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

Summary

The court affirmed the denial of Rimmer’s postconviction motion and denied his habeas petition. It held that most asserted procedural, ineffective-assistance, disclosure, severance, mistrial, jury-instruction, and sentencing claims either lacked deficient performance, prejudice, or legal merit, although penalty-phase counsel performed deficiently by failing to obtain reasonably accessible records for the mental-health expert; that deficiency did not prejudice the death sentence. The court also concluded that the State had not established a material disclosure violation and that appellate counsel was not ineffective for omitting meritless claims.