Lopez v. State

Full title: SAM LOPEZ, APPELLANT, vs. THE STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE

Court: District Court of Appeal of Florida, Third District

Date published: Dec 26, 1996

684 So. 2d 342 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1996)

Opinion

Case No. 95-2118.

Opinion filed December 26, 1996.

An appeal from the Circuit Court for Dade County, Leslie B. Rothenberg, Judge.

Lower Tribunal No. 94-12955.

Bennett H. Brummer, Public Defender and Manuel Alvarez, Assistant Public Defender, for appellant.

Robert A. Butterworth, Attorney General and Doquyen T. Nguyen, Assistant Attorney General, for appellee.

Before NESBITT, GREEN, and SHEVIN, JJ.

PER CURIAM.

We find that the court's failure to conduct a hearing pursuant to Nelson v. State, 274 So.2d 256 (Fla. 4th DCA 1973) was not error where appellant never challenged the competence of his trial counsel. Smith v. State, 641 So.2d 1319, 1321 (Fla. 1994), cert. denied, ___ U.S. ___, 115 S.Ct. 1129, 130 L.Ed.2d 1091 (1995); Bodiford v. State, 665 So.2d 315, 316 (Fla. 1st DCA 1995); Kearse v. State, 605 So.2d 534, 536 n.3 (Fla. 1st DCA 1992), rev. denied, 613 So.2d 5 (Fla. 1993). We further find no merit to the remaining issue on appeal.

Affirmed.