HAROLD GRANT SNOWDEN, SR., PETITIONER,
v.
THE HONORABLE AMY S. DONNER, CIRCUIT JUDGE, ELEVENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT, DADE COUNTY, FLORIDA, RESPONDENT
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Florida court denies petition for writ of prohibition, holding that sexual battery upon a child under twelve is not a capital crime and therefore does not require grand jury indictment under the Florida Constitution.
Sexual battery upon a child of twelve or under is not a capital crime because the death penalty cannot be imposed for that offense, and therefore does not require grand jury indictment.
[1] A crime is a capital crime requiring grand jury indictment only if the death penalty is a possible penalty for that offense; sexual battery upon a child of twelve or unde…
Previewing 1 of 1 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“For the purposes of defining 'capital' under that statute and rule we hold that a capital case is one where death is a possible penalty.”
State v. Hogan, defining what constitutes a capital crime for purposes of jury requirements and constitutional protections.
Petitioner Snowden was charged by information with sexual battery upon a child of twelve or under under Florida Statute Section 794.011(2).…
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SCHWARTZ, Chief Judge.
As we did in Rodriguez v. Cowart, 458 So. 2d 284 (Fla. 3d DCA 1984) (Table), we adopt the holding of Cooper v. State, 453 So. 2d 67 (Fla. 1st DCA 1984) that since, under Buford v. State, 403 So. 2d 943 (Fla.1981), cert. denied, 454 U.S. 1164, 102 S.Ct. 1039, 71 L.Ed.2d 320 (1982), the death penalty may not be imposed for a violation of the statute which proscribes sexual battery upon a child of twelve or under, Sec. 794.-011(2), Fla.Stat. (1983), the offense is not a “capital crime” so as to require a grand jury indictment pursuant to Article I, Section 15(a) of the Florida Constitution. (“No person shall be tried for capital crime without presentment or indictment by a grand jury.”).
See State v. Hogan, 451 So. 2d 844, 845 (Fla.1984) (twelve person jury requirements for capital crimes not applicable to Sec. 794.011(2) because “[f]or the purposes of defining ‘capital’ under that statute and rule we hold that a capital case is one where death is a possible penalty.”); Rusaw v. State, 451 So. 2d 469, 470 (Fla.1984) (“This Court has long held that a capital crime is one in which the death sentence is possible. Donaldson v. Sack, 265 So. 2d 499 (Fla.1972); Adams v. State, 56 Fla. 1, 48 So. 219 (1908).”).
Accordingly, the petition for writ of prohibition challenging the state’s right to proceed against the petitioner by information is
Denied.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
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Carter v. State, 483 So. 2d 740 (Fla. 5th DCA 1986)…be required to try the case, we conclude, as have other district courts of appeal, that the defendant may be charged with this crime by information, rather than by indictment. See State v. Wells, 466 So. 2d 291 (Fla. 2d DCA 1985); Snowden v. Donner, 464 So. 2d 223 (Fla. 3d DCA), rev. dismissed, 469 So. 2d 750 (Fla.1985); Cooper v. State, 453 So. 2d 67 (Fla. 1st DCA 1984). Because Milliken v. State, 398 So. 2d 508 (Fla. 5th DCA 1981) was decided before Buford outlawed the death penalty for this crime, it is no…
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Griffith v. State, 548 So. 2d 244 (Fla. 3d DCA 1989)…sexual battery case is triable by six-person jury); Reino v. State, 352 So. 2d 853 (Fla.1977) (two year statute of limitations applies in capital cases where offense was committed between Furman and date of new death penalty); see Snowden v. Donner, 464 So. 2d 223 (Fla. 3d DCA 1985) (indictment not necessary in “capital crime” where death penalty is not possible), pet. for review dismissed, 469 So. 2d 750 (Fla.1985). Moreover, the supreme court, again very recently, has emphasized that — even as to these lat…
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Selvin Vasquez-Gomez v. State (Fla. 3d DCA 2025)
Authorities Cited
- Buford v. State, 403 So. 2d 943 (Fla. 1981)
- Donaldson v. The Honorable Martin Sack, 265 So. 2d 499 (Fla. 1972)
- State v. Hogan, 451 So. 2d 844 (Fla. 1984)
- Rusaw v. State, 451 So. 2d 469 (Fla. 1984)
- Lakewood Bank & Tr. Co. v. Abramson, 454 U.S. 1164 (U.S. 1982)
- Champlin Petroleum Co. v. King & King Enters., 454 U.S. 1164 (U.S. 1982)
- January Adams v. State, 56 Fla. 1 (Fla. 1908)
- Cooper v. State, 453 So. 2d 67 (Fla. 1st DCA 1984)