Justia Florida Supreme Court Opinion Summaries

After a jury trial, Defendant was found guilty of first-degree murder under the felony murder and premeditated theories in the deaths of Berthum Gibson and Keenethia Keenan and guilty of first-degree murder under the felony murder theory in the death of Desmond Robinson. Defendant was sentenced to death for the deaths of Gibson and Keenan. The Supreme Court affirmed the convictions and sentences, holding (1) the evidence was sufficient to support Defendant’s convictions under both the felony murder and premeditation theories; (2) the trial court did not err in giving additional weight to the felony murder aggravating circumstance; (3) Defendant’s death sentences were proportional; and (4) Defendant’s death sentences were not unconstitutional under Ring v. Arizona.View "Smith v. State" on Justia Law

After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to death. The Supreme Court affirmed on direct appeal. Defendant subsequently filed an amended motion to vacate his judgment and sentence, which the postconviction court denied. Defendant appealed and filed an accompanying petition for writ of habeas corpus. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) the postconviction court did not err in finding Defendant competent to proceed in his postconviction proceedings; (2) the postconviction court did not err in denying Defendant’s claim of ineffective assistance of trial counsel during the penalty phase and voir dire; (3) the postconviction court did not err in summarily denying Defendant’s claim that trial counsel was ineffective for failing to file a motion for a change of venue; (4) Florida’s method of execution for lethal injection is constitutional; and (5) Defendant was not entitled to relief on his claim that his right against cruel and unusual punishment would be violated because he may be incompetent at the time of execution.View "Franklin v. State" on Justia Law

Defendant was convicted of first-degree murder, kidnapping, and sexual battery with great force. Defendant was sentenced to death. The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant’s convictions and sentence of death. Defendant subsequently filed a motion for postconviction relief, raising several allegations of error. The postconviction court denied the motion. The Supreme Court affirmed the postconviction court’s denial of relief and denied Defendant’s petition for a writ of habeas corpus, holding (1) trial counsel did not provide ineffective assistance; (2) Defendant was not entitled to relief on his claims relating to the State’s alleged use of Defendant’s co-defendant as a state agent and letters written between the co-defendant and Defendant; and (3) appellate counsel did not provide ineffective assistance. View "Johnson v. State" on Justia Law

Appellant, a prisoner under a sentence of death for whom a death warrant had been signed, filed a successive motion for postconviction relief raising an as-applied challenge to Florida’s lethal injection protocol based on his allegation that he suffers from the medical condition porphyria. The circuit court denied Appellant’s claim without an evidentiary hearing. Appellant appealed and produced an affidavit by a physician stating that, in the physician’s expert medical opinion, a substantial risk existed that the use of midazolam hydrochloride as the first drug of Florida’s lethal injection protocol would cause Appellant “extreme or excruciating pain.” In light of these allegations, the Supreme Court relinquished jurisdiction to the circuit court. After a hearing, the circuit court denied Appellant’s claim. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that Appellant failed to demonstrate that Florida’s lethal injection protocol, as applied to him, violated the Eighth Amendment because he did not show that allegedly suffering from porphyria creates a “substantial risk of serious harm” upon the injection of midazolam. View "Davis v. State" on Justia Law

Appellant was convicted after a jury trial for the first-degree murders of an elderly couple, whom he cut and stabbed. Sentences of death were imposed for both murders, but the case returned to the circuit court. After a new penalty phase, Appellant was sentenced to death for only one murder. The Supreme Court affirmed Appellant's sentence of death. Appellant sought postconviction relief, alleging ineffective assistance of counsel. After an evidentiary hearing, the postconviction court concluded that Appellant was entitled to a new penalty phase trial. The Supreme Court reinstated Appellant's sentence of death, holding that Appellant was not entitled to any relief due to ineffective assistance of counsel under the Strickland v. Washington standard. View "State v. Woodel" on Justia Law

