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Oral Argument Press Summaries
March 4-8, 2002
The following summaries are drawn from briefs and lower court judgments.
They are meant to provide a general idea of facts and issues presented
in cases, and should not be considered official court documents. Facts
and issues presented in these summaries should be checked for accuracy
against records and briefs, available from the Court, which provide more
specific information.
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![[ETCHING: SUPREME COURT OF FLORIDA]](press1.gif)
Robert
Craig Waters, Director of Public Information
(850) 414-7641
Florida Supreme Court Oral
Arguments
Monday, March 4, 2002
Arrive early. Times &
order of appearance are tentative and subject to change with no notice.
Cases may be postponed due to exigent circumstances.
| Case |
Time |
Facts & Issues |
Place of Origin |
| North Florida Women's
Health & Counseling Services, Inc. v. State of Florida
SC01-843
View briefs in Acrobat
format by clicking the case number(s) here |
9:00 |
The Florida Parental Notice
of Abortion Act requires that parents be notified that their child is seeking
an abortion, with some exceptions. Various organizations sued, and the
trial court declared the statute unconstitutional. On appeal, the First
District Court reversed. |
Statewide impact
Leon County |
| Rickey Bernard Roberts
v. State of Florida
SC92,496
View briefs in Acrobat
format by clicking the case number(s) here |
Approx. 9:40 |
Roberts was tried, convicted,
and sentenced to death for the June 1984 murder of George Napoles. His
sentence was affirmed on appeal. Later, he challenged his sentence, and
the trial court vacated his death penalty and ordered a new sentencing
hearing. Both he and the State appeal. |
Dade County |
| Blue Cross & Blue
Shield of Florida, Inc. v. Angela Steck
SC01-464
View briefs in Acrobat
format by clicking the case number(s) here |
Approx. 10:30 |
In June 1997 Steck walked
in front of an automobile, suffering serious injuries. Her blood alcohol
at the time of the accident was determined to be very high. She later sued
her insurer Blue Cross for failing to cover costs of her medical care,
but it argued that injuries due to drunkenness were excluded by the policy.
The trial court eventually agreed in part with Steck. On appeal, the Second
District affirmed on grounds that drunkenness exclusions only apply to
the direct effects of alcohol on biological systems of the body, not indirect
injuries caused by accidents. |
Hillsborough County |
| Norman Mearle Grim, Jr.
v. State of Florida
SC01-256
View briefs in Acrobat
format by clicking the case number(s) here |
Approx. 11:10 |
Grim was charged with the
July 1998 murder of Cynthia Campbell, whose body later was found in the
water near a fishing bridge in Pensacola. He was convicted and then waived
his right to present mitigating evidence tending to show why he should
not be sentenced to death. The jury recommended the death penalty 12-to-0,
which the trial court imposed. |
Santa Rosa County |
| Case |
Time |
Facts & Issues |
Place of Origin |
| Alvin Mazourek v. Wal-Mart
Stores, Inc.
SC01-663
View briefs in Acrobat
format by clicking the case number(s) here |
9:00 |
Wal-Mart challenged the
Hernando County property appraiser's method of assessing for ad valorem
taxation purposes Wal-Mart's tangible personal property. The trial court
agreed with the property appraiser, but the Fifth District Court of Appeal
reversed, finding that the property appraiser should not have included
within the calculation of valuation the sales tax paid by Wal-Mart. |
Hernando County |
| Marc James Asay v. Michael
W. Moore
SC01-2371
View briefs in Acrobat
format by clicking the case number(s) here |
Approx. 9:40 |
Asay was tried, convicted,
and sentenced to death for the July 1987 murders of Robert Lee Booker and
Robert McDowell. His convictions and sentences were affirmed on appeal.
He now challenges their validity. |
Duval County |
| Allstate Indemnity Co.
v. Joaquin Ruiz
SC01-893
View briefs in Acrobat
format by clicking the case number(s) here |
Approx. 10:30 |
The Ruizes sued Allstate
over a claim arising from a traffic accident. During pretrial discovery,
they demanded copies of a number of documents that Allstate contended were
privileged. The trial court rejected Allstate's claim, but the Fourth District
reversed in part. |
Broward County |
| Roger Stewart Harris
v. State of Florida
SC00-1598
View briefs in Acrobat
format by clicking the case number(s) here |
Approx. 11:10 |
Harris was charged with
the December 1998 murder of his wife Donna Harris. At trial, the jury convicted
him and recommended the death penalty 7-to-5. The trial court sentenced
him to die. This is his direct appeal. |
Columbia County |
| Case |
Time |
Facts & Issues |
Place of Origin |
| Metissia Ricks v. Rene
Loyola, M.D.
