Harmless Error Analysis

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

• Bazemore v. State
  79 So. 3d 828· Fla. 2d DCA· 2011-12-30
  Eric Bazemore appeals his convictions for accessory after the fact to first-degree murder, accessory after the fact to shooting into a vehicle, and attempted second-degree murder. The appellate court reversed the attempted second-degree murder conviction due to an erroneous jury
• Laforest L. Williams v. State
  71 So. 3d 196· Fla. 5th DCA· 2011-09-30
  The court held that the trial court erred in admitting testimony from the defendant's wife that violated the husband-wife privilege, and this error was not harmless.
• McDUFFIE v. State
  72 So. 3d 774· Fla. 5th DCA· 2011-08-12
  Roy Lee McDuffie appealed his convictions for two counts of first-degree murder, robbery with a firearm, and false imprisonment with a firearm, raising five trial issues. The Florida Fifth District Court of Appeal affirmed his convictions and sentences, finding harmless error in
• B.M. v. State
  66 So. 3d 1013· Fla. 3d DCA· 2011-07-06
  B.M., a juvenile, was charged with resisting arrest with violence and battery on a law enforcement officer. The trial court improperly excluded evidence of the arresting officer's alleged excessive force and an internal affairs complaint against that officer. The appellate court
• Maldonado v. State
  64 So. 3d 166· Fla. 4th DCA· 2011-06-29
  David Maldonado appeals his conviction and life sentence as a habitual felony offender for attempted first-degree murder and attempted robbery of a deputy sheriff. The Fourth District Court of Appeal affirms, finding that evidence including the defendant's recorded statement, sei
• Hayward v. State
  59 So. 3d 303· Fla. 2d DCA· 2011-04-20
  Jason Lee Hayward was convicted of felony DUI after the trial court allowed impeachment evidence of a prior 1992 DUI conviction, ruling that Hayward's testimony about distrusting breath-testing machines "opened the door" to such evidence. The appellate court reversed, holding tha
• Thermidor v. State
  55 So. 3d 741· Fla. 4th DCA· 2011-03-16
  The appellate court held that the trial court abused its discretion by admitting collateral crime evidence, and the error was not harmless.
• Gamache v. California
  562 U.S. 1083· U.S.· 2010-11-29
  Justice Sotomayor's statement respecting denial of certiorari in a capital case where the jury inadvertently reviewed an unadmitted videotape of the defendant's confession during deliberations. The statement expresses concern about the California Supreme Court's burden-of-proof a
• Ventura v. State
  47 So. 3d 913· Fla. 3d DCA· 2010-11-03
  The court held that the detective's comments on the defendant's right to silence were not harmless error under the proper standard.
• Johnson v. State
  42 So. 3d 899· Fla. 2d DCA· 2010-08-20
  The court held that the trial court erred by admitting extensive, irrelevant, and prejudicial information about the defendant's prior felonies beyond certified judgments of conviction.
• Lamercus Tremain LAW v. State
  40 So. 3d 857· Fla. 4th DCA· 2010-07-14
  The court held that while the trial court erred in failing to redact a prejudicial entry on the defendant's driving record, the error was harmless. The court also clarified that its precedent in State v. Byrd does not prohibit all redactions of driving records.
• Lumpkin v. State
  36 So. 3d 877· Fla. 5th DCA· 2010-06-04
• Wolfe v. State
  34 So. 3d 227· Fla. 4th DCA· 2010-05-12
  Michael Wolfe was convicted of first-degree murder in the 1988 death of David Jackson and sentenced to life imprisonment. On appeal, Wolfe challenged the admission of his confessions to two women and other evidence, but the Florida Fourth District Court of Appeal affirmed his con
• Farias v. State
  31 So. 3d 909· Fla. 4th DCA· 2010-03-31
  The court held that the admission of a photograph of a child victim's medical examination was an abuse of discretion because it was irrelevant and unduly prejudicial, and the error was not harmless.
• Harvey v. State
  26 So. 3d 685· Fla. 5th DCA· 2010-01-29
  Brian Harvey appeals his first-degree felony murder conviction, arguing the trial court erred by refusing to instruct the jury on the independent act doctrine. The appellate court agrees that the instruction was required based on evidence supporting Harvey's claim that the robber
• Franqui v. Florida
  680 F. Supp. 2d 1347· S.D. Fla.· 2010-01-28
  The court denied Petitioner Franqui's Amended Motion for Certificate of Appealability on all claims, finding no substantial showing of the denial of a constitutional right that would be debatable among reasonable jurists.
