Harmless Error Analysis

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

• Harrelson v. State
  146 So. 3d 171· Fla. 1st DCA· 2014-09-12 ·cited 6×
  Harrelson appeals his conviction for lewd and lascivious assault on a child, challenging the admission of collateral crime evidence and other trial errors. The court affirms on two issues but reverses on the admission of collateral crime evidence because the trial court failed to
• United States v. ROY
  761 F.3d 1285· 11th Cir.· 2014-08-05 ·cited 6×
  The defendant's convictions for attempted child enticement and possession of child pornography must be set aside due to defense counsel's brief absence from the courtroom during a portion of the trial, even though the absence could not have prejudiced the defendant. The majority
• Piggott v. State
  140 So. 3d 666· Fla. 4th DCA· 2014-06-04 ·cited 6×
  Brian Piggott was convicted of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon for striking a victim with his automobile. The Fourth District Court of Appeal reversed his conviction, holding that the trial court erred in denying his request for a jury instruction on reckless driving as a
• Kelsey J. Hughes v. State
  139 So. 3d 477· Fla. 2d DCA· 2014-05-30 ·cited 6×
  The court held that the State failed to present sufficient corroborating evidence for two of the defendant's contested prior convictions used for sentencing.
• Gean Daniel v. State
  137 So. 3d 1181· Fla. 3d DCA· 2014-04-16 ·cited 6×
  Gean Daniel appeals his convictions for armed burglary of a dwelling and grand theft, contending the trial court erred by failing to instruct the jury on trespass as a permissive lesser-included offense. The Florida Third District Court of Appeal affirms, holding that the omissio
• Sims v. State
  135 So. 3d 1098· Fla. 2d DCA· 2013-08-21 ·cited 6×
  James Sims was convicted of manslaughter in the 2011 shooting death of Roy Radabaugh that occurred in 1981. The Florida District Court of Appeal reversed his conviction and remanded for a new trial because Sims was unconstitutionally excluded from an in-chambers conference where
• Howard v. Basil Palmer & Groupware Int'l, Inc.
  123 So. 3d 1171· Fla. 4th DCA· 2013-03-13 ·cited 6×
  In a negligence action arising from a vehicle collision, the appellate court reversed the trial court's denial of a new trial, finding that defense counsel's violation of a pretrial order excluding evidence of when the plaintiff contacted an attorney, combined with other improper
• Jenkins v. State
  107 So. 3d 555· Fla. 1st DCA· 2013-02-27 ·cited 6×
  The admission of hearsay testimony identifying the defendant was harmless error given other sufficient evidence.
• Rubrecht v. Cone Distrib., Inc.
  95 So. 3d 950· Fla. 5th DCA· 2012-08-10 ·cited 6×
  Rubrecht appealed a jury verdict awarding him only $20,000 in damages for injuries sustained in a rear-end automobile accident. The Fifth District reversed, finding that the trial court committed reversible error by admitting settlement negotiations from a prior unrelated acciden
• Foster Rayfield Leon v. State
  68 So. 3d 351· Fla. 1st DCA· 2011-08-23 ·cited 6×
  Foster Leon appeals his conviction for attempted second-degree murder and kidnapping, challenging the trial court's admission of evidence of his flight from Jacksonville to New Orleans and various witness testimony regarding statements he made. The appellate court affirmed the co
• McNEAL v. State
  67 So. 3d 407· Fla. 2d DCA· 2011-08-10 ·cited 6×
  Derrick McNeal appeals his conviction for first-degree murder and other crimes, challenging the jury instruction on manslaughter as fundamentally erroneous. The court affirms, holding that any error in the manslaughter instruction was harmless because the jury convicted McNeal of
• Rodriguez v. State
  65 So. 3d 1133· Fla. 4th DCA· 2011-07-13 ·cited 6×
  The court held that a witness's trial testimony may be impeached by introduction of a prior inconsistent statement even when the witness claims not to remember making the earlier statement. The trial court erred in excluding Detective Harvey's testimony about the victim's hospita
• Burton v. State
  125 So. 3d 788· Fla. 5th DCA· 2011-04-08 ·cited 6×
  Marcus Burton appeals his convictions for attempted second-degree murder, aggravated assault, and shooting at or into a vehicle. The court reverses his attempted second-degree murder conviction because the jury instruction improperly required proof of intent to kill, which is not
• Vernell Robinson v. State
  57 So. 3d 278· Fla. 4th DCA· 2011-03-30 ·cited 6×
  Vernell Robinson appeals his conviction for possession of more than twenty grams of cannabis, challenging the trial court's denial of his motion for judgment of acquittal and exclusion of alibi testimony. The court affirmed the denial of the judgment of acquittal motion but rever
• Monticello Austin v. State
  48 So. 3d 1025· Fla. 2d DCA· 2010-12-08 ·cited 6×
  The court held that the admission of evidence regarding the defendant's past marijuana use and purchase was inadmissible character evidence and constituted reversible error.
