Robert J. Trease, Appellant v. State of Florida, Appellee; Robert J. Trease, Petitioner, v. Walter A. McNeil

Summary

The court affirmed the trial court’s determination that Trease knowingly, intelligently, and voluntarily waived postconviction counsel and proceedings after a required competency and waiver inquiry. It also denied Trease’s later request to resume the proceedings because a mere change of mind did not invalidate a prior valid waiver, and it dismissed the related appeal and habeas petition. Justice Pariente, dissenting, would have allowed the appeal to proceed because unresolved innocence claims and the capital context outweighed finality concerns.