SC01-793
View briefs in Acrobat
format by clicking the case number(s) here |
9:00 |
Ricks sued medical care
providers after a surgical procedure allegedly left her with permanent
damage to an arm The damage was discovered by Loyola. Ricks later sued
Loyola and others, but Loyola contended he had merely discovered the problem
and had not caused it. At trial, the jury found in favor of Loyola, but
the trial judge granted a new trial due to an error in the case. The Fourth
District Court reversed and ordered the jury verdict reinstated. |
St. Lucie County |
| Floyd Thomas Robertson
v. State of Florida
SC01-890
View briefs in Acrobat
format by clicking the case number(s) here |
Approx. 9:40 |
Robertson was charged with
the September 1996 murder of his girlfriend Maria Nelson in an apartment
they shared. He contended he was handling a gun that accidentally fired,
by the State argued the shooting was the result of a domestic dispute.
The jury convicted Robertson of second-degree murder, and the trial judge
sentenced him to life in prison. The full panel of the Third District Court
later affirmed, but several judges dissented on grounds that the State
had improperly introduced evidence that Robertson had threatened his former
wife with a gun. |
Dade County |
| Randall Scott Jones v.
State of Florida
SC00-1492SC01-2424
View briefs in Acrobat
format by clicking the case number(s) here |
Approx. 10:30 |
Jones was tried, convicted,
and sentenced to death for the July 1987 murders of Matthew Paul Brock
and Kelly Lynn Perry near the Rodman Dam. After resentencing, his capital
convictions and sentences were affirmed on appeal. He now challenges their
validity. |
Putnam County |
| Elizabeth L. Davis v.
Helen K. Monahan
SC01-1157
View briefs in Acrobat
format by clicking the case number(s) here |
Approx. 11:10 |
Monahan sued her sister
and niece for damages arising from their alleged wrongful taking of a variety
of her assets. The niece, Davis, contended she had only used Monahan's
assets as Monahan directed. She also contended that the statute of limitations
had expired on Monahan's claim, though Monahan countered that she did not
discover the alleged takings for several years. The trial court ruled in
favor of Davis, but the Fourth District Court reversed. |
Broward County |
| Case |
Time |
Facts & Issues |
Place of Origin |
| Florida Dep't of Revenue
v. Kelvin M. Jackson
SC01-913SC01-914
View briefs in Acrobat
format by clicking the case number(s) here |
9:00 |
This case involves two fathers
who, while under court orders to make child support payments, were incarcerated
for criminal activity. Each filed a motion to reduce or suspend their support
payments until their release from prison due to an inability to pay them.
The trial court granted their request, and the Fifth District Court affirmed
but recognized that its ruling was in conflict with a decision of another
district court of appeal. |
Marion County |
| Integrated Health Care
Services, Inc. v. Pauline Lang-Redway
SC01-792
View briefs in Acrobat
format by clicking the case number(s) here |
N/A |
Removed from calendar
3/4/2002 |
Pinellas County |
| State ex rel. Robert
A. Butterworth v. Bill Jennings
SC01-1587
View briefs in Acrobat
format by clicking the case number(s) here |
Approx. 9:40 |
Attorneys for the three
Capital Collateral Regional offices, on behalf of their death-sentenced
clients, have filed challenges to non-capital cases for which their clients
also were convicted. The attorneys contend that these challenges are necessary
because their clients' death sentences were based in part on these earlier
convictions. Attorney General Bob Butterworth petitioned the Court to prohibit
CCRC attorneys from filing these challenges on grounds they are only authorized
to represent their clients in capital cases. |
Escambia County
Sumter County
Broward County |
| Marbel Mendoza v. State
of Florida
SC01-735SC01-1963
View briefs in Acrobat
format by clicking the case number(s) here |
Approx. 10:30 |
Mendoza was tried, convicted,
and sentenced to death for the March 1992 murder of Conrado Calderon. His
conviction and sentence were affirmed on appeal. He now challenges their
validity. |
Dade County |