Harmless Error Analysis

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

• Valdes v. State
  Fla. 3d DCA· 2025-04-23
  The trial court's judgment is affirmed because the errors alleged do not warrant reversal under either the abuse of discretion or harmless error standard.
• Jewell
  Del.· 2025-03-31
  The Delaware Supreme Court affirmed the defendant's convictions for stalking, harassment, and terroristic threatening. The Court held that the trial court erred by admitting racially charged evidence without conducting the required balancing test under Delaware Rule of Evidence 4
• Clarck Paul v. State
  Fla. 4th DCA· 2025-03-26
  The trial court did not abuse its discretion in denying severance of the murder charges because the two shootings occurred within 36 minutes and 13 miles of each other, were committed with the same firearm and vehicle, involved similar aggressive confrontations followed by unprov
• Fla. Dep't of Corr. v. Paulcin
  Fla. 1st DCA· 2025-03-12
  The Florida Department of Corrections appeals a trial court's mandamus order granting relief to an inmate who claimed a due process violation during a prison disciplinary proceeding. The appellate court reverses because the trial court failed to analyze whether the alleged proced
• Torres v. State
  Fla. 5th DCA· 2025-03-07
  Roberto Torres appealed the trial court's denial of his motion to correct an illegal sentence under Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.800(a), arguing that his habitual felony offender (HFO) designation and sentence violates the Sixth Amendment under Erlinger v. United States b
• T. v. U. v. State of Fla.
  Fla. 2d DCA· 2025-02-12
  T.V.U., a former Walmart cashier charged with grand theft, appeals her delinquency disposition after the trial court admitted hearsay testimony about register shortages based on unadmitted business records. The Second District Court of Appeal reversed, holding that testimony rega
• Barron-Salazar v. Sec'y, Dep't of Corr. (Manatee County)
  M.D. Fla.· 2025-01-30
  Juan Roberto Barron-Salazar, convicted of sexually abusing his two daughters over several years, sought federal habeas relief under 28 U.S.C. § 2254, challenging his conviction and life sentence on multiple grounds including ineffective assistance of counsel and due process viola
• Hepburn v. State
  Fla. 1st DCA· 2025-01-15
  Petitioner Hepburn filed a petition alleging ineffective assistance of appellate counsel with the First District Court of Appeal. The court dismissed the petition as premature because his direct appeal was still pending before the Florida Supreme Court.
• Duncan v. Sec'y, Dep't of Corr. (Polk County)
  M.D. Fla.· 2024-12-30
  The court denied the petition for a writ of habeas corpus, finding that the petitioner's claim regarding the denial of a mistrial was procedurally barred and, alternatively, meritless.
• Young v. State
  Fla. 2d DCA· 2024-12-20
  Adrian Young appeals from judgments and sentences imposed pursuant to a global plea agreement resolving five cases. The Florida Second District Court of Appeal reverses the trial court's denial of Young's postsentencing motion to withdraw his plea, holding that the trial court er
• Young v. State
  Fla. 2d DCA· 2024-12-20
  Adrian Young appealed consolidated convictions from a plea agreement resolving two drug delivery cases and probation violations in three other cases. The appellate court reversed the trial court's summary denial of Young's motion to withdraw his plea because the court failed to r
• Martesha Williams Johnson v. State
  Fla. 1st DCA· 2024-12-11
  The trial court did not abuse its discretion in admitting evidence about Johnson's AR-15 and ammunition because the evidence was relevant to show she provided ammunition to the shooter and was not unduly prejudicial. An ineffective assistance of counsel claim based on failure to
• Geico Gen. Ins. Co. v. Tsao
  Fla. 5th DCA· 2024-12-06
  A trial court commits reversible error by identifying a tortfeasor as "uninsured" and the insurance carrier as an "uninsured motorist carrier" when the facts establish the tortfeasor is "underinsured" with inadequate coverage limits. Florida law requires juries to be made aware o
• Lawrence v. State
  Fla. 5th DCA· 2024-11-22
  The trial court abused its discretion by admitting testimony from the investigating officer regarding his experience with over 50 other hand-to-hand drug transactions and 48 prior controlled buys to explain gaps in the State's evidence and bolster the officer's credibility. Such
• Green v. State
  Fla. 4th DCA· 2024-11-13
  Anthony Green was convicted of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. During jury deliberations, a juror admitted to conducting an internet search on the defendant in violation of the judge's explicit instructions, discovering detailed information about his prior felony co
• Black v. Dixon
  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
• Pinkney v. State
  Fla. 3d DCA· 2024-10-16
  Pinkney appeals a Circuit Court conviction from Miami-Dade County. The appellate court affirmed the conviction, finding that any failure by the trial court to conduct a Richardson hearing was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt under established Florida harmless error precedent.
