Harmless Error Analysis

4,402 Florida cases classified under this topic · sorted by citation count

• United States v. Kirkland
  637 F.2d 654· 9th Cir.· 1980-10-23 ·cited 14×
  The court held that the jury instruction defining 'conveyance' as mere movement was improper, requiring reversal of Brown's conviction. The court affirmed Kirkland's conviction, finding the prosecutor's misconduct did not warrant a mistrial.
• Brown v. Blackburn
  625 F.2d 35· 5th Cir.· 1980-08-27 ·cited 14×
  The court held that a writ of habeas corpus must issue because the petitioner did not receive effective assistance of counsel and an impermissibly suggestive photographic identification procedure created a substantial likelihood of misidentification.
• Nat'l Labor Relations Bd. v. The Cambridge Wire Cloth Co., Inc.
  622 F.2d 1195· 4th Cir.· 1980-06-09 ·cited 14×
  The court held that the National Labor Relations Board failed to comply with its own regulations by not ensuring the complete record was transmitted to the Board, thus denying enforcement of the bargaining order.
• Lawson v. State
  383 So. 2d 1114· Fla. 3d DCA· 1980-05-13 ·cited 14×
  The court held that the trial court erred by failing to include the definitions of justifiable and excusable homicide in its reinstruction on manslaughter, as this omission injuriously affected the substantial rights of the appellant.
• Jones v. Morris
  590 F.2d 684· 7th Cir.· 1979-01-19 ·cited 14×
  The court held that the district court did not err in granting summary judgment for the state on the speedy trial claim and in denying the motion for appointment of counsel.
• United States v. Taylor
  530 F.2d 639· 5th Cir.· 1976-04-21 ·cited 14×
  The court held that pre-indictment lineups without counsel are permissible if not unnecessarily suggestive, and that sufficient foundation can be laid for photographic evidence under certain circumstances. Improper use of impeachment testimony can be harmless error.
• United States v. Yates
  524 F.2d 1282· D.C. Cir.· 1975-11-10 ·cited 14×
  The court held that the admission of a co-defendant's out-of-court statement, made while in custody and not denied by the defendant, violated the Confrontation Clause and was not harmless error.
• United States v. Jackson
  509 F.2d 499· D.C. Cir.· 1974-12-12 ·cited 14×
  The court held that photographic and lineup identifications were not impermissibly suggestive and that the victim's in-trial identification was reliable. The court also found that references to other criminality did not warrant a mistrial.
• United States v. Neilson
  471 F.2d 905· 9th Cir.· 1973-01-05 ·cited 14×
  The court held that the trial court erred in excluding evidence relevant to the appellant's intent and in its jury instructions regarding the definition of the offense.
• United States ex rel. George Dukes v. Wallack
  414 F.2d 246· 2d Cir.· 1969-07-25 ·cited 14×
  The admission of co-defendants' confessions was not a Sixth Amendment violation, and the appellant's confession was admissible.
• Rogers v. United States
  411 F.2d 228· 10th Cir.· 1969-05-20 ·cited 14×
  The court held that the defendant's assignments of error regarding the use of the terms 'insane' and 'insanity,' improper trial tactics, refusal of a 'missing witness' instruction, and prejudicial references to prior jail stays were without merit.
• Chin KEE v. Commonwealth OF Mass.
  407 F.2d 10· 1st Cir.· 1969-02-14 ·cited 14×
  The court held that while arraignment in Massachusetts may have been a critical stage, the absence of counsel did not cause prejudice beyond a reasonable doubt, thus the writ of habeas corpus was properly denied.
• Barshop v. United States
  192 F.2d 699· 5th Cir.· 1951-11-23 ·cited 14×
  The court held that any errors, including the exclusion of a letter, did not affect substantial rights and were harmless given the overwhelming evidence of guilt and subsequent curative testimony.
