MORIN CHERFRERE
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA

Fla. 3d DCA | 2025-10-01
No. 2023-2131
Scales, C.J., Emas, J., Gooden, J., Altfield, J.
2025 FL 8507 Florida District Court of Appeal, Third District (2025)

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Holding

A claim of ineffective assistance of counsel cannot be sustained when based on speculation about what evidence or testimony might have been presented rather than concrete facts demonstrating deficient performance and resulting prejudice.


Headnotes

[1] A postconviction claim of ineffective assistance of counsel cannot be sustained on speculative assertions about what evidence or testimony might have been presented; the…

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Key Quotes

“Relief on ineffective assistance of counsel claims must be based on more than speculation and conjecture.”

Connor v. State, 979 So. 2d 852, 863 (Fla. 2007), cited by the court in affirming the denial of relief

Facts & Procedural History

Morin Cherfrere appealed a conviction, raising a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel. The trial court denied the claim.…

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Opinion of the Court
Scales

Third District Court of Appeal State of Florida

Opinion filed October 1, 2025. Not final until disposition of timely filed motion for rehearing.

________________

No. 3D23-2131 Lower Tribunal No. F04-9267 ________________

Morin Cherfrere, Appellant,

vs.

State of Florida, Appellee.

An Appeal from the Circuit Court for Miami-Dade County, William Altfield, Judge.

Carlos J. Martinez, Public Defender, and Deborah Prager, Assistant Public Defender, for appellant.

James Uthmeier, Attorney General, and Kayla Heather McNab, Assistant Attorney General, for appellee.

Before SCALES, C.J., and EMAS, and GOODEN, JJ.

PER CURIAM.

2

Affirmed. See Henry v. State, 948 So. 2d 609, 616 (Fla. 2006) (“To prevail on his claim of ineffective assistance of counsel, Henry must show both deficient performance and prejudice arising from this deficiency.”); see also Calhoun v. State, 312 So. 3d 826, 846 (Fla. 2019) (“Calhoun’s claim is, thus, too speculative to support postconviction relief.”); State v. Larzelere, 979 So. 2d 195, 211 (Fla. 2008) (“Larzelere has not shown counsel to be ineffective for not calling a concrete expert because she had not demonstrated what an individual qualified as a concrete expert would have testified to in this case or how such testimony would cast doubt on her guilt.”); Connor v. State, 979 So. 2d 852, 863 (Fla. 2007) (“Relief on ineffective assistance of counsel claims must be based on more than speculation and conjecture.”); Jones v. State, 845 So. 2d 55, 64 (Fla. 2003) (“Postconviction relief cannot be based on speculative assertions.”).


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