664 Florida cases classified under this topic, plus 839 listed through its narrower topics · sorted by citation count · see the citation graph · browse and sort
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450 F.2d 290·
8th Cir.·
1971-11-01
·cited 6×
The court held that while the government may have erred in not properly instructing the jury on the limited use of a prior inconsistent statement, such error was harmless.
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415 F.2d 599·
9th Cir.·
1969-08-13
·cited 6×
The court held that the harmless error rule can apply to Bruton errors, and the error in this case was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt.
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The court held that subjecting the defendant to a trial with the possibility of the death penalty, after a prior conviction with a recommendation of life imprisonment, constituted harmless constitutional error.
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378 F.2d 902·
6th Cir.·
1967-06-15
·cited 6×
The court held that even if the search and seizure of the jacket were illegal, the admission of the jacket into evidence constituted harmless error because it did not affect the substantial rights of the defendant.
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348 F.2d 231·
8th Cir.·
1965-07-15
·cited 6×
The court held that the trial court erred in denying the defendants' timely request for witness statements under the Jencks Act, and that this error was not harmless.
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Three members of the Gangster Disciples—Vertuies Wall, Lawrence Grice, and Lewis Mobley—appealed their convictions for RICO conspiracy and related offenses, with Grice challenging the sufficiency of evidence and Wall and Mobley challenging various aspects of their convictions and
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The Eleventh Circuit en banc held that unobjected-to sentencing explanation errors under 18 U.S.C. § 3553(c) are reviewed for plain error, not per se reversal. The court further held that the district court did not commit plain error because the record made clear its reasons for
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The court affirmed the sentence and restitution order, holding that the rule of specialty and extradition treaty did not bar consideration of Utsick's pre-extradition conduct for sentencing purposes.
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The trial court's life sentences for molestation counts were properly imposed but improperly included a twenty-five-year mandatory minimum that is not authorized by statute; the sentencing error was harmless and correctable by ministerial removal of the erroneous provision from t
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When a defendant seeks resentencing after a conviction is vacated, the defendant is entitled to resentencing using a recalculated scoresheet, and the 'could have imposed' harmless error standard from Brooks v. State does not apply.
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271 So. 3d 1030·
Fla. 4th DCA·
2019-05-15
·cited 5×
The trial court erred in admitting the girlfriend's unsworn statement to police regarding Helms's phone number as substantive evidence to authenticate cell phone records, because the statement was inadmissible hearsay under Florida Statute § 90.614 and § 90.801(2)(a), as it was n
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MDVIP, a concierge medicine provider, was sued for fraud and vicarious liability arising from alleged medical malpractice by an affiliated physician, Dr. Metzger, that resulted in a patient's leg amputation. The appellate court reversed the fraud verdict and the directed verdicts
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The court held that the trial court did not err in allowing the jury to read transcripts of recorded calls or in denying motions to suppress recorded jail calls and a gun.
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The court held that compelling a defendant to testify at a sentencing hearing violates the Fifth Amendment, and this error was not harmless when the trial court relied on that testimony to impose a Prison Releasee Reoffender sentence.
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David Antonio Williams was convicted of battery and resisting a law enforcement officer but appeals, arguing the trial court improperly denied his request for self-representation. The Florida First District Court of Appeal reversed, holding that once a defendant makes an unequivo
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Amato Scott was convicted of second-degree murder, but the appellate court reversed and remanded for a new trial after finding that two incriminating statements he made to police were obtained in violation of his Fifth Amendment right to remain silent. The court determined that t
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The Fourth District Court of Appeal reversed Vilseis's burglary and grand theft convictions because the trial court violated his Sixth Amendment right to confront witnesses by admitting a key eyewitness's discovery deposition as substantive evidence when she was unable to testify
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96 So. 3d 1069·
Fla. 4th DCA·
2012-09-05
·cited 5×
The court held that the trial court erred in admitting the defendant's complete and unredacted driving record, as its probative value was substantially outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice, and this error was not harmless.
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Jean Atis appealed his convictions for attempted carjacking and attempted robbery, arguing the State improperly cross-examined him about his prior criminal record. The court found the questioning was poorly handled but concluded any error was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt.
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Jose Figueroa was convicted of attempted carjacking and appealed, claiming the trial court abused its discretion by limiting individual voir dire of jurors and by admitting a portion of his pre-trial statement. The appellate court affirmed the conviction, finding no abuse of disc
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Christine Conner was convicted of robbery, cocaine possession, and trespass after being caught leaving a Walmart with unpaid merchandise and drugs. She appealed arguing the prosecutor impermissibly shifted the burden of proof by commenting during closing argument on her failure t
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838 So. 2d 1192·
Fla. 2d DCA·
2003-01-31
·cited 5×
Clifford Earl Thomas appeals his conviction for attempted second-degree murder, arguing that the trial court improperly commented on evidence critical to the defense by suggesting there was no unrecorded conversation between Thomas and the interrogating officer. The Second Distri
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The court held that scoring errors on a defendant's scoresheet cannot be presumed harmless if they place the defendant in a different sentencing cell.
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Billy Knowles appealed the denial of his motion for post-conviction relief regarding sentencing guideline scoresheet errors. The court reversed and remanded, holding that the trial court must either prove the scoresheet errors did not affect his sentence or re-sentence him using
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Leonard Smith was convicted by jury of throwing a deadly missile into an occupied building after throwing a rock at a window at a youth development center. The appellate court reversed, holding that the trial court erred by excluding testimony that would have impeached key state
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The court held that the trial court committed prejudicial error by admitting evidence of the plaintiff's prior and subsequent speeding tickets, as this evidence was not admissible under Federal Rules of Evidence 404(b) or 608(b) and likely influenced the jury's verdict.
