Harmless Error Doctrine

1,384 Florida cases classified under this topic, plus 1,569 listed through its narrower topics · sorted by citation count · see the citation graph · browse and sort

• State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co. v. Gold
  186 So. 3d 1061· Fla. 4th DCA· 2016-01-27 ·cited 1×·via Harmless Error Standard
  The court held that improper statements by counsel and a prejudicial jury instruction, when considered cumulatively, denied the opposing party a fair trial, warranting a new trial.
• Jones v. State
  197 So. 3d 1085· Fla. 2d DCA· 2015-11-25 ·cited 1×·via Burden Of Proof For Harmless Error
  Jerry Tyrone Jones was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted first-degree murder. The appellate court held that the trial court abused its discretion in excluding expert testimony on eyewitness identification reliability, but affirmed the convi
• Thomas v. State
  993 So. 2d 105· Fla. 1st DCA· 2008-10-21 ·cited 1×·via Harmless Error Standard
  The court held that admitting hearsay within a business record, without a separate exception for the hearsay statement, is error. This error was not harmless because the hearsay contributed to the conviction.
• D.M. & D.M. v. Dep't OF Child. & Fam. Servs. & the Guardian Ad Litem Program
  979 So. 2d 1007· Fla. 3d DCA· 2008-02-27 ·cited 1×
  This case involves an appeal of a judgment terminating parental rights of both parents of two young children based on allegations of domestic violence, drug abuse, and child neglect. The Florida appellate court affirmed the termination, finding the evidence legally sufficient and
• McINTOSH v. State
  858 So. 2d 1098· Fla. 4th DCA· 2003-10-15 ·cited 1×
  Ian McIntosh appeals his convictions for robbery with a firearm and attempted second-degree murder after the trial court admitted evidence of two firearms (.38 revolver and .357 magnum) unconnected to the crimes, when the undisputed evidence showed only the 9mm Sig Sauer was used
• Publix Super Mkts., Inc. v. Young
  848 So. 2d 1242· Fla. 4th DCA· 2003-07-09 ·cited 1×·via Harmless Error Rule
  Publix Super Markets appeals a personal injury judgment against it, contending the trial court violated Florida law by using a general verdict form instead of the mandatory itemized verdict form required by section 768.77. The court reverses and remands for a new trial on damages
• Modeste v. State
  760 So. 2d 1078· Fla. 5th DCA· 2000-06-23 ·cited 1×
  Randy Modeste was convicted of drug possession after police found a bag of marijuana near a car where he was spotted. On appeal, Modeste challenges the trial court's admission of evidence regarding his prior drug arrests, which were used to impeach his credibility when he testifi
• Bearce v. State
  731 So. 2d 157· Fla. 5th DCA· 1999-04-30 ·cited 1×
  Bearce was convicted of five counts of sexual activity with a child by a person in familial or custodial authority involving his stepson. On appeal, Bearce challenged the admission of certain evidence, but the Florida appellate court affirmed his conviction, finding any evidentia
• Calabrese v. State
  726 So. 2d 846· Fla. 5th DCA· 1999-02-05 ·cited 1×·via Harmless Error Rule
  The court held that the trial court's refusal to give a voluntary intoxication instruction was harmless error given the overwhelming evidence of premeditation and the availability of a felony murder theory.
• Brown v. State
  721 So. 2d 814· Fla. 4th DCA· 1998-12-16 ·cited 1×
  David Lee Brown was convicted of burglary with battery and aggravated battery based partly on pretrial depositions of two elderly victims who did not appear at trial. The court reversed because the trial judge erroneously admitted the depositions as evidence without Brown being p
• LEE v. State
  690 So. 2d 664· Fla. 1st DCA· 1997-03-20 ·cited 1×·via Harmless Error Rule
  Keith Darryl Lee appeals his first-degree murder conviction, challenging the validity of his waiver of a conflict of interest arising from his court-appointed lawyer's prior representation of a key prosecution witness. The court reverses because the trial court failed to inform L
• Irwin v. Singletary
  882 F. Supp. 1036· M.D. Fla.· 1995-04-13 ·cited 1×
  The court held that the trial court's denial of a peremptory challenge and the prosecutor's comments did not rise to constitutional error warranting habeas relief. The court also found that evidence of the recurrence of sexual attacks and newly discovered evidence claims were not
• Cheila Springfield v. Dep't of Env't Prot.
  648 So. 2d 802· Fla. 1st DCA· 1994-12-29 ·cited 1×
  An employee who intentionally fails to report to work for three consecutive workdays after being warned that such failure constitutes job abandonment has voluntarily abandoned her position, and the agency may dismiss her on that ground.
• JOY v. Bell Helicopter Textron, Inc.