• Cleveland Hanks v. State
  43 So. 3d 917· Fla. 2d DCA· 2010-09-10 ·cited 6×
  Cleveland Hanks appealed his aggravated battery conviction, challenging the trial court's instruction to the jury on the principals theory of liability. The appellate court found the instruction was unsupported by the evidence and reversed, ordering a new trial.
• Williams v. State
  40 So. 3d 89· Fla. 4th DCA· 2010-07-14 ·cited 6×
  Dustin Williams appeals his convictions for manslaughter and grand theft of a firearm after accidentally shooting his best friend with a stolen deputy's gun. The Fourth District affirmed the manslaughter conviction but reversed both convictions and remanded for separate trials, f
• Corson v. State
  9 So. 3d 765· Fla. 2d DCA· 2009-05-27 ·cited 6×
  The appellate court held that the trial court abused its discretion in admitting collateral crimes evidence that was dissimilar and unduly prejudicial, and the error was not harmless.
• Aundra Johnson v. State
  10 So. 3d 680· Fla. 3d DCA· 2009-04-29 ·cited 6×
  Aundra Johnson appeals his conviction for fleeing a police officer, arguing the trial court erred by instructing the jury that it could not request a readback of testimony. The appellate court affirmed the conviction, finding the trial court's instruction was erroneous but the er
• Green v. State
  968 So. 2d 86· Fla. 2d DCA· 2007-11-16 ·cited 6×
  Richard Green appeals his convictions for robbery with a firearm and four counts of aggravated assault with a firearm, challenging jury instructions that used the expression "and/or" between his name and his codefendant's name. The court found the "and/or" language constituted fu
• E.K. a Child v. State
  963 So. 2d 309· Fla. 1st DCA· 2007-08-14 ·cited 6×
  The trial court erred in denying the appellant the right to the last closing argument in a juvenile case.
• Clements v. State
  979 So. 2d 256· Fla. 2d DCA· 2007-08-10 ·cited 6×
  On remand from the Florida Supreme Court, the Second District Court of Appeal reversed Roger Clements' conviction for sexual activity with a minor in his custodial authority, holding that the State failed to prove the offense occurred within the applicable statute of limitations
• Ford v. State
  955 So. 2d 550· Fla.· 2007-04-12 ·cited 6×
  James Ford was convicted of two murders and sentenced to death. On postconviction appeal, Ford challenged his death sentences by claiming his trial counsel was ineffective for pursuing a voluntary intoxication defense against his wishes and for waiving his speedy trial rights wit
• Loic Gadson v. State
  941 So. 2d 573· Fla. 4th DCA· 2006-11-15 ·cited 6×
  The court held that the trial court erred in admitting evidence of a subsequent burglary under the Williams rule because the similarities between the crimes were not sufficiently unusual or special to prove identity beyond general resemblance.