• Markeith D. Loyd v. State
  379 So. 3d 1080· Fla.· 2023-11-16 ·cited 13×
  Markeith Loyd was convicted of first-degree murder for shooting and killing Lieutenant Debra Clayton, along with attempted first-degree murder, aggravated assault, carjacking, and firearm possession charges. Loyd appealed his conviction and death sentence, raising thirteen challe
• Patrick v. State
  246 So. 3d 253· Fla.· 2018-06-14 ·cited 13×
  Eric Kurt Patrick, a capital defendant whose death sentence became final in 2013, appeals the denial of his Rule 3.851 postconviction motion and petitions for a writ of habeas corpus. The Florida Supreme Court grants the habeas petition based on Hurst v. Florida, vacates the deat
• Marston v. State
  136 So. 3d 563· Fla.· 2014-03-27 ·cited 13×
  The Florida Supreme Court held that a prosecutor's extensive voir dire comments about a defendant's constitutional right to remain silent violated the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments, and that such comments were not harmless beyond a reasonable doubt, requiring reversal of the co
• Ellis v. State
  135 So. 3d 478· Fla. 2d DCA· 2014-03-21 ·cited 13×
  John Wesley Ellis appeals the denial of his motion to correct an illegal sentence imposed as a prison releasee reoffender (PRR) under Florida law. The court affirms the denial, holding that while the burglary conviction with assault or battery cannot support a PRR enhancement und
• Kipp v. State
  128 So. 3d 879· Fla. 4th DCA· 2013-12-18 ·cited 13×
  Scott Kipp appeals his convictions for felony and misdemeanor animal cruelty, arguing the trial court violated discovery rules by failing to designate a veterinary assistant as an expert witness and failing to disclose impeachment evidence. The Fourth District Court of Appeal rev
• Tolbert v. State
  114 So. 3d 291· Fla. 4th DCA· 2013-05-01 ·cited 13×
  Cecil Tolbert was convicted of armed kidnapping and sexual battery based primarily on DNA evidence matching him to the victim's samples. The appellate court found that the trial court erred in admitting hearsay testimony from DNA analyst Baird summarizing another analyst's 1996 D
• Martin v. State
  110 So. 3d 936· Fla. 1st DCA· 2013-02-22 ·cited 13×
  Wayne Martin was convicted by jury of aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer and sentenced to a mandatory 20-year minimum term. The First District Court of Appeal reversed and remanded for a new trial, finding that the trial court erred by excluding testimony and refusin
• Hall v. State
  92 So. 3d 223· Fla. 4th DCA· 2012-04-11 ·cited 13×
  Kenneth Hall appeals his conviction for first-degree murder and armed robbery. The Fourth District Court of Appeal affirmed his conviction, holding that Hall failed to preserve his challenge to the trial court's failure to conduct a Nelson inquiry regarding his appointed counsel,
• Miles v. State
  60 So. 3d 447· Fla. 1st DCA· 2011-03-23 ·cited 13×
  Kelvin Miles was convicted of sexual battery with a deadly weapon and kidnapping with a deadly weapon and sentenced to consecutive life sentences. The appellate court reversed his conviction, finding that the trial court erred in denying his motion to suppress statements made dur
• Servando Ortuno v. State
  54 So. 3d 1086· Fla. 1st DCA· 2011-03-02 ·cited 13×
  Servando Ortuno was convicted of lewd or lascivious molestation of a minor based largely on the victim's prior statements made during a child protection team interview. The appellate court reversed, holding that the trial court abused its discretion by admitting these prior consi
• State v. McFADDEN
  50 So. 3d 1131· Fla.· 2010-10-07 ·cited 13×
  The dissenting justice believes the trial court erred by failing to conduct a Richardson hearing to inquire into a potential discovery violation regarding undisclosed witness statements.
