ROBERT LEE LEONARD
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA
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Robert Lee Leonard appeals the trial court's summary denial of his postconviction rule 3.850 motion claiming his trial counsel was ineffective for failing to object to visible shackles during trial. The trial court denied the motion claiming the allegation was patently false and contradicted by recordings, but those recordings were not included in the appellate record. The appellate court reversed as to the shackling claim because the record did not conclusively refute Leonard's allegations.
The court reversed the trial court's summary denial of the shackling claim because the record on appeal did not conclusively refute Leonard's allegations. On remand, the trial court must either attach records that conclusively refute the claim or conduct an evidentiary hearing on the ineffective assistance claim.
[1] When a trial court denies a postconviction motion by relying on documentary evidence not in the appellate record, the denial must be reversed and the matter remanded for…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“On appeal from the denial of relief, unless the record shows conclusively that the appellant is entitled to no relief, the order shall be reversed and the cause remanded for an evidentiary hearing or other appropriate relief.”
Florida Rule of Appellate Procedure 9.141(b)(2)(D), cited as governing the standard of review for postconviction motion denials
Leonard was convicted of sexually abusing a child and sentenced to 35 years with a 25-year mandatory minimum. He filed a rule 3.850 postconviction mot…
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February 5, 2019 PER CURIAM.
This is an appeal from an order denying a postconviction motion. Robert Lee Leonard was convicted of sexually abusing a child, and he was sentenced to 35 years in prison with a 25-year mandatory minimum. This court affirmed his conviction and sentence without an opinion. See Leonard v. State, 143 So. 3d 926 (Fla. 1st DCA 2014) (Table).
Leonard then filed a rule 3.850 motion, raising several issues. One claim was that his attorney should have objected to his wearing shackles in front of jurors. He alleged that he wore extra-large shackles that his pants could not conceal, that jurors could hear his shackles every time he moved, that this was inherently prejudicial, and that he was deprived of his Sixth Amendment right to adequate counsel when his attorney failed to object.
The trial court summarily denied the motion, saying the allegation of shackling was “patently false” and contradicted by audio and video recordings. But those recordings were not in the record, so the record on appeal does not conclusively refute Leonard’s allegations. See Fla. R. App. P. 9.141(b)(2)(D) (“On appeal from the denial of relief, unless the record shows conclusively that the appellant is entitled to no relief, the order shall be reversed and the cause remanded for an evidentiary hearing or other appropriate relief.”); see also Torres v. State, 9 So. 3d 746, 748 (Fla. 4th DCA 2009) (reversing the denial of a rule 3.850 motion alleging that counsel was ineffective for failing to properly object to the defendant standing trial in shackles where the trial court failed to attach documents that conclusively refuted the claim); Jensen v. State, 964 So. 2d 812, 812 (Fla. 4th DCA 2007). As the State concedes, we must reverse as to this claim. On remand, the trial court should attach records conclusively refuting the claim or conduct an evidentiary hearing. As to all other issues, we affirm.
AFFIRMED in part, REVERSED in part, and REMANDED.
ROBERTS, KELSEY, and WINSOR, JJ., concur. _____________________________ Not final until disposition of any timely and authorized motion under Fla. R. App. P. 9.330 or 9.331.
_____________________________ Robert Lee Leonard, pro se, Appellant. Ashley B. Moody, Attorney General, and Bryan Jordan, Senior Assistant Attorney General, Tallahassee, for Appellee.
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Cited By
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Leonard v. State, 143 So. 3d 926 (Fla. 1st DCA 2019)…nviction motion. Robert Lee Leonard was convicted of sexually abusing a child, and he was sentenced to 35 years in prison with a 25-year mandatory minimum. This court affirmed his conviction and sentence without an opinion. See Leonard v. State, 143 So. 3d 926 (Fla. 1st DCA 2014) (Table). Leonard then filed a rule 3.850 motion, raising several issues. One claim was that his attorney should have objected to his wearing shackles in front of jurors. He alleged that he wore extra-large shackles that his…
Authorities Cited
- Torres v. State, 9 So. 3d 746 (Fla. 4th DCA 2009)
- Jensen v. State, 964 So. 2d 812 (Fla. 4th DCA 2007)
- Leonard v. State, 143 So. 3d 926 (Fla. 1st DCA 2019)