McCloud v. State

Full title: STANLEY B. MCCLOUD, Appellant, v. STATE OF FLORIDA, Appellee.

Court: DISTRICT COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF FLORIDA FIFTH DISTRICT

Date published: Aug 30, 2019

278 So. 3d 323 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 2019)

Opinion

Case No. 5D18-2476

08-30-2019

Stanley B. MCCLOUD, Appellant, v. STATE of Florida, Appellee.

James S. Purdy, Public Defender, and Nancy Ryan, Assistant Public Defender, Daytona Beach, for Appellant. Ashley Moody, Attorney General, Tallahassee, and Kristen L. Davenport, Assistant Attorney General, Daytona Beach, for Appellee.

PER CURIAM.

James S. Purdy, Public Defender, and Nancy Ryan, Assistant Public Defender, Daytona Beach, for Appellant.

Ashley Moody, Attorney General, Tallahassee, and Kristen L. Davenport, Assistant Attorney General, Daytona Beach, for Appellee.

PER CURIAM.

"Although there is no absolute right to counsel in a postconviction proceeding, the Florida Supreme Court has held that due process requires that counsel be provided if a postconviction motion presents a meritorious claim and a hearing on the motion is potentially so complex that counsel is necessary." Russo v. Akers , 701 So. 2d 366, 367 (Fla. 5th DCA 1997), approved , 724 So. 2d 1151 (Fla. 1998). We conclude that because the record would support the summary denial of Appellant’s motion for postconviction relief, the trial court did not err in declining to appoint counsel for Appellant.

AFFIRMED.

EVANDER, C.J., ORFINGER and GROSSHANS, JJ., concur.