207 Florida cases classified under this topic, plus 489 listed through its narrower topics · sorted by citation count · see the citation graph · browse and sort
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Leo Alexander Jones, a death row inmate convicted of murdering Officer Thomas Szafranski in 1981, appealed the trial court's denial of his third motion for postconviction relief under Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.850. The Florida Supreme Court affirmed the denial, rejecti
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Aubrey Lee Nickels was convicted of rape and sentenced to death. The Florida Supreme Court reversed the conviction and granted a new trial, finding that the trial court erred in excluding impeaching testimony regarding a physician's prior inconsistent statements about his examina
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660 So. 2d 637·
Fla.·
1995-07-13
·cited 198×
Emanuel Johnson was convicted of murdering 73-year-old Iris White and sentenced to death. The Florida Supreme Court affirmed the conviction and death sentence, rejecting challenges to the voluntariness of his confession, the validity of the search warrant, jury selection, present
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The court did not issue a holding as this is a dissenting opinion.
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Delap was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to death. On appeal, he challenged the admissibility of his confession, expert testimony, jury instructions, and the imposition of the death sentence. The Florida Supreme Court affirmed the conviction and sentence, finding
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The court held that a habeas corpus petition must establish a prima facie case by alleging specific facts showing illegality of restraint, not mere general conclusions or disappointed expectations.
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438 So. 2d 787·
Fla.·
1983-09-08
·cited 143×
Theodore Harris was convicted of first-degree murder, burglary with assault, and robbery of a 73-year-old woman. He appealed arguing his confession was involuntary and his trial contained procedural errors. The Florida Supreme Court affirmed the convictions and death sentence, fi
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Kirk Hansbrough was convicted of first-degree murder and armed robbery for stabbing an insurance agency employee over thirty times during a robbery. The Florida Supreme Court affirmed his convictions but vacated his death sentence, finding insufficient aggravating circumstances t
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Eugene McWatters was convicted of three counts of first-degree murder and three counts of sexual battery arising from the 2004 strangulation murders of three women. He received death sentences for each murder. The Florida Supreme Court affirmed all convictions and sentences, find
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919 So. 2d 347·
Fla.·
2005-10-27
·cited 127×
The Florida Supreme Court affirmed Daniel Perez's conviction for first-degree felony murder, robbery, and burglary in the stabbing death of Susan Martin, but vacated his death sentence and remanded for a new penalty phase proceeding because the trial court erroneously applied the
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The Florida Supreme Court reversed Patrick Brewer's first-degree murder conviction and death sentence, holding that his written confession was inadmissible because it was tainted by the coercive interrogation that preceded it. The brief appearance before a judicial officer and ri
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433 So. 2d 501·
Fla.·
1983-04-21
·cited 111×
The Florida Supreme Court reversed the Third District Court of Appeal's decision and reinstated a trial court's suppression of a confession given by Suzanne DeConingh, who was hospitalized after shooting her husband. The case establishes that a confession obtained from a person u
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Wadada Delhall was convicted of first-degree murder for killing Hubert McCrae, the eyewitness to his brother's murder charge. The Florida Supreme Court affirmed his guilt-phase conviction but vacated his death sentence and remanded for a new penalty phase due to cumulative errors
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Blaine Ross was convicted of murdering his parents and appealed, claiming his confessions were obtained through Miranda violations. The Florida Supreme Court reversed his convictions because police deliberately delayed administering Miranda warnings for several hours during custo
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The en banc court held that the first confession was voluntary and admissible, but the second confession was involuntary and inadmissible. The court affirmed the denial of habeas corpus relief regarding the first confession but reversed it regarding the second.
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The court held that the trial court's failure to instruct the jury on all elements of conspiracy, specifically knowledge of illegal importation, constituted plain error requiring reversal of the conspiracy convictions. It also held that admissions obtained from a defendant after
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A confession obtained during an unnecessary and unreasonable delay in arraignment, in violation of the McNabb rule, is inadmissible. Furthermore, prejudicial publicity and judicial misconduct can deny a fair trial.
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830 F.2d 885·
8th Cir.·
1987-10-05
·cited 92×
The court affirmed the convictions and sentences, finding no reversible error in the trial court's evidentiary rulings, jury instructions, application of statutes, or sentencing procedures.
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Jackson Burch was convicted of premeditated murder and sentenced to death for the stabbing death of a young woman, but the jury recommended life imprisonment. The Florida Supreme Court upheld the conviction but vacated the death sentence, imposing life without parole instead, hol
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The court held that the trial judge erred in refusing to accept Martinez' guilty plea and in denying Huila's severance motion, while finding insufficient evidence to convict Padilla-Soris of conspiracy.
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The court affirmed the convictions, finding no abuse of discretion in denying severance, sufficient evidence to support convictions, proper admission of statements, and no reversible error in prosecutorial remarks or jury interference.
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The court held that allegations of physical and mental incapacity at the time of pleading guilty, and subsequent mistreatment in custody, are sufficient to require a show cause order and further proceedings.
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The court held that challenges to arrest and evidence seizure, denial of confrontation, and testimony of a mentally ill person are not cognizable under 28 U.S.C. § 2255 when the issues were known or could have been raised on direct appeal or were otherwise without merit.
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The dissenting judge would affirm the lower court's order in all respects, disagreeing with the majority's suppression of a confession prior to trial.
