Harmless Error Analysis

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

• Peterson v. State
  874 So. 2d 14· Fla. 4th DCA· 2004-04-14
  Derrick Peterson was convicted of attempted second-degree murder for a drive-by shooting. The Florida Fourth District Court of Appeal reversed and remanded for a new trial, finding reversible error in the trial court's admission of the victim's prior consistent statement identify
• Hackett v. State
  869 So. 2d 672· Fla. 5th DCA· 2004-04-02
  David Hackett appealed his convictions for sexually abusing his 11-year-old son, challenging the admission of testimony from his adult daughter describing similar abuse she suffered as a child. The court affirmed the convictions, holding that the collateral crime evidence was pro
• Shana Yvette Barnes v. State
  868 So. 2d 606· Fla. 1st DCA· 2004-03-11
  Shana Yvette Barnes was convicted of second-degree murder and appealed her conviction and sentence. The appellate court reversed her conviction and remanded for a new trial because the trial court erroneously instructed the jury on the forcible felony exception to self-defense, w
• Cole v. State
  866 So. 2d 761· Fla. 1st DCA· 2004-02-19
  Lorenzo Cole appeals his convictions for fleeing police, driving with a suspended license, and leaving the scene of an accident, arguing the trial court erred in denying his motion for mistrial as untimely after the court sustained his objection to improper prosecutorial comments
• Shibble v. State
  865 So. 2d 665· Fla. 4th DCA· 2004-02-18
  Edmund Shibble was convicted of two counts of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and sentenced to consecutive fifteen-year terms. The appellate court reversed and remanded for a new trial based on a discovery violation where the prosecution used an undisclosed expert report
• Knowles v. State
  864 So. 2d 1262· Fla. 2d DCA· 2004-02-04
  On remand from the Florida Supreme Court, the Second District Court of Appeal reconsidered whether the erroneous admission of expert testimony regarding the defendant's mental state was harmless error in a first-degree murder conviction. The court applied the DiGuilio harmless er
• Otto Black v. State
  864 So. 2d 464· Fla. 1st DCA· 2003-12-29
  The court held that the trial court abused its discretion by finding a child victim competent to testify without conducting an adequate competency examination.
• Glenroy Glasgow v. State
  857 So. 2d 356· Fla. 5th DCA· 2003-10-24
  Glenroy Glasgow appeals his cocaine possession conviction, arguing the trial court erred by failing to instruct the jury that knowledge of the substance's illicit nature is an essential element of the offense. The Fifth District Court of Appeal reversed and remanded for a new tri
• Fiddemon v. State
  858 So. 2d 1100· Fla. 4th DCA· 2003-10-22
  The court held that the trial court erred in admitting evidence of a prior assault under the 'opening the door' theory, as the defense's questioning about the thoroughness of the investigation did not mislead the jury or open the door to such evidence.
• Hall v. State
  855 So. 2d 1189· Fla. 4th DCA· 2003-10-08
  Defendant's conviction for carjacking was affirmed where any error from an audible reference to prior incarceration in a taped police statement was harmless because the reference was inaudible or unclear to the trial judge and prosecutor, and the problematic section was redacted
• Galvez v. Merelo
  849 So. 2d 1158· Fla. 1st DCA· 2003-07-21
  A Florida appellate court reversed a jury verdict in a personal injury case, finding that the trial court abused its discretion by allowing a Georgia state trooper to testify regarding his opinion on the cause of an accident despite earlier ruling he could not testify as an exper
• Kelly v. State
  842 So. 2d 223· Fla. 1st DCA· 2003-04-08
  Virginia Kelly appeals her second-degree murder conviction for shooting her husband Ronald Kelly. The Florida District Court of Appeal, First District reversed the conviction, finding that the trial court abused its discretion by denying recross-examination on critical redirect t
• Daeda v. State
  841 So. 2d 632· Fla. 2d DCA· 2003-04-04
  Leslie Daeda was convicted of tampering with or fabricating physical evidence related to a notarized agreement allegedly signed by Katherine Smith. The appellate court reversed and remanded for a new trial, holding that the trial court erred by excluding defense testimony that wo
• Bertances v. State
  838 So. 2d 620· Fla. 3d DCA· 2003-02-26
  Florida appellate court reversed denial of post-conviction relief and vacated habitual offender sentence because defendant did not receive required written notice of State's intent to impose habitual offender designation under section 775.084(3)(a).
