Martin v. State, 238 So. 3d 369

Thaddeus Martin appealed four trial-court orders: denial of a motion to disqualify the original judge; denial of reconsideration of that judge’s prior ruling; denial of a Rule 3.850 motion for postconviction relief asserting ineffective assistance of counsel; and denial of rehearing on the 3.850 denial.
By the time Martin filed the motion to disqualify, the original trial judge had been reassigned to juvenile division; a successor judge denied the disqualification motion.
Martin alleged his trial counsel was ineffective at a 2013 probation-violation stage by failing to advise him that he had not been placed on probation on Count Two, and that, but for that advice, he would have contested a 2014 probation violation rather than admit it.
The record (written plea agreement, probation order, and plea/sentencing transcript) showed Martin was orally sentenced to concurrent one-year probation on both Counts One and Two; the written judgment for Count Two may have omitted the probation term.
The court reaffirmed that the oral pronouncement controls over conflicting written documents and that the trial court properly corrected the written sentence to conform to the oral sentence; any counsel failure to litigate a meritless claim cannot constitute ineffective assistance.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
1. Denial of motion to disqualify original judge	Motion was valid and should have been granted	Original judge was reassigned; successor properly denied the motion on the merits and reassignment mooted issues	Affirmed: no error; reassignment and merits denial justified ruling
2. Denial of motion for reconsideration of prior ruling	Reconsideration was required despite disqualification motion	Disqualification was properly denied, so reconsideration not required under rule 2.330(h)	Affirmed: reconsideration was not warranted
3. Denial of Rule 3.850 ineffective-assistance claim (probation placement on Count Two)	Counsel failed to advise Martin he was not on probation for Count Two; he would have contested violation	Record shows oral pronouncement imposed probation on Count Two; written error was correctable; claim was meritless	Affirmed: counsel not ineffective for failing to raise a meritless issue
4. Denial of rehearing on 3.850 denial	Rehearing should be granted to revisit ineffective-assistance claim	No reversible error in denial; rehearing properly denied	Affirmed: rehearing denial proper

Neal v. State, 929 So. 2d 59 (Fla. 5th DCA 2006) (reassignment can render disqualification motion moot)
Ashley v. State, 850 So. 2d 1265 (Fla. 2003) (oral pronouncement controls over written sentence)
Chapman v. State, 14 So. 3d 273 (Fla. 5th DCA 2009) (trial court may clarify/correct written sentence to conform with oral pronouncement)
Williams v. State, 957 So. 2d 600 (Fla. 2007) (rule 3.800 authority to correct illegal sentence and related sentencing principles)
Peede v. State, 955 So. 2d 480 (Fla. 2007) (counsel not ineffective for failing to pursue a meritless claim)
Grosvenor v. State, 874 So. 2d 1176 (Fla. 2004) (two-pronged test for ineffective assistance in guilty-plea context)
Barber v. Mackenzie, 562 So. 2d 755 (Fla. 3d DCA 1990) (discussed re: reassignment and successor judge reconsideration)