Harmless Error Analysis

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

• United States ex rel. Rommel X. Wilson v. Warden, Ill. State Penitentiary
  600 F.2d 66· 7th Cir.· 1979-02-21 ·cited 2×
  The admission of a non-testifying co-defendant's statement was harmless error because the properly admitted evidence of guilt was overwhelming and the prejudicial effect of the co-defendant's admission was insignificant.
• Mims v. State
  367 So. 2d 706· Fla. 1st DCA· 1979-02-20 ·cited 2×
  Michael Mims appeals his conviction for burglary and trespass, challenging the admission of his co-defendant Hutto's confession that incriminated him despite an attempt to expurgate Mims' name. The Florida First DCA reversed, holding that the inadequately sanitized confession vio
• United States v. Spaulding
  588 F.2d 669· 9th Cir.· 1978-09-18 ·cited 2×
  The court held that the denial of the habeas petition was proper due to a valid speedy trial waiver, and that the denial of funds for defense experts and the admission of evidence regarding a gun were harmless errors.
• Shreve v. State
  361 So. 2d 221· Fla. 1st DCA· 1978-08-09 ·cited 2×
  Appellant was convicted of unlawfully operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated and causing a death. He appealed, arguing that the trial court erred by admitting the medical examiner's deposition testimony without the State first attempting to procure his attendance through the
• Lightsey v. State
  350 So. 2d 824· Fla. 2d DCA· 1977-10-14 ·cited 2×
  Dewey Lightsey was convicted of grand larceny after a jury trial and sentenced to three years in prison. The appellate court reversed and remanded for a new trial because the state violated criminal procedure rules by failing to disclose a witness's name until trial day, and the
• Fulton v. State
  318 So. 2d 511· Fla. 4th DCA· 1975-09-12 ·cited 2×
• Hickman v. State
  315 So. 2d 556· Fla. 2d DCA· 1975-07-16 ·cited 2×
• Moore v. United States
  512 F.2d 1255· 4th Cir.· 1975-02-25 ·cited 2×
  The court held that the defendant's conviction for possessing a prohibited firearm was valid, despite a variance between the indictment and the proof, because the weapon qualified as an 'any other weapon' under federal law and the variance was not prejudicial.
• Cherry v. Estelle
  507 F.2d 242· 5th Cir.· 1975-01-24 ·cited 2×
  The court held that the district court erred by not independently examining the state court record before denying habeas relief.
• Woods v. State
  285 So. 2d 650· Fla. 3d DCA· 1973-10-30 ·cited 2×
  Affirmed conviction for robbery where defendant's opening of police report for cross-examination waived objection to its hearsay content, and no prejudicial error appeared in closing argument or photographic identification procedures.
• Flanagan v. Rose
  478 F.2d 222· 6th Cir.· 1973-05-22 ·cited 2×
  The court held that the search warrants were invalid because the supporting affidavits did not establish probable cause, and there was no evidence of sworn testimony supplementing the affidavits.
• United States v. Morgan
  476 F.2d 928· D.C. Cir.· 1973-03-19 ·cited 2×
  The court held that the trial court erred in refusing to allow impeachment of the complaining witness with a prior conviction for making a false police report, and this error was not harmless.
• Wharton v. United States
  470 F.2d 510· 8th Cir.· 1972-12-18 ·cited 2×
  The court held that knowledge of a prior invalid conviction does not invalidate a subsequent guilty plea or sentence unless it is proven that a different result would have been reached.
• United States v. Thurlester Wilson
  465 F.2d 1290· 7th Cir.· 1972-09-07 ·cited 2×
  The court held that the search incident to arrest was lawful because the officer had probable cause based on reliable information regarding a stolen credit card, and the sawed-off shotgun, being contraband, was lawfully seized.
• United States v. Williams
  469 F.2d 540· D.C. Cir.· 1972-04-19 ·cited 2×
  The court affirmed Coleman's conviction but would have reversed Williams' conviction due to an unnecessarily suggestive and unreliable lineup identification.
• Cain v. Hoyt C. Cupp
  442 F.2d 356· 9th Cir.· 1971-04-28 ·cited 2×
  The court held that the prosecutor's actions, including calling a witness who invoked the Fifth Amendment and commenting on that invocation in closing arguments, denied the petitioner a fair trial.
• Baker
  245 So. 2d 289· Fla. 4th DCA· 1971-03-12 ·cited 2×
  The Florida District Court of Appeal granted a petitioner delayed appellate review of his conviction, finding he was frustrated in his initial attempts. However, the court ultimately affirmed the conviction, holding that his waiver of a jury trial at arraignment without counsel w
• Johnson v. United States
  433 F.2d 245· 5th Cir.· 1970-11-04 ·cited 2×
  The court held that the district court did not err in finding the appellant mentally competent at the times he committed crimes, waived counsel, and pleaded guilty, and that the evidence was sufficient to support these findings.
• Lindsey v. Craven
  427 F.2d 153· 9th Cir.· 1970-05-25 ·cited 2×
  The court held that the petitioner had not exhausted his state remedies because the specific procedural issue regarding Jackson v. Denno was not raised in prior state court proceedings.