• Wilson v. State
  835 So. 2d 1215· Fla. 4th DCA· 2003-01-22
  Wilson obtained habeas corpus relief for ineffective assistance of appellate counsel. His appellate attorney failed to raise a jury instruction issue that Wilson's trial counsel had requested, even though the same issue was successfully raised by his co-defendant in a separate ap
• Stotler v. State
  834 So. 2d 940· Fla. 4th DCA· 2003-01-22
  Earl Stotler was convicted as a principal to burglary based on his presence during the crime and his girlfriend's direct participation. The Florida appellate court reversed, holding that the trial court erred by restricting cross-examination of the state's witness regarding Stotl
• Miles Brice
  Del.· 2003-01-16
  The Delaware Supreme Court held that the 2002 amendments to the state's death penalty statute (11 Del. C. § 4209) are procedural and thus do not violate the Ex Post Facto Clause. The Court further ruled that the amendments, in light of Ring v. Arizona, require a jury to find stat
• Gilda Oliveros v. State
  835 So. 2d 335· Fla. 3d DCA· 2003-01-08
  The court held that the introduction of evidence regarding a million-dollar liability policy was irrelevant and prejudicial, constituting harmful error for the murder solicitation convictions.
• Glendell Russ v. State
  832 So. 2d 901· Fla. 1st DCA· 2002-12-19
  Glendell Russ, a former city commissioner, was convicted of election code violations involving absentee ballots in a 1999 Quincy city commission race. The appellate court reversed his convictions and remanded for a new trial because the trial court reversibly erred by overruling
• Darrian Mark Lawrence v. State
  829 So. 2d 955· Fla. 3d DCA· 2002-10-30
  Darrian Mark Lawrence appeals his convictions for first-degree murder, shooting or throwing a deadly missile, and possession of a firearm during a criminal offense. The Third District Court of Appeal reverses and remands for a new trial, finding that the prosecutor made improper
• Greehan v. State
  830 So. 2d 878· Fla. 2d DCA· 2002-10-18
  The court held that the State's failure to disclose a witness's testimony constituted a prejudicial discovery violation requiring reversal.
• Yehowshua Yisrael v. State
  827 So. 2d 1113· Fla. 4th DCA· 2002-10-16
  Yehowshua Yisrael appealed his conviction for indecent assault on a child, challenging the admissibility of DNA evidence obtained through STR analysis using a Perkin-Elmer Profiler kit. The Fourth District Court of Appeal affirmed the conviction, holding that the DNA evidence met
• Stires v. State
  824 So. 2d 943· Fla. 5th DCA· 2002-07-26
  Stires appeals convictions for two counts of DUI manslaughter and one count of DUI with bodily injury after a fatal vehicular collision. The court affirmed, holding that although the prosecutor improperly shifted the burden of proof during closing argument by stating the jury had
• Henig v. State
  820 So. 2d 1037· Fla. 4th DCA· 2002-07-10
  Henig was convicted of trespass with a human being present after being charged with burglary. The appellate court reversed and remanded because the trial court erroneously refused to instruct the jury on the lesser-included offense of simple trespass, which was supported by the c
• Banaszek v. State
  821 So. 2d 332· Fla. 2d DCA· 2002-06-05
• Grady v. State
  817 So. 2d 928· Fla. 5th DCA· 2002-05-10
  Alvin Grady appeals his conviction for battery on a law enforcement officer, resisting arrest with violence, assault on a law enforcement officer, and disorderly intoxication. The court finds that the State improperly elicited testimony commenting on Grady's silence in violation
• Southerland v. State
  816 So. 2d 154· Fla. 2d DCA· 2002-04-19
  Nicholas Southerland appeals his conviction for aggravated assault with a firearm, challenging the trial court's decision to admit neutron activation test results that were not produced until the last day of trial due to a discovery violation. The appellate court affirms the conv
• Hilliard Delapierre v. State
  808 So. 2d 277· Fla. 1st DCA· 2002-03-01
• Lester v. State
  813 So. 2d 106· Fla. 3d DCA· 2002-01-16
  Corey Lamar Lester was convicted of burglary of a conveyance and grand theft based primarily on security guard testimony. The Third District reversed, finding that the trial court's accomplice testimony instruction was fundamental error when given against a defendant whose co-def
• Dameian DeVaughan Bibbs v. State
  801 So. 2d 235· Fla. 2d DCA· 2001-12-07
  The court held that the trial court erred by refusing to allow the defendant to testify about his prior convictions resulting from pleas, and that a jury instruction was not supported by the evidence.
• Ademir dos Santos v. Carlson
  806 So. 2d 534· Fla. 3d DCA· 2001-11-14
  The Florida District Court of Appeal affirmed a trial court's exclusion of the defendant's expert radiologist for violating a pre-trial order requiring disclosure of expert information under Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.280(b)(4)(A). The court also rejected the defendant's a
• Hampton v. State
  796 So. 2d 1260· Fla. 4th DCA· 2001-10-17
  The court held that the trial court erred by not instructing the jury that the appellant had to have knowledge of the illicit nature of the substance, as required by Chicone v. State.
