1,935 Florida cases classified under this topic, plus 1,522 listed through its narrower topics · sorted by citation count · see the citation graph · browse and sort
-
Fla. 4th DCA·
2026-05-20
A dual-jury procedure is an appropriate method to address Bruton problems in joint trials, provided the trial court takes great care to ensure each jury hears only evidence relevant to its assigned defendant. The circuit court did not abuse its discretion in implementing such a p
-
Fla. 4th DCA·
2026-04-08
A witness's testimony recounting contents of a written report, when the witness has no independent knowledge and relies solely on the document, constitutes inadmissible hearsay. However, the admission of such testimony is harmless error when the record contains substantial other
-
The trial court committed reversible error by excluding non-hearsay testimony regarding threats made to the defendant when the statements were offered to show their effect on the defendant listener and to explain her state of mind in seeking assistance, and the State failed to de
-
11th Cir.·
2026-02-27
Federal courts have jurisdiction over generally applicable federal criminal statutes, even when committed by an Indian against another Indian in Indian country. An error in admitting prior convictions without proper balancing is harmless if the evidence of guilt is overwhelming.
-
Jason Wilcox appeals his convictions for manslaughter and assault arising from a high-speed crash that killed three people and injured four others. The Delaware Supreme Court affirmed his convictions, rejecting claims that the State failed to disclose Brady material, that EDR dat
-
11th Cir.·
2026-02-03
The court held that the district court did not err in admitting body-worn camera footage and a 911 call recording, and that the sentence imposed was appropriate.
-
Del. Super. Ct.·
2026-01-22
John McCurdy was convicted of drug dealing and possession charges after a jury trial. On postconviction relief, he argued ineffective assistance of counsel, Brady violations, Sixth Amendment confrontation clause violations, and invalidity of search warrants. The court denied all
-
Del.·
2026-01-15
Ronald Suber was convicted of first-degree murder and related charges in the killing of Anna Hurst. On appeal, the Delaware Supreme Court found that the State improperly elicited indirect hearsay evidence regarding a non-testifying witness's photo lineup identification, violating
-
M.D. Fla.·
2026-01-09
The court held that the petitioner is entitled to no relief because his claims are either procedurally barred or lack merit under AEDPA review.
-
11th Cir.·
2025-12-02
A pharmacist convicted of health-care fraud is not entitled to a new trial based on a co-conspirator's sentencing memorandum, and the district court did not err in admitting evidence of an uncharged theft or in refusing to compel immunity for a witness invoking the Fifth Amendmen
-
11th Cir.·
2025-11-05
The court held that the admission of the minor victim's statements during a sting operation did not violate the Confrontation Clause or the rule against hearsay, and that the jury instructions did not constructively amend the indictment.
-
Fla. 3d DCA·
2025-10-08
The admission of rape kit labels and medical report statements identifying sample locations did not violate the Confrontation Clause because the trial court instructed the jury not to accept them as proof of where samples came from, and the substitute DNA analyst's use of the ori
-
M.D. Fla.·
2025-09-22
Haywood Edouard, a Florida prisoner convicted of second-degree felony murder and attempted robbery stemming from an armed robbery that resulted in the death of his accomplice Ernest Curry, petitioned for federal habeas relief under 28 U.S.C. § 2254, raising eight grounds includin
-
M.D. Fla.·
2025-09-16
The court held that the petitioner's claims for federal habeas relief were denied because the alleged trial error was harmless, the second claim was procedurally defaulted, and the remaining claims of ineffective assistance of counsel were meritless.
-
S.D. Fla.·
2025-09-09
Timothy Hightower, a state prisoner convicted of cocaine trafficking offenses within 1,000 feet of a church, sought federal habeas relief challenging his conviction on grounds that the trial court improperly denied severance of separate charges, that a detective's testimony regar
-
S.D. Fla.·
2025-08-31
The court denied the petition for writ of habeas corpus, finding most claims unexhausted or procedurally barred, and others without merit or jurisdiction.
