State v. Bright
Annotate this CaseAfter a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder. The trial court sentenced Defendant to death for both murders. The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant’s convictions and sentences on appeal. Defendant subsequently filed an amended motion to vacate his judgment and sentences, alleging ineffective assistance of counsel during both the guilt phase and penalty phase of trial. The postconviction court granted Defendant a new penalty phase, concluding that counsel provided ineffective assistance during the penalty phase and that Defendant was deprived of a fair trial during the penalty phase by the cumulative effect of the errors. The court denied Defendant’s remaining claims. Both the State and Defendant appealed. The Supreme Court affirmed the postconviction court’s order and remanded for a new penalty phase proceeding, holding (1) competent, substantial evidence supported the postconviction court’s findings that Defendant was prejudiced by the deficient performance of his penalty phase counsel; and (2) the postconviction court did not err in finding that Defendant’s trial counsel were not unconstitutionally ineffective during the guilt phase of his trial.
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