or death penalty issue. Florida v. Nixon, 543 U.S. at 189, 125 S.Ct. 551. Trial counsel pursued a strategy of trying to avoid a sentence of death, because the totality of the evidence in this case demonstrated Nixon committed the various acts constituting murder. As the Supreme Court indicated, Counsel therefore may reasonably decide to focus on the trial's penalty phase. . . . Nixon, 543 U.S. at 191, 125 S.Ct. 551. Counsel's performance was not deficient under the facts and circumstances of this case. Because trial counsel's performance was not deficient, we need not address the prejudice prong of Strickland. See Downs v. State, 740 So.2d 506, 518 n. 19 (Fla.1999) (indicating there is no need to address the prejudice prong if the defendant has failed to establish deficient performance). Trial counsel was not ineffective for conceding guilt to first-degree murder.