TRAVON WILDS
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA

Fla. 3d DCA | 2025-11-12
No. 2024-0205
Scales, C.J., Miller, J., Bokor, J., Pooler, J.
2025 FL 10540 Florida District Court of Appeal, Third District (2025)

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Holding

Prosecutorial comments during closing argument do not constitute fundamental error where the evidence of guilt was compelling and the comments did not affect the jury's verdict.

Headnotes

[1] Fundamental error in closing argument occurs only where an improper prosecutorial comment affected the validity of the trial such that, but for the comment, the jury coul…

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Facts & Procedural History

Travon Wilds was tried in Miami-Dade County Circuit Court on criminal charges. The prosecution made statements during closing argument that appellant …

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Topics
Fundamental Error In Closing Argument Appeal Of Criminal Conviction Criminal Conviction Appeal

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Opinion of the Court
Scales

Third District Court of Appeal State of Florida

Opinion filed November 12, 2025. Not final until disposition of timely filed motion for rehearing.

________________

No. 3D24-0205 Lower Tribunal No. F20-16097B ________________

Travon Wilds, Appellant,

vs.

State of Florida, Appellee.

An Appeal from the Circuit Court for Miami-Dade County, Teresa Mary Pooler, Judge.

Eugene F. Zenobi, Office of Criminal Conflict and Civil Regional Counsel, Third Region, and Kristen Kawass, Assistant Regional Counsel, for appellant.

James Uthmeier, Attorney General, and Katryna Santa Cruz, Assistant Attorney General, for appellee.

Before SCALES, C.J., and MILLER and BOKOR, JJ.

PER CURIAM.

Footnotes
2 Affirmed. See Talley v. State, 260 So. 3d 562, 572 (Fla. 3d DCA 2019) (explaining that fundamental error occurs in closing argument where the improper comment “affected the validity of [the defendant’s] trial such that, but for the comment, the jury could not have reached the verdict it did”); Lammons v. State, 246 So. 3d 524, 527 (Fla. 3d DCA 2018) (concluding that the prosecutor’s improper remark during closing argument did not contribute to the jury’s verdict where the defendant was “charged with, and the state argued that he should be convicted of, second-degree murder, but the jury came back with the lesser-included offense of manslaughter”); Jones v. State, 666 So. 2d 995, 998 (Fla. 5th DCA 1996) (“Because the evidence of Jones’ guilt was compelling and overwhelming, we hold that the prosecutor’s comments did not so impair the fairness of the trial as to constitute fundamental error.”).

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