Defendant was charged with drug trafficking and possession after the vehicle he was driving was stopped by a deputy sheriff who had noticed an inconsistency between the actual color of the vehicle and the color indicated on the vehicle’s registration. Defendant moved to suppress the results of the stop as products of an unlawful, warrantless search. The trial court denied the motion to suppress, concluding that the vehicle was legally stopped for investigative purposes and that the odor of marijuana emanating from inside the vehicle gave the officer probable cause to conduct a search. Defendant was subsequently convicted. The district court reversed the denial of Defendant’s motion to suppress, concluding that a color discrepancy alone does not provide reasonable suspicion for an investigatory stop. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that a color discrepancy, standing alone, does not justify initiating a stop to determine if the law has been violated. View "State v. Teamer" on Justia Law

After a jury trial, Richard England was found guilty of first-degree premeditated murder and felony murder and robbery with a deadly weapon. The trial court sentenced Petitioner to death. England later filed a petition for postconviction relief, alleging ineffective assistance of counsel. The postconviction court denied relief on all claims. Petitioner appealed and petitioned the Supreme Court for a writ of habeas corpus. The Supreme Court affirmed the denial of postconviction relief, holding that the postconviction did not err in concluding that counsel provided constitutionally effective assistance during both the guilt phase and penalty phase of trial. The Court also denied habeas relief, holding that England failed to establish that appellate counsel was ineffective, and the remainder of his claims were procedurally barred or without merit. View "England v. State" on Justia Law

In 1980, Appellant was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to death. After the Governor signed the death warrant in this case, Appellant filed a successive motion for postconviction relief seeking to vacate his judgments of conviction and sentence of death. Appellant also filed motions for disclosure of public records, discovery, and for a stay. The circuit court summarily denied the motions and postconviction claims. The Supreme Court temporarily relinquished jurisdiction for the purpose of holding an evidentiary hearing on the sole issue of the safety and efficacy of the new drug in the lethal injection procedure. After an evidentiary hearing, the circuit court rejected the claim that the use of midazolam hydrochloride as the first drug in the three-drug lethal injection protocol would result in a substantial risk of serious harm and, accordingly, held that the protocol was constitutional. The Supreme Court (1) affirmed the circuit court's order denying postconviction relief on the claims raised in Appellant's successive postconviction motion; but (2) reversed the circuit court's order denying Appellant's public records request for copies of his own inmate and medical records and ordered transmission of copies of those records to Appellant's counsel.View "Muhammad v. State" on Justia Law

Defendant pled guilty to first-degree murder with a firearm. After a penalty-phase proceeding conducted before a jury, the trial court imposed the death sentence for the murder. The Supreme Court affirmed the conviction and sentence of death, holding (1) the trial court did not abuse its discretion in finding and assigning great weight to a cold, calculated, and premeditated (CCP) aggravator; (2) Defendant's death sentence was a proportionate punishment in this case; (3) Defendant failed to present any compelling reason for the Court to reconsider its established precedent on the issue of whether a mental illness rendered Defendant's execution unconstitutional; and (4) Defendant's guilty plea was knowingly, intelligently, and voluntarily entered. View "McCoy v. State" on Justia Law

Appellant was convicted of first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, and related crimes. The jury recommended that Appellant be sentenced to death, and the judge followed the jury’s recommendation. On appeal, the Supreme Court vacated Appellant’s death sentence based on the cumulative effect of errors made during the penalty phase of the trial. Following a new penalty phase, the trial court again sentenced Appellant to death. The Supreme Court upheld the trial court’s imposition of the death penalty on resentencing, holding (1) the trial court did not abuse its discretion in allowing the State’s strikes of two African American venirepersons; (2) the trial court did not abuse its discretion in allowing the State to introduce the severed fingertip of one of the victims into the new penalty phase; (3) the prosecutor engaged in improper arguments, but the errors were harmless; and (4) the death sentence in this case was appropriate. View "Poole v. State" on Justia Law