• Odell Andrews v. United States
  426 F.2d 1304· 9th Cir.· 1970-05-11 ·cited 2×
• Northaleen Boney v. United States
  387 F.2d 237· D.C. Cir.· 1967-08-31 ·cited 2×
  The court held that the cost of providing a transcript does not justify requiring an indigent defendant to make a particularized showing of need.
• Hunter v. United States
  338 F.2d 283· D.C. Cir.· 1964-10-15 ·cited 2×
• Neely Petrie-Blanchard v. State
  Fla. 5th DCA· 2026-05-01 ·cited 1×
  A trial court's failure to renew the offer of counsel at sentencing constitutes fundamental error requiring reversal, even when a defendant faces a mandatory life sentence. The renewal of counsel must occur at each critical stage of proceedings, including sentencing, and the fact
• Kristopher Richardson v. Daeri Tenery
  422 So. 3d 1216· Fla. 6th DCA· 2025-10-21 ·cited 1×
  A treating physician's testimony regarding future medical treatment and costs that exceeds the scope of opinions formed during the course of treatment constitutes expert testimony subject to expert discovery and disclosure requirements, regardless of the physician's label as a tr
• Quest Diagnostics, Inc. v. Clarke
  406 So. 3d 949· Fla. 4th DCA· 2025-04-02 ·cited 1×
  A denial of summary judgment based on evidentiary reasons is moot and any error is harmless when the case proceeds to trial and the evidence at trial authorizes the verdict, but the appellant's failure to provide a trial transcript prevents appellate review of whether the evidenc
• English v. Port St. Lucie Police Dep't
  404 So. 3d 413· Fla. 4th DCA· 2025-01-08 ·cited 1×
  A nurse appeals the admission of a secret recording made by her patient during a medical consultation in a closed office, which was used in a risk protection order proceeding. The court held that the recording violated Florida's wiretapping statute (section 934.06) because the nu
• Music v. State
  398 So. 3d 436· Fla. 4th DCA· 2024-12-04 ·cited 1×
  The trial court abused its discretion by admitting co-defendant testimony that appellant committed forty to fifty prior car burglaries, as the evidence did not meet the Williams rule test: the prior burglaries were not sufficiently unique or substantially similar to the charged c
• Lydecker v. State
  390 So. 3d 688· Fla. 2d DCA· 2024-04-05 ·cited 1×
  Andrew Lydecker challenged his convictions for sexual battery against two child victims, arguing the trial court abused its discretion by limiting cross-examination of one victim under the rape shield statute and by giving a confusing jury instruction on similar fact evidence. Th
• Goldsmith v. State
  383 So. 3d 518· Fla. 4th DCA· 2024-04-03 ·cited 1×
  Although a police officer's testimony that a confidential informant was credible and reliable in the past constituted improper bolstering of the informant's credibility, the error was harmless where the defendant admitted to the drug sale and driving the vehicle into the canal, v
• Seadler v. Marina Bay Resort Condo. Ass'n, Inc.
  341 So. 3d 1146· Fla.· 2023-12-21 ·cited 1×
  The Florida Supreme Court resolved a conflict among district courts regarding whether erroneous denial of a for-cause juror challenge in civil cases is per se reversible error or subject to harmless error review. The Court held that harmless error analysis applies, but on remand,
• Blow v. State
  48 Fla. L. Weekly D665· Fla. 5th DCA· 2023-09-29 ·cited 1×
  The trial court erred in excluding Appellant's testimony about two alleged prior consensual sexual encounters with the victim, as such testimony concerned activity between the victim and the defendant—not with a third party—and thus fell outside the rape shield statute. However,
• Hartshorn v. State
  333 So. 3d 344· Fla. 2d DCA· 2023-05-19 ·cited 1×
  The appellate court reversed the denial of a postconviction relief motion, finding the lower court erred in its sentencing calculations and in summarily denying the motion without allowing amendment. The case highlights the importance of accurate sentencing scoresheets and proper
• Gillig v. State
  Fla. 4th DCA· 2023-02-22 ·cited 1×
  Evidence of a prior DUI is inadmissible under Florida's Williams rule when the prior incident does not tend to prove or disprove any material fact required by the statute defining the charged offense, such as impairment to normal faculties on the date in question.
• Arnold v. State
  358 So. 3d 792· Fla. 3d DCA· 2023-01-18 ·cited 1×
  The appellate court affirmed the denial of a motion to suppress a defendant's statement but reversed and remanded a probation revocation sentencing hearing conducted remotely via Zoom. The court found that while the statement's admission might have been error, it was harmless due
• McRoberts v. State
  333 So. 3d 240· Fla. 4th DCA· 2022-02-16 ·cited 1×
  Scott McRoberts was convicted of traveling to meet a minor to commit an unlawful sex act after law enforcement posed as a 13-year-old girl online. The Fourth District Court of Appeal reversed his conviction, holding that the trial court erred by allowing the State to present evid
• Moon v. State
  317 So. 3d 153· Fla. 4th DCA· 2021-05-12 ·cited 1×
  A trial court's failure to conduct a Richardson hearing following a mid-trial discovery violation is harmless beyond a reasonable doubt when the witness is never called to testify, resulting in no procedural prejudice to the defendant's trial preparation or strategy.