-
Fla. 1st DCA·
2025-08-20
A trial court violates a defendant's Sixth Amendment right to confront adverse witnesses by removing him from the courtroom during witness testimony without permitting him to observe and hear the testimony or maintain direct communication with counsel. Remote testimony by a witne
-
M.D. Fla.·
2025-07-09
The court held that the applicant failed to show that the state court's denial of his ineffective assistance of counsel claims was objectively unreasonable.
-
Brian Keith Smith, a Florida inmate sentenced to life imprisonment for armed robbery, petitioned for federal habeas corpus relief raising eight claims, including trial court errors in allowing certain testimony and jury instruction issues, as well as several ineffective assistanc
-
Fla. 1st DCA·
2025-06-04
A codefendant's statement that does not inculpate the defendant and is used purely to provoke the defendant's reaction during custodial interrogation does not violate the Confrontation Clause.
-
Fla. 5th DCA·
2025-04-17
The Florida Fifth District Court of Appeal affirmed the trial court's conviction in a criminal case where a rebuttal witness testified via Zoom. The court upheld the trial judge's decision under established precedent (Harrell v. State), though a concurring justice expressed conce
-
M.D. Fla.·
2025-03-07
Tyrone Laster, a Florida prisoner convicted of attempted murder in the second degree, sought federal habeas relief under 28 U.S.C. § 2254, raising nine grounds including claims of ineffective assistance of trial and appellate counsel and trial court error. The district court deni
-
M.D. Fla.·
2025-03-05
The court held that trial counsel was not ineffective for failing to present certain evidence, failing to strike specific jurors, or for statements made during opening arguments, as these actions did not fall below an objective standard of reasonableness or prejudice the defense.
-
The court denied the defendant's motion to strike portions of the expert witness report and exclude evidence, finding that the fruit of the poisonous tree doctrine and privacy rights arguments do not apply to private litigants and that international comity is not warranted due to
-
The court held that the petitioner's claims lacked merit, including those based on sovereign citizen theories, denial of self-representation, insufficient record, and violation of confrontation rights.
-
Del. Super. Ct.·
2024-12-16
The Court denied the defendant's motion for postconviction relief and granted postconviction counsel's motion to withdraw. The Court found that the defendant's claims of ineffective assistance of counsel, prosecutorial misconduct, and newly discovered evidence lacked merit and we
-
M.D. Fla.·
2024-11-26
William Gary Hurst, convicted of first-degree murder in the 1982 death of his wife Amy Hurst based on evidence surfaced nearly thirty years later, sought federal habeas corpus relief challenging his conviction on multiple grounds including ineffective assistance of counsel and ju
-
Del. Super. Ct.·
2024-10-28
The Court denied the defendant's motion for postconviction relief, finding that his claims were either procedurally barred, waived, conclusory, or lacked merit. The Court also granted the postconviction counsel's motion to withdraw.
-
N.D. Fla.·
2024-10-25
The court held that the petitioner is not entitled to federal habeas corpus relief because the state court's decision regarding the Bruton violation was not contrary to or an unreasonable application of federal law, and the ineffective assistance of counsel claim also fails under
-
M.D. Fla.·
2024-09-09
Henry Coldridge Mills, a Florida inmate serving a twenty-year sentence for attempted second-degree murder and firearms offenses, filed a federal habeas petition challenging his state conviction on six grounds, including claims of ineffective assistance of counsel, evidentiary err
-
M.D. Fla.·
2024-09-05
The court held that the exclusion of physical handwritten cards did not violate the petitioner's right to present a defense, and that claims of prosecutorial misconduct and ineffective assistance of counsel were either procedurally barred or reasonably rejected by the state court
-
James Willie Holt, an inmate challenging his 2016 conviction for lewd or lascivious molestation of a three-year-old, petitioned for federal habeas corpus relief under 28 U.S.C. § 2254, raising four grounds including claims of ineffective assistance of trial counsel and confrontat
-
Richard A. Roberts, convicted of sexual battery on a child based on testimony from two victims describing abuse occurring in the early 1980s, sought federal habeas relief under 28 U.S.C. § 2254, raising seven grounds including claims regarding the admission of collateral-act evid
-
Fla. 1st DCA·
2024-05-08
Eric Aboagye was convicted of sexual battery and lewd or lascivious molestation of child victim A.J. On appeal, he challenged the admission of hearsay statements from C.H., another child victim of sexual abuse by Aboagye, arguing such statements were inadmissible under Florida's
-
Del. Super. Ct.·
2024-04-05
The court held that statements made by an unavailable witness may be admissible if they are not testimonial under the Confrontation Clause and fall under a hearsay exception. Statements made to law enforcement for the primary purpose of prosecution are testimonial, but statements
-
S.D. Fla.·
2024-03-27
The court adopted the Magistrate Judge's Report and Recommendation in part, denying the Petitioner's Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus and denying all requests for a certificate of appealability.
