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[DO NOT PUBLISH]
IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT
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No. 13-12694
Non-Argument Calendar
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D.C. Docket No. 2:12-cv-14415-DLG
MARTINO RAMOS,
Petitioner-Appellant,
versus
DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS,
Respondent-Appellee.
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Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Southern District of Florida
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(July 14, 2014)
Before TJOFLAT, PRYOR and JORDAN, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM:
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Martino Ramos, a Florida prisoner, appeals the denial of his petition for a
writ of habeas corpus. See 28 U.S.C. § 2254. Ramos alleged that his trial counsel
was ineffective for failing to request that the trial court hold a hearing and
articulate its reasons for partially closing the courtroom. Because it was not an
unreasonable application of clearly established federal law for the Florida courts to
conclude that Ramos failed to establish that he was prejudiced by his counsel’s
allegedly deficient conduct, we affirm.
Ramos was charged in a Florida court for 13 counts of sexual battery while
in a position of familial authority over one victim and in a position of custodial
authority over a second victim. Before the victims took the stand to testify, the
trial court inquired if they wanted to have the courtroom partially closed during
their testimony. See Fla. Stat. § 918.16(a). Ramos’s counsel objected to the partial
closure on two grounds: the victims exceeded the age in section 918.16(a) and the
statute was unconstitutional. The district court overruled Ramos’s objection on the
grounds that he failed to provide any authority to support his arguments; no
constitutional violation would occur because a member of the media would be
allowed to remain in the courtroom; and the partial closure was mandated by
statute. A jury convicted Ramos of all 13 offenses.
Ramos appealed and argued, in relevant part, that the trial court violated his
right to a public trial under the Sixth Amendment by failing to “hold a hearing and
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articulate specific findings” to justify the partial closure of the courtroom. The
state responded that Ramos failed to preserve his argument for appellate review
and, alternatively, that Ramos’s argument lacked merit because the statute
mandated closure when requested by a victim. The Fourth District Court of
Appeal affirmed summarily.
Undeterred, Ramos filed a motion for postconviction relief and attacked the
partial closure of the courtroom under the guise of ineffective assistance of
counsel. See Fla. R. Crim. P. 3.850. The Florida court denied Ramos’s motion
because he “failed to allege any facts to demonstrate prejudice to the outcome of
the trial.” The Fourth District Court of Appeal affirmed without opinion.
Ramos filed a federal petition for a writ of habeas corpus and repeated his
claim of ineffective assistance of counsel, see 28 U.S.C. § 2254, but the district
court denied the writ. The district court ruled that Ramos was required to prove
that he was prejudiced by his counsel’s alleged deficient conduct, see Purvis v.
Crosby, 451 F.3d 734 (11th Cir. 2006), which he failed to do. The district court
found that the evidence established that the victims’ testimony was reliable.
The district court correctly denied Ramos’s petition. The Florida court
reasonably determined that Ramos failed to establish that he was prejudiced by his
counsel’s allegedly deficient conduct. Ramos failed to establish that “there [was] a
reasonable probability that, but for counsel’s unprofessional errors, the result of the
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proceeding would have been different.” Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668,
694, 104 S. Ct. 2052, 2068 (1984). Ramos argues that he was prejudiced because
he would have received relief on appeal, but the applicable standard focuses on the
outcome at trial, not on appeal. Ramos bore the burden of proving that, had the
courtroom been open to the public, the jury “would have had a reasonable doubt
respecting [his] guilt.” Id. at 695, 104 S. Ct. at 2068–69; see Purvis, 451 F.3d at
738–39. Ramos never alleged that his victims’ testimonies would have differed
had the courtroom been open to the public.
Ramos argues that the failure of counsel to object to the partial closure of the
courtroom constituted a structural error for which the courts had to presume
prejudice, but we rejected that argument in Purvis. The Supreme Court instructed
in Strickland that prejudice must be proved for all claims of ineffective assistance
except those situations involving the actual or constructive denial of counsel,
government interference with counsel’s assistance, or a conflict of interest. Purvis,
451 F.3d at 740–43. We are bound by our decision in Purvis unless it is overruled
by the Supreme Court or this Court sitting en banc. See United States v. Lawson,
686 F.3d 1317, 1319 (11th Cir. 2012).
We AFFIRM the denial of Ramos’s petition for a writ of habeas corpus.
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