Further, when the defendant takes the stand, the law provides that the State must limit its inquiry of a defendant's prior record to asking if he or she has ever been convicted of a felony or a crime involving dishonesty. See § 90.610(1), Fla. Stat. (1991). If the defendant acknowledges such a record, there can be no inquiry into the details. See Hopkins v. State, 413 So. 2d 443 (Fla. 3d DCA 1982) (â€
Description
Defendant, a prisoner under sentence of death for the murder of his five year old stepson, Eugene Christian ("Eugene"), appeals the denial of his motion for postconviction relief filed pursuant to Florida Rules of Criminal Procedure 3.850 and 3.851. Applying the two prong test from Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 687 96 (1984), court determine that Henry has failed to establish either that his counsel's performance was deficient or that the deficient performance prejudiced the defense. In doing so, court recognize that defense counsel's strategy entailed significant risk to the defendant and should be employed with caution and only after careful analysis. Nevertheless, court cannot find that this strategy fell below the "wide range of professionally competent assistance" when evaluated from counsel's perspective at the time defense counsel suggested and Henry agreed to this strategy. See id. at 689-90. Furthermore, Henry has not shown that "there is a reasonable probability that, but for counsel's [allegedly] unprofessional errors, the result of the proceeding would have been different." Id. at 694; see also Hodges v. State, 885 So. 2d 338, 345-46 (Fla. 2004).