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715 F.2d 118·
4th Cir.·
1983-08-10
·cited 5×
The court held that defense counsel's consent to a jury instruction informing the jury of the defendant's prior conviction for the same crime, even if reversed on procedural grounds, constituted ineffective assistance of counsel and a denial of due process that was not harmless e
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The court held that the defendant's conviction for inducing and encouraging unlawful alien entry and evasion of immigration laws was supported by sufficient evidence and proper venue, and that no reversible error occurred during the trial.
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314 F.2d 238·
D.C. Cir.·
1962-12-20
·cited 5×
The court held that the trial court did not err by not holding a separate hearing on the voluntariness of the confession, as the defense never requested one.
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Admission of a medical report without the author's testimony did not violate the Confrontation Clause because the defendant cannot prove actual prejudice from the error.
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Gretchen Buselli was convicted of murder-for-hire under 18 U.S.C. § 1958 and making false statements to a federal agent after recorded calls and surveillance showed her hiring someone to kill her estranged husband for $25,000 and lying to the FBI about it. The Eleventh Circuit af
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The appellate court reversed a defendant's sentence because it was based on an improperly calculated sentencing scoresheet. The court found that the errors in the scoresheet were not harmless and remanded the case for resentencing with a corrected scoresheet. The court affirmed o
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A harmful Alleyne error in juvenile sentencing under section 775.082(1)(b)1 requires de novo resentencing pursuant to section 775.082(1)(b)2, not a ministerial correction of the sentence. Resentencing is a new proceeding requiring the full panoply of due process considerations, a
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An attorney's alleged failure to object to a creditor's failure to produce an original promissory note does not constitute the proximate cause of a guarantor's loss when the guaranty is absolute and unambiguous, enforceable independent of the note. The issue was barred by collate
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313 So. 3d 1177·
Fla. 1st DCA·
2021-01-11
·cited 4×
The court denied a petitioner's request for a belated direct appeal and imposed sanctions because he made false statements under oath regarding when he learned no appeal was filed. The court clarified that a belated direct appeal can be filed while a postconviction appeal is pend
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The trial court properly excluded two prior consistent statements made well after the shooting (a letter and statement to his son) where defendant referred to the shooting as an accident, as they were not temporally tied to the specific charge of recent fabrication based on defen
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A defendant was convicted of fleeing or attempting to elude a law enforcement officer while driving recklessly. The defendant appeals, challenging the denial of his motion for judgment of acquittal, the prosecutor's misstatement of law in closing argument, and objections to troop
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The Florida Supreme Court authorized amendments to three standard criminal jury instructions (7.3 on Felony Murder–First Degree, 7.4 on Murder–Second Degree, and 10.7(d) on Destructive Devices) to comply with the Court's holding in Williams v. State that Alleyne v. United States
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The trial court did not commit reversible error in admitting eyewitness identifications, photographic evidence, jail visitation logs showing bias, or in denying the motion for judgment of acquittal where competent evidence supported every element of the charged offenses.
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The Florida Supreme Court held that a prior conviction under the 1981 version of section 800.04 (lewd and lascivious conduct with a minor) constitutes a "similar offense" qualifying a defendant as a Dangerous Sexual Felony Offender (DSFO) under the DSFO Act, resolving a conflict
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Dwayne White was convicted of first-degree murder in the death of his estranged wife and sentenced to death by a non-unanimous jury vote of 8-4. The Florida Supreme Court affirmed the conviction but vacated the death sentence because the Hurst v. State error—requiring unanimous j
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James Newton appeals his DUI manslaughter conviction, challenging the trial court's exclusion of his exculpatory statement to a paramedic that he had not been driving. The appellate court agreed the trial court erred but affirmed the conviction, finding the error harmless beyond
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39 So. 3d 352·
Fla. 1st DCA·
2010-06-09
·cited 4×
Alisha Nicole Vice was convicted of aggravated child abuse and child neglect for injuries to a three-month-old infant. The Florida First District Court of Appeal reversed and remanded for a new trial, holding that the trial court abused its discretion in admitting Williams rule e
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The court held that the trial court erred in dismissing the appellant's post-conviction claim regarding erroneous victim injury points without considering its merits.
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The court held that the petitioner failed to demonstrate that the state court's denial of his claims was contrary to or an unreasonable application of federal law, or based on an unreasonable determination of facts.
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The exclusion of two expert witnesses from testifying on the insanity defense is harmless error where two other defense experts provided substantial testimony on Wright's mental state at the time of the crimes.
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958 So. 2d 517·
Fla. 3d DCA·
2007-05-30
·cited 4×
The court held that a technical failure to timely file a signed written statement of reasons for an upward departure sentence, without prejudice to the defendant, does not require reversal if the reasons themselves are valid.
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944 So. 2d 1153·
Fla. 3d DCA·
2006-12-13
·cited 4×
Aziz Matar appeals his expulsion from Florida International University for academic misconduct, challenging the fairness of the disciplinary proceeding and the severity of the penalty. The court affirms the expulsion, finding the proceeding was essentially fair and the evidence a
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Calabrese was convicted of conspiracy to traffic in cocaine after a jury acquitted him of the underlying trafficking charge. The appellate court reversed, finding that the trial court committed fundamental error by failing to instruct the jury on the 'independent act' doctrine as
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Thomas Crow, convicted of first-degree murder in 1985, appealed a trial court's order summarily denying his motion for postconviction DNA testing. The court held that Rule 3.853 is a valid exercise of judicial authority and that Crow's motion was sufficient to warrant a hearing,