• Marshall v. State
  45 So. 3d 470· Fla. 3d DCA· 2010-01-20
• Acevedo v. State
  22 So. 3d 703· Fla. 5th DCA· 2009-11-13
  Juan Acevedo appeals his conviction for burglary, dealing in stolen property, and grand theft, arguing that the trial court erred in denying his motion to suppress statements made to law enforcement because he received a defective Miranda warning. The court held that the warning
• Sanders v. State
  21 So. 3d 151· Fla. 4th DCA· 2009-11-12
  Benjamin Sanders appeals his convictions for first-degree felony murder and four counts of attempted armed robbery for his role in an armed robbery attempt that resulted in the death of Santos Salgado. The Fourth District Court of Appeal affirmed Sanders' convictions and life sen
• Mathis v. State
  21 So. 3d 865· Fla. 3d DCA· 2009-10-21
  Conviction for possession with intent to sell cocaine near a child care facility reversed and reduced to simple possession because the trial court omitted the essential "intent to sell" element from the jury instruction, though the imposed sentence was permissible for simple poss
• Raed Aldin v. State
  21 So. 3d 68· Fla. 3d DCA· 2009-10-07
  Raed Aldin was convicted of burglary and theft after police searched his van without consent or warrant. The appellate court held that the warrantless search of the van violated the Fourth Amendment and reversed his convictions, finding the evidence inadmissible under current sea
• J.S. v. State
  13 So. 3d 543· Fla. 3d DCA· 2009-07-08
  J.S., a juvenile, was adjudicated delinquent for battery following a school bus altercation. The trial court erroneously excluded defense counsel's impeachment testimony regarding a witness's prior inconsistent statement about who initiated the fight, denying the defense critical
• Erickson v. Irving
  16 So. 3d 868· Fla. 3d DCA· 2009-06-17
  In this wrongful death case, the Florida Third District Court of Appeal reversed a jury verdict and remanded for a new trial because the trial court erred in submitting a joint enterprise defense to the jury. The court held that the evidence did not establish the required element
• Weber
  Del.· 2009-04-22
  The Delaware Supreme Court affirmed in part and reversed in part the Superior Court's judgment. The Court reversed the conviction for Attempted First Degree Robbery, finding that the trial judge erred by refusing to instruct the jury on the lesser included offense of Offensive To
• Blue v. State
  8 So. 3d 454· Fla. 1st DCA· 2009-04-14
  Florida appellate court reversed a capital sexual battery conviction because the trial court improperly limited cross-examination of the alleged victim regarding her prior false allegations, violating the defendant's constitutional right to expose witness bias and credibility iss
• Leland v. State
  7 So. 3d 616· Fla. 2d DCA· 2009-04-03
  The court held that the trial court erred in admitting evidence of a prior incident under the Williams rule because it did not meet the statutory definition of child molestation, and this error was not harmless.
• Jackson v. State
  4 So. 3d 1287· Fla. 2d DCA· 2009-04-01
  James Jackson was convicted by jury of attempted murder and armed robbery with a firearm, and later pleaded guilty to felon in possession of a firearm. On appeal, Jackson challenged his convictions on multiple grounds, but the appellate court primarily reversed based on erroneous
• Plaut v. Norwegian Cruise Line
  2 So. 3d 1120· Fla. 3d DCA· 2009-02-25
  The court held that although counsel for the defendant improperly attempted to refresh the plaintiff's recollection with an inadmissible statement, the error was harmless and did not warrant a new trial.
• Wally D. Spangler v. State
  1 So. 3d 307· Fla. 5th DCA· 2009-01-16
  The court held that the trial court erred by allowing the State to bolster the credibility of its law enforcement witnesses before they had been impeached.
• Estrich v. State
  995 So. 2d 613· Fla. 4th DCA· 2008-11-26
  The Fourth District Court of Appeal reversed the conviction of Justin Estrich for DUI manslaughter, holding that the trial court abused its discretion by admitting evidence of marijuana metabolite in his blood when all experts testified it likely did not affect him at the time of
• Orin Rosenfeld v. Seltzer
  993 So. 2d 557· Fla. 4th DCA· 2008-10-15
  Parents of a two-year-old child killed in a backing automobile accident appeal a jury verdict finding the driver not negligent. The trial court erroneously instructed the jury on a pedestrian statute that cannot legally apply to a child under six, but the error was harmless becau
• Loftin v. State
  991 So. 2d 402· Fla. 5th DCA· 2008-09-19
  The appellate court affirmed the conviction of lewd and lascivious molestation, holding that the admission and use of tape-recorded phone calls, where the defendant urged the victim to destroy evidence of their sexual encounters, was not an abuse of discretion.
• Camerlengo v. State
  989 So. 2d 740· Fla. 4th DCA· 2008-09-10
  John Camerlengo was convicted of grand theft of a trailer. The court reversed his conviction because the trial court erred in excluding an application for vehicle title that was relevant to show Camerlengo's state of mind and lack of intent to steal, rather than offered for the t
• Mills v. State
  989 So. 2d 732· Fla. 1st DCA· 2008-09-04
  The court held that the upward departure sentence was imposed based on facts neither pled nor found by the jury beyond a reasonable doubt, and this error was not harmless.