• Garmon v. State
  313 So. 3d 1202· Fla. 1st DCA· 2021-03-31 ·cited 1×
  The appellate court affirmed the appellant's convictions, holding that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in excluding testimony that the victim made a prior inconsistent statement. Even if the exclusion was an error, it was harmless due to other corroborating evidence.
• Dayes v. Werner Enters., Inc.
  314 So. 3d 718· Fla. 3d DCA· 2021-01-27 ·cited 1×
  A trial court errs when it allows an expert to testify to inadmissible hearsay without affording the opposing party the opportunity to cross-examine the source, and such error is not harmless when the beneficiary of the error cannot prove there is no reasonable possibility the er
• Odell Eric Brown v. State
  289 So. 3d 932· Fla. 4th DCA· 2020-10-21 ·cited 1×
  Under Florida law, offenses that are no longer pending before the court because the defendant has completed the sentence for those offenses must be classified as "prior record" rather than "additional offenses" on the Criminal Punishment Code scoresheet.
• Caro v. State
  303 So. 3d 591· Fla. 5th DCA· 2020-09-10 ·cited 1×
  Steven Caro was convicted of attempted second-degree murder based partly on a police detective's unscientific demonstration comparing bullet holes in test shirts fired from different distances. The court reversed, finding the demonstration inadmissible because critical conditions
• Wilson v. State
  274 So. 3d 549· Fla. 5th DCA· 2019-06-21 ·cited 1×
  Although police violated Miranda by reinterrogating Wilson after he invoked his right to counsel while remaining in custody, the erroneous admission of his second interview was harmless error because independent evidence established the same facts and the jury had other evidence
• Ayos v. State
  275 So. 3d 178· Fla. 4th DCA· 2019-06-19 ·cited 1×
  Kenny Fabra Ayos appealed his conviction and sentence following a no contest plea to sexual and non-sexual crimes against a former romantic partner. The appellate court affirmed the inclusion of 160 sexual penetration points in the sentencing scoresheet despite the information ch
• Farrell v. State
  273 So. 3d 43· Fla. 4th DCA· 2019-05-29 ·cited 1×
  Herman Farrell appeals his first-degree murder conviction for shooting his lifelong friend Sean Fleming, claiming self-defense. The appellate court reverses because the trial court erred in excluding evidence of the victim's prior acts of violence that were known to the defendant
• Ellison v. State
  268 So. 3d 1007· Fla. 1st DCA· 2019-04-29 ·cited 1×
  Terry Ellison, Jr. petitioned for relief based on ineffective assistance of appellate counsel who failed to challenge a sentencing error involving an improperly applied "adult-on-minor sex offense" multiplier on his criminal scoresheet. The court found the scoresheet error was no
• Mitchell v. State
  Fla. 3d DCA· 2019-04-10 ·cited 1×
  Noah Mitchell appealed his felony animal cruelty conviction, arguing the trial court violated his Sixth Amendment right to cross-examine the State's eyewitness regarding the witness's prior arrest for aggravated assault. The court affirmed the conviction, holding that the prior a
• Ward v. State
  267 So. 3d 573· Fla. 5th DCA· 2019-04-05 ·cited 1×
  A trial court errs when it excludes a defense witness as a sanction for a discovery violation without finding that the opposing party suffered procedural prejudice materially affecting trial preparation and without considering less severe alternatives to exclusion.
• Johntavius Gooden v. State
  266 So. 3d 858· Fla. 4th DCA· 2019-03-13 ·cited 1×
  A conviction must be reversed when a prosecutor improperly shifts the burden of proof by criticizing the defense's failure to cross-examine witnesses and argues facts not in evidence in closing argument, and the cumulative effect of these errors cannot be determined harmless beyo
• S.H. v. State
  264 So. 3d 1042· Fla. 3d DCA· 2019-01-30 ·cited 1×
  S.H., a 14-year-old student, appeals from a delinquency adjudication and probation sentence for possessing a firearm on school property. The Florida District Court of Appeal, Third District, affirmed the conviction despite S.H.'s challenges to the admission of photographs, his co
• Cadavid v. State
  257 So. 3d 1066· Fla. 4th DCA· 2018-10-31 ·cited 1×
  Although a defendant has a fundamental right to consult with counsel during any trial recess, even in the middle of testimony, the trial court's denial of this right was harmless error where the defendant's cross-examination performance could not have affected the verdict because
• Perry v. State
  256 So. 3d 888· Fla. 4th DCA· 2018-09-26 ·cited 1×
  The trial court erred in giving Instruction 3.6(p) because it lacked evidentiary support in the record and functioned as a comment on the evidence suggesting Perry suffered from mental illness, thereby invading the jury's traditional role in evaluating a defendant's specific inte