• Cavokia Evans v. State
  26 So. 3d 85· Fla. 2d DCA· 2010-01-20 ·cited 13×
  Cavokia Evans appeals his trafficking in cocaine conviction, challenging the trial court's denial of his motion for judgment of acquittal and arguing the trial court erred by failing to declare a mistrial after the State made improper comments on his right to remain silent during
• Bridgette Johnson v. State
  991 So. 2d 962· Fla. 4th DCA· 2008-09-17 ·cited 13×
  Johnson was convicted of exploiting an elderly person with dementia by obtaining a $61,052.18 cashier's check from the victim's closed certificate of deposit. The Fourth District reversed and remanded for a new trial, holding that evidence of the victim's Will naming Johnson as b
• RAY v. State
  987 So. 2d 155· Fla. 1st DCA· 2008-07-15 ·cited 13×
  Ray appeals his convictions for firearm possession by a convicted felon, cannabis possession, and drug paraphernalia possession, challenging the denial of his motion to correct sentencing error. The court affirms the convictions but reverses and remands for resentencing because t
• Anthony v. State
  980 So. 2d 610· Fla. 4th DCA· 2008-05-07 ·cited 13×
  Derek Anthony appealed the denial of his post-conviction motion for ineffective assistance of counsel, claiming his trial attorney failed to move to suppress his Miranda-deficient statements based on a theory later established in Roberts v. State. The court affirmed, holding that
• Salas v. State
  972 So. 2d 941· Fla. 5th DCA· 2007-12-14 ·cited 13×
  Michael Salas was convicted of six counts of first-degree murder, conspiracy, and armed burglary in connection with the 2004 Deltona murders. On appeal, he challenged the jury instructions using "and/or" between codefendants' names, the denial of a duress instruction, restriction
• Lidiano v. State
  967 So. 2d 972· Fla. 3d DCA· 2007-10-24 ·cited 13×
  Roberto Lidiano appeals his convictions for two counts of attempted second-degree murder, challenging the trial court's denial of a peremptory challenge to juror Emelia Abadin and denials of his motions for mistrial based on alleged hearsay testimony by Detective Elosegui. The co
• Zuluaga v. State
  915 So. 2d 1251· Fla. 3d DCA· 2005-12-21 ·cited 13×
  Giovanni Zuluaga was convicted of trafficking in Ecstasy following a jury trial. He appealed claiming error in the admission of hearsay evidence, improper credibility bolstering of an informant, and improper closing argument. The court affirmed the conviction, finding any evident
• Avery Williams v. State
  912 So. 2d 66· Fla. 4th DCA· 2005-09-28 ·cited 13×
  The court held that the trial court abused its discretion by limiting the defendant's cross-examination of the victim and by preventing the defense from arguing a key theory of the case during closing argument.
• Franco v. State
  901 So. 2d 901· Fla. 4th DCA· 2005-04-20 ·cited 13×
  Franco petitioned for a writ of habeas corpus claiming appellate counsel was ineffective for failing to raise fundamental error regarding jury instructions on justifiable and excusable homicide. The Fourth District held that fundamental error did not occur because the jury was fu
• Stimus v. State
  886 So. 2d 996· Fla. 5th DCA· 2004-10-15 ·cited 13×
  Aaron Stimus was convicted of first-degree premeditated murder of his ex-wife after a jury trial. The Florida Fifth District Court of Appeal reversed his conviction and remanded for a new trial, finding that the State committed a discovery violation by failing to disclose a witne
• Burgos v. State
  865 So. 2d 622· Fla. 3d DCA· 2004-01-28 ·cited 13×
  The court held that the admission of detailed evidence relating to an uncharged domestic battery offense was error and not harmless.
