Smith v. Singletary

Petitioner seeks relief alleging that his appellate counsel was ineffective for voluntarily dismissing the plenary appeal filed to challenge a conviction for delivery of cocaine within 1,000 feet of a school. We grant the petition for writ of habeas corpus and direct that the matter proceed as a belated appeal. The question on appeal shall focus on whether fundamental error exists in connection with the state’s failure to present evidence as to an essential element of the crime; namely, the distance between the school and the delivery of cocaine. See generally McKinney v. State, 640 So.2d…