• Williams v. State
  811 So. 2d 672· Fla. 5th DCA· 2001-09-28
  Florida appellate court affirmed conviction for aggravated assault with a firearm, aggravated fleeing and eluding, and firearm possession by convicted felon, holding that prior trial testimony was properly admitted under unavailability exception and that a witness statement about
• Tussey v. State
  793 So. 2d 1188· Fla. 5th DCA· 2001-09-21
  Joseph Tussey was convicted of lewd acts upon a child based partly on hearsay testimony from the child's mother regarding statements the child made. The Florida appellate court reversed, holding that the trial court failed to make the specific statutory findings of reliability re
• Wynn v. State
  791 So. 2d 1258· Fla. 5th DCA· 2001-08-24
  Brian Wynn appealed his conviction for sexual assault and armed robbery, challenging the admissibility of DNA evidence from mixed samples and testimony about a corroborating DNA test. The Florida appellate court affirmed the conviction, finding the DNA analysis met the Frye stand
• Sanders v. Moore
  156 F. Supp. 2d 1301· M.D. Fla.· 2001-08-14
  The court held that the admission of John Barrett's statements to his wife, Paula Barrett, violated the Petitioner's Sixth Amendment right of confrontation because the statements were not made by a co-conspirator during and in furtherance of the conspiracy.
• Collins v. State
  792 So. 2d 575· Fla. 4th DCA· 2001-07-25
  The appellate court held that upon removing the habitual felony offender designation, the trial court should have resentenced the appellant under the sentencing guidelines, using the 1994 guidelines.
• McCORMICK v. State
  789 So. 2d 474· Fla. 4th DCA· 2001-07-05
  The court held that the trial court erred in refusing to give a special jury instruction requiring knowledge of the illicit nature of the substance possessed.
• Lowell Bernard Richardson v. State
  789 So. 2d 1055· Fla. 3d DCA· 2001-06-13
  The appellate court held that the trial court erred in excluding letters written by the victim to the defendant, as they were relevant to impeaching the victim's credibility.
• Ministre v. State
  788 So. 2d 325· Fla. 4th DCA· 2001-05-23
  Defendant was convicted of aggravated battery after the state introduced a previously undisclosed impeachment witness on the morning of trial to contradict its own witness's testimony regarding who fired the gun. The court reversed, finding that the late disclosure of the witness
• The Univ. OF Miami, Inc. v. Spunberg
  784 So. 2d 541· Fla. 4th DCA· 2001-05-09
  The Florida Fourth District Court of Appeal reversed a jury verdict awarding over $22 million in damages to two physicians whose medical staff privileges were terminated by a hospital and university, finding that the trial court abused its discretion by excluding evidence that wo
• Smith v. State
  787 So. 2d 902· Fla. 2d DCA· 2001-05-04
  William Smith appealed his grand theft conviction, challenging his right to self-representation. Although the trial court conducted a valid Faretta hearing authorizing self-representation, it failed to renew the offer of assistance of counsel at subsequent critical stages of the
• Porter v. State
  773 So. 2d 1269· Fla. 4th DCA· 2000-12-27
• Cannon v. State
  777 So. 2d 997· Fla. 2d DCA· 2000-11-22
  The trial court erred by prohibiting the defense from impeaching a key state witness with evidence of eleven prior felony convictions.
• Kiley v. State
  770 So. 2d 1278· Fla. 4th DCA· 2000-11-15
  The Florida Fourth District Court of Appeal affirmed Jason Kiley's conviction and sentence, holding that although the trial court's preliminary remarks during jury selection may have deviated from the standard jury instruction regarding the right to remain silent and burden of pr
• Cruz-Sanchez v. State
  771 So. 2d 52· Fla. 2d DCA· 2000-10-06
  Cruz-Sanchez was convicted of cocaine delivery and possession based on an undercover agent's identification. The appellate court reversed her convictions, holding that the trial court erred by restricting cross-examination of the State's key witness regarding other drug transacti
• Thomas v. State
  768 So. 2d 1216· Fla. 4th DCA· 2000-10-04
  Johnny Thomas was convicted of cocaine delivery based on testimony from an undercover officer and an eyewitness. The court reversed his conviction because the prosecutor improperly cross-examined Thomas's defense witness about pending drug charges unrelated to the case, which was
• Arius Julian Llanos v. State
  766 So. 2d 1219· Fla. 4th DCA· 2000-09-20
  The Florida District Court of Appeal, Fourth District, reversed Arius Julian Llanos's convictions for armed kidnapping and aggravated battery because the trial court improperly admitted hearsay statements from a medical report that were not reasonably pertinent to medical diagnos
• Weible v. State
  761 So. 2d 469· Fla. 4th DCA· 2000-06-28
  David Weible, who pleaded open to second-degree arson, appeals his sentencing after the first trial judge recused himself before pronouncing sentence. The Fourth District Court of Appeal held that the second trial judge abused his discretion by denying Weible's motion to continue
• Schusler v. State
  760 So. 2d 271· Fla. 4th DCA· 2000-06-07
  Steven Schusler was convicted of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon for striking his ex-wife's new husband with a baseball bat. The Florida appellate court reversed the conviction because the trial court improperly admitted Williams Rule evidence of prior antagonistic acts a