  999 F.2d 549· D.C. Cir.· 1993-07-27 ·cited 1×·via Harmless Error Rule
  The court held that evidence of other SAG failures was admissible and jury instructions on product liability were proper, but reversed a damages award for loss of consortium and certified a question regarding the District of Columbia's liability for the rescue effort.
• United States v. Rahm
  993 F.2d 1405· 9th Cir.· 1993-05-11 ·cited 1×
  The court held that the trial court did not err in excluding the psychologist's testimony because it was not appreciably helpful to the jury and the error, if any, was harmless.
• United States v. Davis
  974 F.2d 182· D.C. Cir.· 1992-09-08 ·cited 1×
  The court held that prosecutorial statements about perjury, the trial court's reading of testimony, and a transcription error did not constitute reversible error, and the evidence was sufficient to support the conviction.
• United States v. Jerome Susskind (91-1003)
  965 F.2d 80· 6th Cir.· 1992-05-28 ·cited 1×
  The court held that the failure to produce certain grand jury transcripts and a letter concerning prosecutorial misconduct was harmless error, as there was no reasonable likelihood that their production would have affected the verdict.
• Est. OF C.M. Largent, III v. United States
  910 F.2d 497· 8th Cir.· 1990-08-06 ·cited 1×·via Federal Rule Of Civil Procedure 61 (Harmless Error)
  The court held that the district court's finding that the pilot's negligence was more than slight compared to the FSS Specialists' negligence was not clearly erroneous.
• Pericola v. State
  499 So. 2d 864· Fla. 1st DCA· 1986-12-05 ·cited 1×
  Frank Pericola appeals his conviction for attempted first-degree murder and related firearm offenses stemming from a shooting of a police officer. The Florida appellate court affirmed the conviction, rejecting challenges to his competency to stand trial, the standard for competen
• Phillips v. State
  481 So. 2d 996· Fla. 1st DCA· 1986-01-23 ·cited 1×·via Harmless Error Analysis In Sentencing
  Florida appellate court affirmed a 15-year sentence for aggravated battery despite the trial court's reliance on lack of remorse as an improper departure reason, finding the remaining valid reasons supported the sentence beyond a reasonable doubt.
• Morris v. State
  456 So. 2d 471· Fla. 3d DCA· 1984-06-05 ·cited 1×
  The Florida District Court of Appeal affirmed a conviction for conspiracy to traffic cocaine, trafficking cocaine, and possession of cocaine. The court held that the trial court properly excluded hearsay testimony regarding the informant's intent to set up the defendant and that
• Sloan v. State
  427 So. 2d 808· Fla. 4th DCA· 1983-03-09 ·cited 1×
• Wesley v. State
  399 So. 2d 980· Fla. 1st DCA· 1981-04-06 ·cited 1×
• Fountain v. State
  353 So. 2d 608· Fla. 4th DCA· 1977-12-20 ·cited 1×
  The court held that the failure to instruct the jury on lesser-included offenses of aggravated assault and assault was reversible error, even if the defendant was charged as a principal.
• Foy B. Hall v. State
  303 So. 2d 417· Fla. 2d DCA· 1974-11-13 ·cited 1×
  The dissenting judge believes the trial court's error in failing to determine a factual basis for a guilty plea was not harmless.
• Hall v. Haldane
  268 So. 2d 403· Fla. 4th DCA· 1972-08-07 ·cited 1×
  Hall appeals from a negligence judgment, arguing the trial court erred by allowing plaintiff's counsel to impeach his testimony using a prior written statement to a highway patrolman, which was protected under Florida's accident report privilege statute. The court found error but
• Reliable Servs., Inc. v. Taft
  247 So. 2d 97· Fla. 3d DCA· 1971-04-20 ·cited 1×·via Harmless Error Rule
• United States v. Nero
  433 F.2d 350· 9th Cir.· 1970-10-27 ·cited 1×
  The court held that the admission of co-defendant's statements was harmless error and did not violate the appellant's confrontation rights.
• United States v. Orito
  424 F.2d 276· 9th Cir.· 1970-04-20 ·cited 1×
  The court held that any error in compelling handwriting exemplars was harmless because the evidence obtained was not used at trial and the expert relied on other samples.
• Pait v. State
  112 So. 2d 380· Fla.· 1959-03-11 ·cited 1×·via Harmless Error Rule
  Jesse Pait was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to death for killing Adolf Rothman during a robbery. The Florida Supreme Court reversed the conviction due to improper remarks made by the prosecutor during closing argument that unfairly prejudiced the jury against re
• United States v. Chadwick Lemaine
  11th Cir.· 2026-10-30
  A defendant must establish through words and conduct that he believes he committed something morally wrong to obtain an offense-level reduction under Sentencing Guideline § 3E1.1, and a district court may consider post-plea criminal conduct in assessing whether that moral accepta
• Williams v. State
  Fla. 1st DCA· 2026-10-28 ·via Harmless Error Standard
  The trial court did not commit reversible error in finding no discovery violation regarding a late-delivered video interview of the driver-accomplice, because the State had disclosed the interview's existence and a summary of its contents to the defense long before trial, and a f
• Vaughn v. State
  Fla. 3d DCA· 2026-10-15
  Any error in resentencing is harmless when the defendant is serving a concurrent life sentence and will suffer no practical consequences from the resentencing.