• Johnson v. State
  833 So. 2d 252· Fla. 4th DCA· 2002-12-26 ·cited 13×
  Maurice Johnson was convicted of drug possession after police found cocaine, heroin, and marijuana in a car he was driving. Johnson appeals on the ground that the trial court committed fundamental error by failing to instruct the jury on the element of guilty knowledge (that the
• State v. Adolphus Merricks
  831 So. 2d 156· Fla.· 2002-10-24 ·cited 13×
  The Florida Supreme Court held that a bailiff's substantive off-the-record response to a jury's request during deliberations constitutes per se reversible error under Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.410, rejecting the State's argument for a harmless error analysis. The Court
• Seminole Ent., Inc. v. City OF Casselberry
  813 So. 2d 186· Fla. 5th DCA· 2002-03-22 ·cited 13×
  Seminole Entertainment, Inc. (Rachel's) petitioned for a writ of certiorari to overturn the circuit court's affirmance of the city of Casselberry's revocation of its adult entertainment license based on allegations of drug sales, prostitution, and prohibited sexual activities on
• Mann v. State
  787 So. 2d 130· Fla. 3d DCA· 2001-04-25 ·cited 13×
  Andrew Henry Mann was convicted of first-degree arson for starting a fire in his jail cell. On appeal, Mann challenged the admission of evidence regarding inmate motivations for arson, his prior bad acts, prosecutorial comments on his silence, and the cell inspection sheet. The F
• Latonda Latrell Shannon v. State
  753 So. 2d 148· Fla. 3d DCA· 2000-02-16 ·cited 13×
  Latonda Shannon appeals her conviction for first-degree murder and aggravated child abuse in the death of her two-year-old daughter. The appellate court affirms the conviction but reverses on two evidentiary rulings: the admission of a police officer's opinion testimony about Sha
• Alwin Charles Tumblin v. State
  747 So. 2d 442· Fla. 4th DCA· 1999-12-15 ·cited 13×
  Tumblin was convicted of attempted robbery with a firearm, attempted carjacking with a firearm, and shooting a deadly missile. The Fourth District Court of Appeal reversed his conviction, finding that an officer's testimony implying the co-defendant identified Tumblin as the perp
• Padmore v. State
  743 So. 2d 1203· Fla. 4th DCA· 1999-11-10 ·cited 13×
  Vernon Padmore was convicted of first-degree murder, armed kidnapping, armed robbery, and grand theft. He appealed challenging his competency to stand trial, the admissibility of his post-arrest statement, and the admission of photographs at trial. The Florida Fourth District Cou
• Lavon D. Jackson v. State
  729 So. 2d 947· Fla. 1st DCA· 1998-09-28 ·cited 13×
  Jackson was convicted of possession of a firearm by a violent career criminal under Florida Statute 790.235, based on prior juvenile adjudications of delinquency. The appellate court upheld the statute's constitutionality but reversed and remanded for a new trial because the jury
• Perez v. State
  711 So. 2d 1215· Fla. 3d DCA· 1998-05-06 ·cited 13×
  The court held that the erroneous admission of a co-defendant's confession implicating the appellant was harmless error, and the denial of an independent act instruction was proper.
• Fluellen v. State
  703 So. 2d 511· Fla. 1st DCA· 1997-12-23 ·cited 13×
  Fluellen challenges his convictions for cocaine possession with intent to sell and drug paraphernalia possession. The court reversed, finding three significant trial errors: admission of hearsay testimony about an anonymous tip, improper expert testimony regarding drug quantity a
• Agro AIR Assocs., Inc. v. Houston Cas. Co.
  128 F.3d 1452· 11th Cir.· 1997-11-21 ·cited 13×
  Agro Air Associates sued Houston Casualty Company for fraud, alleging that Houston commingled its hull and liability insurance (HLI) policy with extended loss of use insurance (LOUI) policy despite agreeing to keep them separate, causing Agro to face dramatically higher insurance
• Mincey v. State
  684 So. 2d 236· Fla. 1st DCA· 1996-12-02 ·cited 13×
  David Mincey appeals his robbery conviction and an attorney fee award for appointed standby counsel. The court affirms the conviction despite the trial court's failure to renew the offer of counsel at each stage of the proceeding, finding the error harmless, but reverses the atto
• Johnson v. State
  653 So. 2d 1074· Fla. 3d DCA· 1995-04-12 ·cited 13×
  Edward Earl Johnson was convicted of manslaughter after being denied the opportunity to cross-examine a detective about a formal exculpatory statement he gave at the police station, after the State introduced his earlier informal statement to police. The court reversed and remand
• Pomeranz v. State
  634 So. 2d 1145· Fla. 4th DCA· 1994-04-13 ·cited 13×
  The court held that the trial judge abused discretion by unreasonably limiting cross-examination of key state witnesses.
• Balthazar Diaz v. State
  618 So. 2d 346· Fla. 2d DCA· 1993-05-14 ·cited 13×
  Defendant Balthazar Diaz was convicted of two counts of capital sexual battery against an eight-year-old child. On appeal, he challenged the trial court's admission of the child victim's hearsay statements under Florida's child hearsay exception statute. The court affirmed the co