Robert Allan Cowan v. State of Florida
CourtDistrict Court of Appeal of Florida
Date FiledJune 10, 2021
Docket1D20-1764
StatusPublished
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Full Opinion
FIRST DISTRICT COURT OF APPEAL
STATE OF FLORIDA
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No. 1D20-1764
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ROBERT ALLAN COWAN,
Appellant,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA,
Appellee.
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On appeal from the Circuit Court for Duval County.
Bruce Anderson, Judge.
June 10, 2021
PER CURIAM.
Appellant, Robert Allan Cowan, appeals the trial court’s order
summarily denying relief as to ten of his twelve claims of
ineffective assistance of counsel made under Florida Rule of
Criminal Procedure 3.850 and denying relief as to his two
remaining ineffective assistance of counsel claims following an
evidentiary hearing. The only claim that warrants discussion and
reversal is Ground 1, wherein Appellant alleged that his trial
counsel was ineffective in failing to preserve for appeal the trial
court’s ruling on the admissibility of child hearsay statements. * In
* In his direct appeal, Appellant argued that the trial court
“erred in failing to make the required specific findings of fact that
the hearsay testimony of [the victim] was admissible under section
summarily denying relief as to Ground 1, the postconviction court
correctly found that while Appellant alleged prejudice on appeal as
a result of trial counsel’s alleged deficiency, he did not allege
prejudice during trial. See Martin-Godinez v. State, 290 So. 3d 144,
146 (Fla. 1st DCA 2020) (rejecting the argument that a defendant
can demonstrate the required prejudice for an ineffective
assistance claim by arguing that, had counsel objected, he would
have secured relief on appeal and holding that a defendant can
only secure relief or at least an evidentiary hearing by alleging
facts showing that the result of the proceeding below would have
been different but for counsel’s deficient performance). The
postconviction court should have provided Appellant with the
opportunity to amend Ground 1 to allege the proper prejudice. See
Spera v. State, 971 So. 2d 754, 755 (Fla. 2007) (“[W]e hold that in
dismissing a first postconviction motion based on a pleading
deficiency, a court abuses its discretion in failing to allow the
defendant at least one opportunity to correct the deficiency unless
it cannot be corrected.”); Martin-Godinez, 290 So. 3d at 147
(reversing and remanding for the appellant to be given the
opportunity to amend his facially insufficient postconviction claim
that alleged prejudice on appeal rather than during trial).
Accordingly, we reverse the order on appeal as to Ground 1
and remand with directions that the trial court provide Appellant
the opportunity to amend his claim. We otherwise affirm.
AFFIRMED in part, REVERSED in part, and REMANDED with
directions.
LEWIS, ROWE, and WINOKUR, JJ., concur.
90.803(23), Fla. Stat. (2009).” We affirmed on the basis that the
argument was not preserved for appeal. See Cowan v. State, 165
So. 3d 58 (Fla. 1st DCA 2015).
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Not final until disposition of any timely and
authorized motion under Fla. R. App. P. 9.330 or
9.331.
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William Mallory Kent and Ryan Edward McFarland, Jacksonville,
for Appellant.
Ashley Moody, Attorney General, and Steven Woods, Assistant
Attorney General, Tallahassee, for Appellee.
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