• Sherrod v. State
  Fla. 4th DCA· 2024-10-02
  An SYG hearing is a critical stage of a criminal proceeding requiring a full Faretta inquiry before a defendant may proceed pro se. A trial court's failure to conduct an adequate Faretta inquiry at a critical stage is per se reversible error under Florida law, and harmless error
• Young v. State
  Fla. 4th DCA· 2024-09-25
  A detective's warrantless search of Facebook records seized under a warrant for an unrelated theft case violated the Fourth Amendment when the detective searched those records for evidence of homicide without obtaining a second warrant. The good-faith exception to the exclusionar
• McDermott v. State
  Fla. 5th DCA· 2024-09-13
  Appellate counsel was ineffective for failing to raise on direct appeal the trial court's error in not informing the jury of its right to request a read-back of testimony in response to a request for transcripts. The State failed to establish that this error was harmless beyond a
• Fernandez v. State
  Fla. 2d DCA· 2024-08-16
  The trial court abused its discretion by admitting a defendant's prior criminal record under section 90.806(1) to impeach non-hearsay statements made by a witness, where the statements were offered to show the defendant's conduct in attempting to diffuse a situation rather than f
• Sheely v. State
  Fla. 4th DCA· 2024-08-14
  A prosecutor's closing argument in a DUI case improperly shifts the burden of proof when it emphasizes that the defendant declined the opportunity to submit to field sobriety exercises or breathalyzer tests to dispel suspicions of impairment, as this suggests the jury should infe
• Orestes Gracia v. State
  Fla. 4th DCA· 2024-08-07
  The trial court did not abuse its discretion in denying a bill of particulars where the State charged ongoing sexual abuse as occurring "on one or more occasions" over a specified period, the victim testified to the types of acts and locations, and each count charged a single dis
• Newman v. State
  Fla. 5th DCA· 2024-07-26
  A defendant who voluntarily cooperates with police and provides a DNA sample cannot claim that testimony about his initial hesitation before providing the sample violates his privilege against self-incrimination, and any such error would be harmless given the overwhelming DNA evi
• Henderson v. State
  Fla. 4th DCA· 2024-07-17
  A circuit court's denial of a downward departure motion is affirmed when the court correctly determines in the first step of the two-part test that no valid legal ground for departure exists, even if the court's subsequent comments about the nature of the crimes create an appeara
• Nisbany Surit-Garcias v. State
  Fla. 4th DCA· 2024-07-10
  The trial court did not abuse its discretion in denying the defendant's motion for mistrial where the prosecutor mentioned a 0.17 blood alcohol level in opening statement but the toxicologist refused to perform retrograde extrapolation at trial, because the prosecutor had a good
• Mykel Anthony Nelson v. State
  Fla. 5th DCA· 2024-06-28
  A trial court does not commit fundamental error by considering a defendant's uncharged firearm ownership in sentencing, even if such consideration would be impermissible, when the defendant fails to preserve the objection and the sentence imposed is within the guidelines range an
• D. W. v. State
  Fla. 2d DCA· 2024-06-21
  The Florida Supreme Court's retroactive administrative order extending speedy trial deadlines due to Hurricane Ian was properly applied where the hearing was held on the first day courts reopened. The trial court did not abuse its discretion in questioning a witness to refresh re
• DC Tyrone Atkins, Jr. v. State
  Fla. 1st DCA· 2024-06-12
  The trial court did not abuse its discretion in denying the defendant's motion to present testimony about his general reputation for peacefulness where the defendant admitted to the act, threatened to kill the victim, and overwhelming evidence of guilt was presented.
• Andrews v. State
  Fla. 2d DCA· 2024-05-15
  The trial court properly conducted a Franks hearing by allowing the parties to rely on evidence already presented and did not violate Andrews' due process rights. The search warrant affidavit was not false or reckless; the affiant properly summarized facts as known to him, and th
• McKiver v. Comm'r of Soc. Sec.
  M.D. Fla.· 2024-05-07
  The court held that the Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) failed to adequately articulate consideration of the "consistency" factor when evaluating a medical opinion, requiring reversal and remand.
