Margaret A. Allen v. State of Florida

Summary

The Supreme Court of Florida affirmed the denial of Margaret Allen’s motion for postconviction relief after rejecting her ineffective-assistance, prosecutorial-misconduct, juror-bias, and capital-sentencing claims. The court held that Allen failed to establish deficient performance and prejudice, that the false testimony concerning her drug convictions was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt, and that any capital-sentencing error was harmless. The court also rejected Allen’s argument that the standard jury instructions violated the Eighth Amendment.