-
Tawny Blazejowski sought federal habeas corpus relief under 28 U.S.C. § 2254, challenging her 2014 Florida state court convictions for threats or extortion, aggravated stalking, and false reports of child abuse, as well as a 2018 probation revocation. The district court denied he
-
11th Cir.·
2024-03-14
The court held that the district court did not abuse its discretion in denying the defendants' motions for a new trial, compelling discovery, and admitting expert and summary testimony, affirming the convictions.
-
M.D. Fla.·
2024-03-07
Robert Mueller, convicted of attempted second-degree murder, aggravated battery, and discharging a firearm in public, sought federal habeas relief challenging his forty-year prison sentence. The court denied his petition, finding that several claims were procedurally barred becau
-
The federal court denied the petition for writ of habeas corpus because the petitioner failed to demonstrate that the state court's decisions were contrary to or unreasonably applied federal law, or based on unreasonable factual determinations.
-
S.D. Fla.·
2024-02-22
The petition is dismissed in part on procedural grounds and denied in part on the merits.
-
M.D. Fla.·
2024-02-08
The court held that the applicant's claims were procedurally barred or lacked merit, and therefore denied the petition for a writ of habeas corpus.
-
M.D. Fla.·
2024-01-23
Johnny Carter, a Florida prisoner, sought federal habeas relief under 28 U.S.C. § 2254, challenging his 2014 convictions for two counts of armed robbery and grand theft of a motor vehicle based on a single incident in which he robbed a couple at gunpoint and stole their weapons a
-
Del.·
2024-01-02
The Superior Court did not err in denying the defendant's request for lesser-included offense jury instructions for Manslaughter and Criminally Negligent Homicide, as there was no rational basis in the evidence to acquit the defendant of Murder by Abuse or Neglect and convict him
-
S.D. Fla.·
2023-11-03
Stephen Jerome Budd, a former teacher convicted of sexual battery and molestation of two students, filed a federal habeas petition challenging his conviction and life sentence. The court dismissed the petition in part for failure to exhaust state remedies and denied all remaining
-
Fla. 3d DCA·
2023-10-18
A trial court complies with constitutional and statutory requirements for CCTV testimony when it makes case-specific findings on the record based on expert testimony and evidence that a child witness will suffer moderate emotional harm due to the defendant's presence. The trial c
-
The appellate court affirmed the lower court's denial of a habeas corpus petition. The court found that habeas corpus is not an appropriate vehicle for raising issues that were or could have been raised on direct appeal, and the petition was untimely.
-
M.D. Fla.·
2023-09-29
Sheppard sought federal habeas corpus relief challenging his 1985 conviction for sexual battery with a deadly weapon, raising five grounds including claims that trial counsel provided ineffective assistance by failing to call alibi witnesses and objecting to hearsay testimony, an
-
M.D. Fla.·
2023-09-26
The court held that the state court's denial of the petitioner's claims was not contrary to or an unreasonable application of federal law, nor based on an unreasonable determination of facts.
-
M.D. Fla.·
2023-09-25
Dalvin Denson, convicted in 2012 in Duval County, Florida of attempted first-degree felony murder and related crimes, petitioned for federal habeas corpus relief claiming his trial counsel was ineffective for failing to locate a non-testifying witness, failing to object to hearsa