• Nukarri K. Williams v. State
  932 So. 2d 1233· Fla. 1st DCA· 2006-07-11 ·cited 6×
  Williams appeals his first-degree murder and attempted first-degree murder convictions, arguing the trial court reversibly erred by allowing an unqualified attorney to serve as lead counsel in violation of Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.112(f). The court affirmed, holding t
• Pernele Kiser v. State
  921 So. 2d 28· Fla. 1st DCA· 2006-01-24 ·cited 6×
  Pernele Kiser appeals his conviction for carjacking and battery on an elderly person, challenging the State's failure to disclose an oral statement he allegedly made to a detective. The court affirms the conviction, finding that although the State committed a discovery violation,
• Cosby v. State
  913 So. 2d 93· Fla. 5th DCA· 2005-10-21 ·cited 6×
  William Cosby appeals his sentencing for grand theft third degree, arguing an incorrect sentencing scoresheet was used. The trial court improperly scored the offense as dealing in stolen property (level 5, 28 points) rather than grand theft third degree (level 2, 10 points), resu
• Hubbard v. State
  912 So. 2d 629· Fla. 1st DCA· 2005-09-02 ·cited 6×
  Michael Hubbard appealed his convictions for sexual battery and child abuse. The Florida appellate court affirmed the admission of a birth certificate establishing paternity despite Hubbard's objection, but reversed his sexual battery conviction and remanded for a new trial becau
• Mathews v. State
  907 So. 2d 1291· Fla. 2d DCA· 2005-08-12 ·cited 6×
  The court held that the trial court erred in summarily denying the motion to correct an illegal sentence without determining if the error was harmless.
• Hansen v. State
  898 So. 2d 201· Fla. 2d DCA· 2005-03-11 ·cited 6×
  The trial court erred by giving a modified jury instruction on the justifiable use of force in one's home, which improperly shifted focus from the defendant's self-defense claim to the victim's right to use force.
• Bross v. State
  898 So. 2d 1027· Fla. 4th DCA· 2005-03-09 ·cited 6×
  Neal Bross appeals his third-degree murder conviction and fifteen-year sentence, arguing that his post-arrest statement should have been suppressed because the Miranda warning he received failed to inform him of his right to counsel during questioning. The Fourth District Court o
• Hilton Irish v. State
  889 So. 2d 979· Fla. 4th DCA· 2004-12-22 ·cited 6×
  The court held that the admission of an undisclosed oral statement by the defendant violated Richardson v. State, and the error was not harmless because it prejudiced the defendant's trial preparation.
• Laflipe v. State
  888 So. 2d 104· Fla. 3d DCA· 2004-11-24 ·cited 6×
  Johnnie Laflipe was convicted of first-degree murder and attempted first-degree murder. On appeal, he challenged the admissibility of an excited utterance, gang-related evidence, and the denial of post-verdict juror interviews, but the Florida appellate court affirmed his convict
• Stallings v. State
  876 So. 2d 686· Fla. 5th DCA· 2004-06-25 ·cited 6×
  Brandon Stallings appeals his sentencing for escape and highway racing, contending the trial court erred by including prior out-of-state juvenile convictions committed when he was twelve years old in his Criminal Punishment Code scoresheet. The appellate court agreed that the pri
• Alejandoro Gopar-Santana v. State
  862 So. 2d 54· Fla. 2d DCA· 2003-10-03 ·cited 6×
  Gopar-Santana was convicted of cocaine trafficking and possession based on undercover drug purchases conducted in Spanish. The appellate court affirmed the convictions despite finding that the trial court abused its discretion by allowing the undercover detective to interpret Spa
• Vedner v. State
  849 So. 2d 1207· Fla. 5th DCA· 2003-07-25 ·cited 6×
  Donald Vedner appeals his conviction for DUI manslaughter and related charges arising from a fatal car accident. The court found that statements from a third police interview violated Miranda rights but affirmed the conviction under harmless error analysis, as the incriminating s
• Rodriguez v. State
  842 So. 2d 1053· Fla. 3d DCA· 2003-04-23 ·cited 6×
  The court held that testimony concerning a restraining order improperly bolstered the victim's credibility and was not harmless error in a case hinging on credibility.
