Richard Allen Johnson v. State of Florida, 135 So. 3d 1002

Johnson was 23 at the time of the February 2001 murder of Tammy Hagin in Port St. Lucie, including kidnapping and sexual battery; death sentence affirmed on direct appeal.
Hagin’s body was disposed in Savannas State Preserve after being strangled; Vitale, a codefendant, aided in disposal and testified for the State.
The State introduced postmortem perineal injuries; trial theory was that Johnson caused them to cover up the murder, while defense argued marine life caused them.
Johnson challenged his conviction via a postconviction 3.851 motion; an evidentiary hearing was held on several claims alleging ineffective assistance of counsel and Massiah/Brady/Giglio issues.
The postconviction court denied relief; Johnson also filed a habeas petition challenging appellate counsel’s failure to raise Miranda issues.
The Florida Supreme Court affirmatively denied all postconviction relief and denied the habeas petition, upholding the trial court’s rulings.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Guilt-phase IAC over perineal injuries	Johnson claims trial counsel were deficient for failing to object to the State's use of 'cut' terminology.	Johnson argues trial strategy was deficient and the terms misled the jury.	No deficiency; statements aligned with examiner and defense theory; no prejudice.
Medical examiner's 'heinous' descriptor	Counsel should have objected to the examiner calling the death 'heinous'.	Obj limited; not a true opinion on HAC; no prejudice.	Not deficient; descriptor was descriptive, not an aggravating opinion.
Vitale's testimony about Johnson wanting to have sex with the victim	Counsel should have objected to Vitale's opinion about Johnson's sexual intent.	Vitale's observations were permissible lay/testimonial testimony; no prejudice.	Not deficient; testimony framed as observations; no prejudice.
Failure to request a limiting instruction for Vitale testimony	Defense should have sought a limiting instruction to mitigate prejudice.	Strategic choice not to seek instruction; no prejudice.	No prejudice; strategic choice; not error requiring relief.
State use of Vitale as a State agent and Massiah/Brady/Giglio claims	Letters and communications show Vitale acting as a State agent; Burns letter withheld; Brady/Massiah/Giglio violated.	No Massiah violation; no State agent; Burns letter not disclosed but no prejudice; Brady not met.	No Massiah/Brady/Giglio relief; no State agent established; no prejudice; no relief.

Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (U.S. 1984) (two-prong test for ineffective assistance)
Schoenwetter v. State, 46 So. 3d 535 (Fla. 2010) (standard for assessing IAC under Strickland)
Morris v. State, 931 So. 2d 821 (Fla. 2006) (deficiency under Strickland norm)
Occhicone v. State, 768 So. 2d 1037 (Fla. 2000) (highly deferential review; strategic decisions allowed)
Hitchcock v. State, 991 So. 2d 337 (Fla. 2008) (meritless objections cannot render counsel ineffective)
Brown v. State, 846 So. 2d 1114 (Fla. 2003) (curative instructions and strategic choices in evidence)
Cole v. State, 841 So. 2d 409 (Fla. 2003) (procedure for evaluating objections and strategy)
Massiah v. United States, 377 U.S. 201 (U.S. 1964) (Sixth Amendment; deliberate elicitation after indictment)
Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83 (U.S. 1963) (duty to disclose favorable evidence)
Giglio v. United States, 405 U.S. 150 (U.S. 1972) (exposure to witness plea deals and disclosure)
Kuhlmann v. Wilson, 477 U.S. 436 (U.S. 1986) (deliberately elicited standard applies to informants)
Maine v. Moulton, 474 U.S. 159 (U.S. 1985) (informant involvement and rights)
Cuervo v. State, 967 So. 2d 155 (Fla. 2007) (scrupulous honoring of invocation of right to remain silent)