In Owen v. Dep’t of Corrections, No. 07-14727 (May 18, 2009), the Court denied habeas relief to a Florida inmate sentenced to death for murders committed in 1984.
The Court rejected the argument that Owen’s appellate counsel was ineffective because he labored under a conflict once Owen filed a bar complaint against him. Owen failed to point to specific evidence in the record that his interests were in fact compromised.
The Court also rejected the argument that the State violated Owen’s right to counsel when it questioned him about a murder without counsel present, after Owen had been charged with an unrelated burglary. The Court noted that the right to counsel had not attached in the murder case simply because it had attached in the burglary case.