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The court, in a concurring opinion, argues that a post-arraignment confession is inadmissible if it is tainted by a prior confession obtained in violation of Rule 5(a), and that evidence derived from such a confession is also inadmissible under the "fruit of the poisonous tree" d
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The court held that the majority's decision to reverse the lower court's judgment was correct, but disagreed with the majority's reasoning regarding a violation of Rule 5(a).
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Thomas Rigterink appeals his convictions and death sentences for the first-degree murders of Jeremy Jarvis and Allison Sousa. The Florida Supreme Court affirmed his convictions and sentences after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the court's prior reversal based on Miranda warni
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The court held that the allegations in the petition, if true, demonstrate that the petitioner was denied a fair trial and that the lower court erred in denying a hearing.
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The denial of an interpreter in a deportation proceeding, which prevents an alien from understanding the proceedings, is a fundamental due process violation that cannot be reviewed for harmless error and was indeed harmful in this case.
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Daniel Grant was convicted of murder and sentenced to death after confessing to strangling and raping Mrs. Flyman Nudel at an upholstery shop in Miami. On appeal, Grant challenged the admission of his confession, statements to a psychiatrist, and motion picture films of his crime
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The Florida Supreme Court affirmed death sentences imposed on three teenage defendants (ages 15-16) convicted of first-degree murder. The court held that age alone does not bar capital punishment and that the trial court properly admitted the defendants' written confessions despi
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George Milton was convicted of murdering his wife after confessing following police interrogation. On habeas corpus, he challenged the confession as coerced due to prolonged interrogation, solitary confinement, and unreasonable delay in presenting him before a magistrate, but the
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The court held that the systematic exclusion of Negroes from the jury that tried Negro appellants violated the Fifth Amendment's due process clause, congressional policy, and Supreme Court precedent.
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Horace Canada was convicted of armed robbery and accessory after the fact and sentenced to consecutive five-year terms after pleading guilty on the same day as arraignment without counsel. The Florida Supreme Court reversed and remanded, holding that Canada met the requirements f
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139 So. 2d 408·
Fla.·
1962-03-23
·cited 60×
Sie Dawson was convicted of murder and sentenced to death for killing a two-year-old boy. On appeal, Dawson challenged the voluntariness of his confession, claiming it was obtained after prolonged interrogation and under threat of mob violence. The Florida Supreme Court affirmed,
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The court held that the act of producing baggage claim stubs, in the context of a border stop, is testimonial and incriminating, and that the suspect was in custody for Miranda purposes.
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Robert Sullivan, convicted of murder and sentenced to death in 1973, appeals the trial court's denial of his second Rule 3.850 motion for post-conviction relief and seeks various forms of habeas relief. The Florida Supreme Court affirms the denial of his motion and rejects his ha
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313 F.2d 364·
2d Cir.·
1963-01-25
·cited 56×
The court held that the extensive and inflammatory pretrial publicity created such prejudice that the jury could not be impartial, violating the defendant's Fourteenth Amendment rights.
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25 Fla. 501·
Fla.·
1889-06-01
·cited 55×
James Coffee was convicted of murder in the first degree for the killing of Henry B. Hammond and sentenced to death. The Florida Supreme Court reversed the conviction, holding that Coffee's confession at Martel was inadmissible because it was induced by an earlier coerced confess
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The Court held that a prisoner is not entitled to a default judgment or immediate release due to the state's failure to file a timely return in a habeas corpus proceeding, and the district court retains the power to dismiss the petition sua sponte for failure to exhaust state rem
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Broomer Dabney was convicted of murder in the second degree after being jointly tried with his mother, who was acquitted. On appeal, he challenged the admission of his confessions as involuntary and the prosecutor's comments about his testimony, but the Florida Supreme Court affi
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A guilty plea induced by confronting the defendant with a confederate's inadmissible confession is not rendered involuntary or subject to collateral attack under 28 U.S.C. § 2255 if the plea itself was entered competently and intelligently.
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The court held that the warrantless search for vehicle identification numbers was permissible and that statements made by the defendant were admissible, either because they were voluntarily initiated after Miranda warnings or because the warnings given by federal agents carried o
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631 F.2d 1229·
5th Cir.·
1980-12-04
·cited 51×
The court held that the petitioner was not entitled to federal habeas corpus relief on any of his claims, affirming the denial of his petition.
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The court held that 18 U.S.C. § 2113(e) mandates a two-stage trial, first for guilt and then for penalty, to ensure fairness and rational punishment determination.
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The court held that the petitioner had not exhausted available state remedies for most of his claims, requiring dismissal of the federal habeas corpus petition without prejudice.
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Elijah Webster appealed from a trial court's order denying his motion under Criminal Procedure Rule No. 1 to vacate two rape convictions and life sentences. The appellate court affirmed the denial, finding that Webster's allegations of denial of counsel at a preliminary hearing a
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The court held that the statement made to Assistant State's Attorney Gainer was inadmissible as it was a mere relay of a coerced confession, and the state forfeited its harmless error argument. Statements made to Officer Dubois after Miranda warnings were admissible as they were
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The court held that the denial of the habeas corpus petition was proper, as there were no constitutional infirmities in the state proceedings regarding Shriner's conviction or sentence.
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The court would affirm the dismissal of the habeas corpus petition for failure to exhaust state remedies, finding that excusable neglect might apply to the petitioner's late filing under state rules.