Case Explained: Non-Argument Calendar FRANK REYES v. FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS

Court: United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit Filed: 2026-06-15 Docket: 0:22-cv-60567-RAR The eleventh-circuit affirmed the district court’s denial of habeas corpus relief to Frank Reyes, a Florida prisoner convicted of second-degree murder. The court addressed Reyes’s sole certified claim that his trial counsel provided ineffective assistance under the Sixth Amendment by failing to object to the jury instruction regarding the duty to retreat in self-defense cases involving unlawful activity. Applying the standard set forth in *Strickland v. Washington*, 466 U.S. 668 (1984), the court focused its analysis on the prejudice prong, which requires a defendant to show a reasonable probability that, but for counsel’s unprofessional errors, the result of the proceeding would have been different. The court held that Reyes failed to demonstrate such prejudice. It reasoned that even if the jury had received the specific instruction Reyes requested regarding the duty to retreat for individuals engaged in unlawful activity, there was no reasonable likelihood the jury would have found that retreating would have increased the danger to him. The record indicated that the incident occurred in a parking lot where Reyes could have left without facing an increase in physical danger, and the evidence did not support a finding of imminent death or great bodily harm sufficient to justify deadly force under any instruction. Consequently, the court concluded that the alleged instructional error did not undermine confidence in the trial’s outcome. As a result of this decision, the district court’s order denying Reyes’s petition for a writ of habeas corpus remains in effect, and his conviction and 40-year sentence stand. Do It For The Case Law is a news reporting service. Nothing in this episode constitutes legal advice.