Evans v. Secretary, FL DOC, et al, No. 11-14498 (11th Cir. 2012)
Annotate this CaseThe State appealed the part of the district court's judgment that granted petitioner habeas relief from his death sentence on the theory that application of the jury sentencing provisions of the Florida statute violated his Sixth Amendment rights, as interpreted in Ring v. Arizona. Based on Supreme Court precedent, the court reversed the district court's judgment insofar as it granted federal habeas relief to petitioner on Ring grounds. In his cross-appeal, petitioner contended that his Sixth Amendment right to public trial was violated when the court partially closed the voir dire proceedings because of the limited seating that was available in a small hearing room. The court agreed with the district court that the Florida Supreme Court's decision on this issue was not contrary to or an unreasonable application of clearly established Federal law as determined by the Supreme Court and the court added three points about the nature of the deference due to the state court. Finally, the court rejected petitioner's claims of ineffective assistance of counsel. Accordingly, the court affirmed in part and reversed in part.
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