• Ulysses Bouie v. State
  988 So. 2d 727· Fla. 4th DCA· 2008-08-27
  Ulysses Bouie was convicted of burglary of a car and robbery (but acquitted of aggravated battery) following a purse snatching incident. The Fourth District Court of Appeal reversed and remanded for a new trial, finding that the trial court committed reversible error by admitting
• Dawoo T. Shannon v. State
  988 So. 2d 165· Fla. 1st DCA· 2008-08-07
  This case involves a post-conviction motion where appellant Shannon claims his trial counsel was ineffective for failing to object to the state's undisclosed oral statements made by the appellant during investigation. The court affirmed most of the trial court's denials but found
• Jordan v. Astrue
  617 F. Supp. 2d 1154· M.D. Fla.· 2008-08-06
  The court affirmed the Commissioner's decision, finding the plaintiff is not disabled under the Social Security Act.
• Wilson v. State
  988 So. 2d 43· Fla. 3d DCA· 2008-07-09
  The dissenting judge would find the prosecutor's comment on the defendant's right to remain silent to be harmless error, disagreeing with the majority's conclusion that reversal is required.
• Garrett Nunes v. State
  988 So. 2d 636· Fla. 2d DCA· 2008-06-11
  Garrett Nunes was convicted of first-degree felony murder, armed robbery, and arson after a jury heard his incriminating statement given to prosecutors and detectives. The appellate court reversed and remanded for a new trial, holding that the statement was inadmissible because i
• Cancel v. State
  985 So. 2d 1127· Fla. 5th DCA· 2008-06-06
  Carlos Cancel was convicted of second-degree murder with a weapon for killing Benjamin Finley with a bat during a confrontation outside a liquor store. Cancel appealed, claiming the trial court erred by instructing the jury on the forcible felony exception to self-defense justifi
• United States v. Vander Luitgaren
  556 F. Supp. 2d 1313· M.D. Fla.· 2008-06-05
  The court held that the presentation of exculpatory immunized evidence to the grand jury did not violate the defendant's Fifth Amendment rights, and any potential error was harmless.
• Moline v. State
  982 So. 2d 1223· Fla. 1st DCA· 2008-05-27
  The court held that the record was insufficient to conduct a harmless error analysis, requiring a remand for further proceedings.
• Oyibo v. State
  980 So. 2d 601· Fla. 1st DCA· 2008-05-05
  Anthony Yusufu Oyibo was convicted of first-degree murder of his 4-month-old son, aggravated child abuse of a 16-month-old child, kidnapping, armed burglary, attempted armed robbery, and armed carjacking following a six-hour crime spree. On appeal, Oyibo challenged the trial cour
• Hill v. State
  980 So. 2d 1195· Fla. 3d DCA· 2008-04-30
  Mark Hill was convicted of possession of heroin with intent to sell within 1000 feet of a place of worship based on Officer Ferguson's testimony of observing a drug transaction from 30-40 feet away. The Florida Third District Court of Appeal reversed the conviction, finding that
• Rory Evan Nobles v. State
  978 So. 2d 849· Fla. 1st DCA· 2008-04-07
  Rory Evan Nobles was convicted of aggravated battery arising from a road rage incident, but the Florida Court of Appeal reversed and remanded because the trial court improperly excluded evidence relevant to his self-defense theory, including evidence that the alleged victim carri
• Profitt v. State
  978 So. 2d 228· Fla. 4th DCA· 2008-04-02
  Profitt appeals his burglary conviction, challenging the trial court's decision to overrule a defense objection to the prosecutor's false statement of law during closing argument. The court reversed, finding the trial court abused its discretion by allowing the prosecutor to tell
• Queshia Joseph v. State
  976 So. 2d 1204· Fla. 4th DCA· 2008-03-26
  The trial court abused its discretion by limiting the defendant's cross-examination of police officers regarding prior unsubstantiated use of force complaints, and this error was not harmless.
• Johnson v. State
  976 So. 2d 1216· Fla. 4th DCA· 2008-03-26
  The court held that allowing the victim to testify that she identified the codefendant at his sentencing was reversible error because it was irrelevant and highly prejudicial.
• Arsense Frederic v. State
  975 So. 2d 1264· Fla. 4th DCA· 2008-03-12
  The court held that even if the jury did not explicitly find penetration, the Apprendi/Blakely error was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt due to overwhelming evidence of paternity and the victim's testimony.
• Butts v. State
  975 So. 2d 590· Fla. 2d DCA· 2008-02-29
  The court held that the admission of the victim's widow's testimony regarding a settlement with the defendant's insurance company constituted harmful, reversible error.