MAHLARD K. BOYD, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE

Fla. 4th DCA | 2005-08-10
No. 4D04-2819
FARMER and TAYLOR, JJ., concur.
912 So. 2d 26 Florida District Court of Appeal, Fourth District (2005) Caution
Cited by 9 cases

AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.

Synopsis

Mahlard Boyd appealed the denial of his Rule 3.850 motion alleging ineffective assistance of counsel. The court affirmed the summary denial, holding that trial counsel was not ineffective for failing to request an "independent act" jury instruction because Boyd's defense was based on complete non-involvement rather than participation in a common plan with his co-felon.


Holding

Trial counsel was not ineffective because an "independent act" instruction would have been contrary to Boyd's defense and was not supported by the evidence. Boyd's defense was that he had no involvement and no common plan with Flanagan existed, not that he participated in a plan but Flanagan's armed robbery fell outside its scope.


Headnotes

[1] A defendant claiming ineffective assistance of counsel must demonstrate that counsel's performance was deficient and that the deficient performance affected the outcome o…

[2] The "independent act" doctrine applies when a co-felon, who initially participated in a common plan, does not participate in acts committed by a co-felon that fall outsid…

Previewing 2 of 5 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.

Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence

Key Quotes

“The 'independent act' doctrine arises when one cofelon, who previously participated in a common plan, does not participate in acts committed by his cofelon, 'which fall outside of, and are foreign to, the common design of the original collaboration.'”

Defines the independent act doctrine and establishes that it requires prior participation in a common plan

Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.

Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence

Facts & Procedural History

Boyd was convicted of robbery with a firearm and sentenced as a violent habitual felony offender to life with a fifteen-year mandatory minimum. The st…

The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.

Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence

© FLexlaw, Inc. — AI-generated enrichments are proprietary. All rights reserved.


Opinion of the Court
HAZOURI, J.

HAZOURI, J.

Mahlard K. Boyd appeals the summary denial of his Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.850 motion in which he alleges three claims of ineffective assistance of trial counsel. We affirm the summary denial of all three claims and choose to address only Boyd’s claim that his trial counsel was ineffective in having failed to request a special “independent act” jury instruction.

Boyd was convicted of robbery with a firearm. He was sentenced as a violent habitual felony offender to life with a fifteen-year mandatory term. The' state presented evidence that Boyd and co-defendant Brian Flanagan were involved in the robbery of Jerry Thompson. Thompson was accosted by two men, one with a gun. Thompson’s wallet containing $650 was taken.

Boyd faults trial counsel for not requesting a jury instruction associated with the “independent act” defense. To support his position, Boyd references the victim’s testimony that Boyd had nothing to do with the armed robbery. Boyd also alleges that the “record disclosed” that co-defendant Flanagan testified that Boyd had no prior knowledge or involvement in the incident.

Co-defendant Flanagan testified that the robbery was his own idea and that he executed it without Boyd’s help. According to Flanagan, Boyd was surprised when Flanagan drew a gun. Flanagan testified that Boyd pulled away when Flanagan refused to stop. Flanagan explained that he was high on crack cocaine at the time.

At issue is the “independent act” doctrine. “The ‘independent act’ doctrine arises when one cofelon, who previously participated in a common plan, does not participate in acts committed by his cofel-on, ‘which fall outside of, and are foreign to, the common design of the original collaboration.’ ” Ray v. State, 755 So. 2d 604, 609 (Fla.2000) (emphasis added) (quoting Ward v. State, 568 So. 2d 452, 453 (Fla. 3d DCA 1990)). A defendant who does not participate in the independent act of his co-felon is exonerated from any punishment imposed for the independent act. Ray, 755 So. 2d at 609.

The state argues that Boyd’s claim should fail, as counsel made the argument that Flanagan acted independently and therefore Boyd was not guilty. The state’s position is that a jury instruction on the “independent act” doctrine would have been contrary to the defense at trial, and that there was no evidentiary support for such instruction. We agree.

In the instant case, Boyd’s defense was not that he had previously participated in a common plan and the acts of the co-felon were outside of and were foreign to the common design of the original collaboration. Boyd’s defense was that there was no common plan between him and Flanagan, Flanagan’s act of armed robbery came as a complete surprise to Boyd, and Boyd was in no way involved in the armed robbery.

In order to demonstrate ineffective assistance of counsel, Boyd must show that counsel’s performance was deficient and there was a reasonable probability that counsel’s deficient performance affected the outcome of the proceedings. See Beneby v. State, 888 So. 2d 144, 145 (Fla. 4th DCA 2004) (citing Strickland v. Wash ington, 466 U.S. 668, 687, 104 S.Ct. 2052, 80 L.Ed.2d 674 (1984)).

Boyd has failed to meet his burden of demonstrating ineffective assistance of trial counsel and we therefore affirm the denial of his 3.850 motion.

Affirmed.

FARMER and TAYLOR, JJ., concur.


Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus


Citator

Cited By

  • Pestano v. State, 980 So. 2d 1200 (Fla. 3d DCA 2008)
    …is Miranda rights, is the fruit of the poisonous tree. As to the last issue, we conclude that the court properly denied Pestano’s request for an independent act jury instruction. Ward v. State, 568 So. 2d 452, 453 (Fla. 3d DCA 1990); Boyd v. State, 912 So. 2d 26, 27 (Fla. 4th DCA 2005). See Ray v. State, 755 So. 2d 604, 609 (Fla.2000). Denying any involvement in a crime, which was defendant’s theory at trial, as supported by his testimony, negates the propriety of an independent act instruction. Boyd, 912 S…
  • Pickett v. State, 4 So. 3d 687 (Fla. 5th DCA 2009)
    …PER CURIAM. AFFIRMED. See Boyd v. State, 912 So. 2d 26 (Fla. 4th DCA 2005). MONACO, TORPY and EVANDER, JJ., concur.…
  • Cannon v. State, 18 So. 3d 562 (Fla. 1st DCA 2009)
    …Pestano v. State, 980 So. 2d 1200, 1203 (Fla. 3d DCA 2008) (holding independent act instruction inappropriate where defense theory at trial, supported by defendant’s testimony, was that defendant had no involvement in crime); see also Boyd v. State, 912 So. 2d 26, 27 (Fla. 4th DCA 2005) (holding that counsel could not be ineffective for failing to request independent act instruction where defense at trial was that defendant accused of armed robbery had no common plan to participate in any crime with codefend…

Previewing 3 of 5 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.

Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence

Authorities Cited

Full citator, related cases, and AI research tools

Open in FLexlaw