• Julnord Saint Louis v. State
  Fla. 4th DCA· 2026-09-30
  A lay witness with personal knowledge of a discrete cultural group's common superstitions may testify about those beliefs when the testimony is based on the witness's personal knowledge and does not require specialized expertise, provided the witness has adequate foundation throu
• Edwards v. State
  Fla. 2d DCA· 2026-09-09 ·via Harmless Error Analysis In Sentencing
  When a defendant challenges prior convictions on a scoresheet via a rule 3.800(b)(2) motion, the State bears the burden of producing competent evidence that the prior convictions were correctly included. The trial court erred in including convictions from more than ten years befo
• Auguste v. State
  Fla. 4th DCA· 2026-09-09 ·via Harmless Error Standard
  Although the trial court erred in permitting testimony about the nature of the defendant's five prior convictions, the error was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt as to both the felon-in-possession and first-degree murder convictions because the defendant's guilt was clearly est
• Wakilii Brown v. Comm'r, Ala. Dep't of Corr.
  11th Cir.· 2026-08-21 ·via Chapman V. California Harmless Error Standard
  The admission of Brown's statement to his aunt that he "hurt" the victims did not violate his federal due-process right because the statement was not a crucial, critical, and highly significant part of the trial record—it occupied less than one percent of the evidence, was used o
• Gersson Fleitasborrego v. State
  Fla. 3d DCA· 2026-08-13
  A trial court does not err in denying a defendant's motions to exclude evidence and for mistrial based on a discovery violation when defense counsel fails to object to the lack of explicit findings on whether the violation was trivial or substantial or caused prejudice.
• Padgett v. State
  Fla. 1st DCA· 2026-08-05
  A prison releasee reoffender sentence is affirmed where any error is harmless.
• United States v. Hernandez
  11th Cir.· 2026-07-31
  Although a district court abused its discretion by allocating unequal closing argument time based solely on the government's burden of proof, the error was harmless where the defendant received sufficient time to present her main defenses and the evidence of guilt was overwhelmin
• Angram v. State
  Fla. 4th DCA· 2026-07-29
  Any error in the trial court's determination regarding legal bases to depart from sentencing guidelines is harmless when the trial court determined it should not depart.
• Cosby v. State
  Fla. 3d DCA· 2026-07-29
  The trial court did not abuse its discretion in admitting a photograph of the defendant posing with a 9mm handgun where multiple factors established a nexus between the photograph and the charged crimes, including the victims' fatal shooting with an unrecovered 9mm gun, 9mm ammun
• Angram v. State
  Fla. 4th DCA· 2026-07-29
  Any error in the trial court's determination regarding legal bases to depart from sentencing guidelines is harmless when the trial court determined it should not depart.
• United States v. Gray Rivera
  11th Cir.· 2026-07-22
  The court affirmed Rivera's convictions for production of child sexual abuse material, holding that: (1) testimony from another victim that went beyond the government's notice was not so prejudicial as to warrant a mistrial given the strong independent evidence of guilt and curat
• Shinault v. State
  Fla. 1st DCA· 2026-07-08 ·via Harmless Error Analysis In Sentencing
  An Apprendi/Erlinger claim that jury findings were required for a VFOSC designation is a procedural error not cognizable under Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.800(b) because it alleges an error in the sentencing process rather than an error in the sentencing order itself. A
• Rogers v. State
  Fla. 6th DCA· 2026-06-29
  A defendant waives an issue by failing to raise it in the initial appellate brief, and supplemental briefing to raise a new constitutional challenge based on a pending Supreme Court petition is not warranted where the outcome and applicability of any potential change in law remai
• Terry v. State
  Fla. 1st DCA· 2026-06-24
  The appellant's habitual felony offender sentence is affirmed because any error was harmless.
• Esquivel v. State
  Fla. 3d DCA· 2026-06-18 ·via Harmless Error Review
  A sentence that does not exceed the statutory maximum for the crime does not violate Apprendi, even if the trial court found additional facts in imposing it.
• Woodbury v. State of Fla. & Michael Lawrence Woodbury v. Sec'y
  Fla.· 2026-06-11
  A pro se defendant cannot later complain of ineffective assistance of standby counsel, even if standby counsel was present during trial. Postconviction claims that could have been raised on direct appeal are procedurally barred from collateral review. A Brady violation claim is i
• Byrd v. State
  Fla. 1st DCA· 2026-06-10
  Any error in the trial court's sentencing of Byrd was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt.