235 Florida cases classified under this topic, plus 1,235 listed through its narrower topics · sorted by citation count · see the citation graph · browse and sort
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387 So. 2d 922·
Fla.·
1980-07-24
·cited 619×
Johnny Paul Witt, convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to death in 1974, sought post-conviction relief under Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.850 based on alleged favorable changes in law. The Florida Supreme Court held that only major constitutional law changes ema
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The Florida Supreme Court resolved a conflict between two district courts regarding whether a contemporaneous objection is required to preserve an improper comment on a defendant's right to remain silent as an issue on appeal. The Court held that a timely objection at trial is ne
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677 F.2d 404·
5th Cir.·
1982-05-17
·cited 504×
Failure to file written objections to a magistrate's report bars a party from de novo determination by the district court and from attacking factual findings on appeal, unless the magistrate informs the parties of the ten-day objection deadline.
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The Court's opinion, which the concurring justice joins, holds that the prosecution must prove every element of a crime beyond a reasonable doubt, but this does not conflict with the principle that a defendant may bear the burden of proving an affirmative defense like insanity.
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875 So. 2d 579·
Fla.·
2004-06-03
·cited 305×
The Florida Supreme Court resolved a conflict between district courts regarding whether a defendant alleging ineffective assistance of counsel for failing to call witnesses must specifically allege in a Rule 3.850 postconviction motion that those witnesses would have been availab
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The court holds that while generally mixed habeas petitions should be dismissed, district judges may address exhausted grounds when fundamental rights are at stake, and such decisions will be reviewed on the merits.
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The concurrence agrees with the majority that the Georgia Superior Court's application of the Brecht harmless-error standard, rather than the Chapman standard, on state collateral review is irrelevant to federal habeas relief under AEDPA. The concurrence emphasizes that AEDPA req
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693 F.2d 1243·
5th Cir.·
1982-12-23
·cited 191×
The court held that the district court erred in applying the outcome-determinative test for prejudice in a habeas corpus claim of ineffective assistance of counsel. It established a new standard for prejudice, requiring proof that the omitted mitigating evidence would have "subst
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483 So. 2d 420·
Fla.·
1986-02-06
·cited 160×
The Florida Supreme Court held that a defendant's double jeopardy rights are not waived by failing to raise the defense before a second trial, and that the state violated the double jeopardy clause when it set aside an unconditionally accepted plea and retried the defendant on th
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95 Fla. 345·
Fla.·
1928-02-22
·cited 135×
The Florida Supreme Court reversed a lower court decision that held Chapter 12412, Acts of 1927 (an automobile tire and tube dealer license tax) unconstitutional. The court upheld the statute against multiple constitutional challenges, including claims that it violated the title
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The court held that a federal court should not grant habeas corpus relief if state remedies have not been exhausted, meaning the federal constitutional claim must have been presented to the state courts.
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The court held that shackling a defendant at the sentencing phase of a bifurcated state trial, under specific circumstances including the defendant's status as a convicted violent felon and the absence of a defense request for a hearing, does not violate the Constitution.
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Willie James Pye, convicted of murder, kidnapping, rape, and robbery, challenged his death sentence on federal habeas review, arguing that his trial counsel rendered ineffective assistance during sentencing by failing to investigate and present mitigating evidence of his difficul
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The court held that the petitioner failed to allege sufficient facts to warrant an evidentiary hearing on claims of ineffective assistance of counsel due to tactical decisions and potential conflict of interest.
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The court held that prosecutorial arguments implying the defendant sold heroin, when he was only convicted of possession, were so inflammatory and prejudicial as to violate due process, even with curative instructions.
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Federal courts cannot grant habeas relief for issues solely based on state law, even if framed as federal constitutional claims.
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The court held that the state court's finding that the suggestive station-house identification did not taint the subsequent in-court identification was supported by the record and binding on federal habeas review.
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Luther McKiver appealed his federal habeas petition challenging his Florida drug trafficking conviction, arguing that his trial counsel was ineffective for failing to investigate and present witnesses regarding the victim's drug-dealing history and for failing to investigate the
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The court's holding is not explicitly stated in this concurring and dissenting opinion, but it addresses the application of waiver rules to habeas corpus claims.
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William Lee Thompson appealed his death sentence imposed after remand for resentencing in a 1976 kidnapping-murder case. The Florida Supreme Court affirmed the death penalty, finding harmless error regarding the admission of autopsy photographs and the use of the 'cold, calculate
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The court held that a judge's conversation with a defendant about a guilty plea, even if potentially coercive, does not automatically constitute a denial of due process; the specific content and effect must be considered. The 'unless clearly erroneous' rule applies to factual inf
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The dissenting judge concluded that the Florida Supreme Court's decision denying federal habeas relief was based on an unreasonable determination of the facts and an unreasonable application of federal law. Therefore, the defendant is entitled to federal habeas relief.
