Another of my wins on appeal. Trial counsel was ineffective when he failed to object as the trial judge sentenced the defendant to separate prison terms for rape and gross sexual imposition, and for rape and two counts of attempted rape. The Second District Court of Appeals determined that a count or rape should have been merged with a count of gross sexual imposition because the act constituting gross sexual imposition was not committed with a separate animus but was committed during the act of rape. The Appellate Court also determined that two counts of attempted rape should have been merged with the rape count because there were no intervening acts between the attempted rapes and rape and there was no specific risk of injury from each attempt at rape. The case was remanded for re-sentencing. Another interesting thing about this case is that the Court of Appeals determined that trial counsel should have filed a motion to suppress illegally obtained statements to police, but that it would not have mattered anyway. Read the Second District Court of Appeals decision here. If you need help with an appeal, contact me by clicking here.
New Sentencing Ordered in Rape Case
July 9, 2010
