Erroneous Advice Amounts To Ineffective Assistance Of Counsel

The Florida Supreme Court held that “when a defendant has committed two separate crimes and informs his attorney about both of them, the attorney’s erroneous advice that his plea in one case could not be used to enhance his sentence in the other constitutes ineffective assistance of counsel.” The court found that the court below erred in concluding that the claim was untimely. The court set forth the pleading requirements for such a claim and remanded for further proceedings. (Mike Frisch)