Michael Joseph Griffin v. State of Florida, Appellee Michael Joseph Griffin v. Michael D. Crews

Summary

The court affirmed the denial of relief on Griffin's challenges to his guilty plea and alleged Brady violation, but affirmed the grant of a new penalty phase based on ineffective assistance of counsel. Counsel's penalty-phase investigation was unreasonably limited by an unsupported belief that Griffin would receive life, and the omitted mitigating evidence undermined confidence in the death sentence. The court denied Griffin's habeas petition because his disparate-sentence claim based on his codefendant's later life sentence should have been raised in a timely postconviction motion. No separate opinions were filed.