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540 F.2d 975·
9th Cir.·
1976-07-09
·cited 89×
The dissent argues that the majority misapplied the Pate v. Robinson rule by not giving sufficient weight to evidence raising doubt about the defendant's competency to stand trial and plead guilty.
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The Sixth Circuit held that the District Court erred in granting habeas corpus relief by independently assessing 'plain error' instead of deferring to the state court's application of its contemporaneous objection rule, absent a showing of cause and prejudice.
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The court denied a petition for rehearing en banc.
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The district court erred in dismissing petitioner's second federal habeas corpus petition as a successive petition constituting an 'abuse of the writ'.
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Curtis Windom challenges his conviction for three counts of first-degree murder and death sentence by appealing the denial of post-conviction relief under Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.850 and filing a petition for writ of habeas corpus. The Florida Supreme Court affirms t
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687 So. 2d 254·
Fla. 1st DCA·
1996-12-02
·cited 79×
Bard challenged his conditional release revocation through habeas corpus. The trial court denied his petition without allowing him to respond to the Parole Commission's answer, violating procedural rights. The appellate court reversed and remanded, holding that habeas corpus peti
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A federal court is precluded from considering a state prisoner's Fourth Amendment claims on habeas corpus if the state provided an opportunity for full and fair litigation of those claims, even if the state court resolved the claim on procedural grounds.
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The court held that the appellant's confession was voluntary and admissible, and that his claims of ineffective assistance of counsel were without merit.
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The Fifth Circuit should apply the same standard of review in Witherspoon cases as in other habeas corpus matters, giving deference to state court factual findings unless clearly erroneous, and remanding for evidentiary hearings when the record is unclear.
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The court held that the cause and prejudice standard from Wainwright v. Sykes applies to claims barred by a state's successive petition rule, and the petitioner bears the burden of proving cause and prejudice.
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The court held that a defendant may waive their right to be present at critical stages of a capital trial, and the specific circumstances of the defendant's absence during voir dire require further inquiry into knowing and voluntary waiver.
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81 Fla. 625·
Fla.·
1921-04-25
·cited 72×
The Florida Supreme Court upheld a conviction for failure to pay a municipal license tax imposed under a 1911 statute, rejecting a constitutional challenge that the act violated the single-subject rule by including license tax provisions when the title referenced only property ta
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The court held that the appellate court cannot discard a district judge's inferences, which are part of the findings of fact. The court also discussed the evolving doctrine of exhaustion of administrative remedies in prisoner § 1983 cases.
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William Earl Sweet, convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to death for a 1990 shooting that killed one person and wounded three others, appealed the dismissal of his federal habeas petition as untimely under the Anti-Terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act (AEDPA). Swe
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Marvin Edwin Johnson, a Florida death row inmate, appealed the district court's denial of his second federal habeas corpus petition challenging his death sentence for a 1978 pharmacy robbery and murder. The panel majority had concluded Johnson was entitled to an evidentiary heari
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The dissent argues that under 28 U.S.C.A. § 2241 and controlling precedent like Ahrens v. Clark, habeas corpus jurisdiction is limited to the district where the petitioner is physically present and in custody.
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The court held that a federal civil rights action for damages under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 cannot be used to relitigate the voluntariness of a guilty plea that has already been affirmed on direct appeal and denied on collateral attack in state court. The exhaustion requirement of 28 U.
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A state prisoner is not required to pursue state remedies if Georgia law is settled against post-conviction review of newly raised constitutional claims.
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The court held that the exclusion of evidence of the decedent's prior armed robbery conviction and the prosecutor's improper closing argument did not rise to the level of constitutional error warranting federal habeas corpus relief.
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The court held that the state court's construction of California Penal Code sections did not deprive appellants of federal rights, and that the district court did not err in denying relief on most grounds, but must remand for a hearing on the accuracy of transcribed statements us
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The court held that the petitioner's contentions regarding the Enmund issues, denial of an evidentiary hearing, and evidentiary error at the sentencing hearing did not warrant federal habeas relief.
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The court held that the admission of Unsworth's written statement without a prior judicial determination of voluntariness, and the admission of his oral statements made while grossly intoxicated, constituted a denial of due process.
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Davidson James, a Florida death row inmate convicted of first-degree murder, attempted murder, and armed robbery, petitioned for federal habeas corpus relief under 28 U.S.C. § 2254. The Eleventh Circuit held that James's Brady claim regarding withheld evidence failed because he d
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The petitioner is entitled to federal habeas review of his jury selection claim because he presented the objection seasonably to the trial court.