• T. M. v. State
  Fla. 2d DCA· 2024-05-01
  A juvenile appellate court reversed a burglary conviction and remanded for a new adjudicatory hearing due to the State's discovery violation in failing to separately identify Officer Drenth as a witness to the defendant's confession. The trial court erred by denying a Richardson
• Paradise Fam., LLC
  M.D. Fla.· 2024-04-19
  The court granted the unopposed motion for a final default judgment of exoneration against all persons and entities who did not respond to the petition, finding the discrepancy in deadlines to be harmless error.
• Nash v. Comm'r of Soc. Sec.
  M.D. Fla.· 2024-03-20
  The ALJ failed to provide sufficient reasoning, supported by substantial evidence, for discounting the opinions of treating physicians who endorsed a functional capacity evaluator's findings, thus the Commissioner's decision is reversed and remanded.
• Carnright v. State
  Fla. 3d DCA· 2024-01-31
  The trial court's exclusion of certain cell phone records and internet search history was either appropriate or harmless error, and the conviction is affirmed. While statements in which the victim admitted to using cocaine with the defendant should have been admitted as extrinsic
• Profit v. State
  Fla. 1st DCA· 2024-01-17
  A conviction for first-degree murder does not constitute fundamental error merely because the jury's verdict could theoretically rest on an invalid legal theory when the evidence and jury instructions support valid alternative theories and the possibility of reliance on the inval
• Carbonell v. Citizens Prop. Ins. Corp.
  Fla. 2d DCA· 2024-01-05
  The appellate court affirmed a jury verdict for an insurance company in a sinkhole damage case. The homeowner argued the trial court made erroneous evidentiary rulings by limiting cross-examination of an expert and excluding rebuttal testimony, but the court found no abuse of dis
• Cliff Smith v. State
  Fla. 3d DCA· 2024-01-03
  The circuit court's judgment is affirmed.
• Akeem R. Welch v. State
  Fla. 2d DCA· 2023-12-15
  Akeem Welch appealed the denial of his motion to withdraw his guilty plea after resentencing. The court reversed because the trial court failed to appoint conflict-free counsel before summarily denying the motion, violating his right to assistance of counsel at this critical stag
• Turner v. State
  Fla. 5th DCA· 2023-12-01
• Taylor v. State
  Fla. 4th DCA· 2023-11-15
  When challenging the scoring of an out-of-state conviction on a sentencing scoresheet, a defendant must seek an evidentiary hearing requiring the State to present competent evidence, such as certified copies of the conviction documents, comparing the elements of the out-of-state
• RAY v. State
  Fla. 5th DCA· 2023-11-09
• Kenney v. State
  Fla. 2d DCA· 2023-10-25
  The appellate court affirmed a domestic battery conviction despite finding that the trial court improperly admitted evidence. The conviction was upheld because the defense failed to properly preserve the evidentiary issues for appeal, and the errors were not argued as fundamental
• Rivera v. State
  Fla. 4th DCA· 2023-10-25
  The appellate court reversed a conviction for vehicular homicide and reckless driving, finding that the trial court abused its discretion by improperly restricting jury voir dire. The defendant was prevented from questioning potential jurors about their willingness to consider a
• Heagney v. State
  Fla. 1st DCA· 2023-10-18
  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.
• Gainey v. State
  Fla. 1st DCA· 2023-10-18
  Improper officer testimony commenting on a defendant's guilt does not constitute fundamental error when it is isolated, not made the focus of trial, and the State presents ample independent evidence of guilt.
• Sheppard v. Sec'y, Dep't of Corr.
  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
• Wickersham v. Comm'r of Soc. Sec.
  M.D. Fla.· 2023-09-14
  The court held that the ALJ erred by failing to identify and resolve an apparent conflict between the vocational expert's testimony and the Dictionary of Occupational Titles regarding the ticket seller job, and that the error was not harmless.
• Justice Michael Gurrola v. State
  Fla. 5th DCA· 2023-09-08
  A law enforcement officer's testimony that bullet fragments cause different wound patterns than whole bullets and that the victim's injuries were inconsistent with the defendant's claim of shooting at the ground constitutes expert opinion testimony requiring disclosure under the
• Watkins v. Comm'r of Soc. Sec.
  M.D. Fla.· 2023-09-07
  The court affirmed the Commissioner's decision, finding the ALJ's determination that the plaintiff was not disabled was supported by substantial evidence and applied the correct legal standards.