• Davis v. State
  842 So. 2d 989· Fla. 1st DCA· 2003-04-15 ·cited 6×
  Charles Joseph Davis was convicted of strong arm robbery after the trial court admitted an incriminating statement he made during a pretrial arraignment hearing. The Florida District Court of Appeal reversed, holding that Davis's statement was made in connection with plea negotia
• Suda v. State
  838 So. 2d 665· Fla. 1st DCA· 2003-03-04 ·cited 6×
  Florida appellate court reversed a trafficking conviction because the trial court abused its discretion in finding harmless a discovery violation involving an undisclosed State witness, applying the extraordinarily high standard that requires showing no reasonable possibility the
• Levin v. Ethan Allen, Inc.
  823 So. 2d 132· Fla. 4th DCA· 2002-04-17 ·cited 6×
  Ethan Allen sought to recover a judgment against Georgetown Manor by challenging fraudulent transfers of real property made by the Levins (Georgetown's owners) during the appeal of a tortious interference lawsuit. The court affirmed the finding of fraudulent transfer regarding th
• Dougherty v. State
  813 So. 2d 217· Fla. 2d DCA· 2002-04-03 ·cited 6×
  In this second appeal, the court reversed Jared Dougherty's first-degree felony murder conviction because the trial judge failed to follow the appellate court's prior mandate requiring individual voir dire to protect the defendant's right to an impartial jury. The court held that
• Hanks v. State
  786 So. 2d 634· Fla. 1st DCA· 2001-05-15 ·cited 6×
  Fred Hanks appealed his conviction challenging the trial court's admission of a child sexual abuse victim's hearsay testimony under Florida's hearsay exception and the use of a doctor's deposition testimony in lieu of live trial testimony. The First District Court of Appeal affir
• Pedrosa v. State
  781 So. 2d 470· Fla. 3d DCA· 2001-03-14 ·cited 6×
  Alfredo Fuentes Pedrosa was convicted of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and sentenced to 15 years. He appealed challenging the admission of out-of-court statements from the victim and his girlfriend, who did not testify. The appellate court affirmed the conviction, findi
• Anderson v. State
  786 So. 2d 6· Fla. 4th DCA· 2000-12-06 ·cited 6×
  The court held that the trial court abused its discretion by refusing to allow the defendant's telemarketing expert to testify regarding industry custom and usage, and this error was not harmless.
• Matthews v. State
  772 So. 2d 600· Fla. 5th DCA· 2000-12-01 ·cited 6×
  William Matthews was convicted of manslaughter in the death of his wife, Debra, but the Florida Fifth District Court of Appeal reversed and remanded for a new trial due to reversible evidentiary errors that denied Matthews a fair trial. The court found that the admission of evide
• Camilo Marmol v. State
  750 So. 2d 764· Fla. 3d DCA· 2000-02-09 ·cited 6×
  The court held that it was error to ask a witness if they had been threatened or offered money to testify falsely in the presence of the jury without a factual basis, but the error was harmless. The court reversed and remanded for a new trial.
• Edmondson v. State
  745 So. 2d 533· Fla. 1st DCA· 1999-12-08 ·cited 6×
  The court affirmed the appellant's conviction and upward departure sentences, holding that the trial court's failure to timely file written reasons for departure sentences was not fundamental error where the reasons were stated on the record at sentencing and the issue was not pr
• Yanez v. State
  744 So. 2d 601· Fla. 2d DCA· 1999-11-24 ·cited 6×
  Pedro Martinez Yanez was convicted of felony murder and armed burglary for a co-conspirator's death during a marijuana burglary. The appellate court reversed the felony murder conviction due to insufficient evidence in a circumstantial case, but affirmed the armed burglary convic
• Gould v. State
  745 So. 2d 354· Fla. 4th DCA· 1999-09-17 ·cited 6×
  Daniel Gould appeals his conviction for sexual battery on a child. The court affirmed the conviction but remanded for a new trial based on potential juror misconduct regarding information about prior hung juries, finding that expert testimony about child sexual abuse profiles was
• Clark v. State
  742 So. 2d 824· Fla. 2d DCA· 1999-08-27 ·cited 6×