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Oral Argument Press Summaries
April 2-6, 2001
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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Names &
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Robert
Craig Waters, Director of Public Information
(850) 414-7641
Florida Supreme Court Oral
Arguments
Monday, April 2, 2001
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 |
| Richard Toombs v. Alamo
Rent-A-Car, Inc.
SC00-1755
View briefs in Acrobat
format by clicking the case number(s) here |
9:00 |
Ian Stuttard and his wife
Julia jointly rented an Alamo car. Later, Ian negligently drove the car,
causing an accident that killed Julia and injured one of the couple's children.
Toombs, the representative of Julia's estate, sued Alamo. Alamo moved to
dismiss on grounds her estate could not sue because she was a joint renter
of the car and her husband's negligence was imputed to her. The trial court
agreed, and the Fifth District Court affirmed. |
Osceola County |
| John B. Vining v. State
of Florida
SC99-67
View briefs in Acrobat
format by clicking the case number(s) here |
Approx. 9:40 |
Vining was tried and sentenced
to death for the 1987 murder of Georgia Caruso. His sentence was upheld
on appeal. He now challenges its validity. |
Orange County |
| Woodside Village Condominium
Assn. v. Adolph S. Jahren
SC00-1030
View briefs in Acrobat
format by clicking the case number(s) here |
Approx. 10:30 |
The Woodside Condominium
Association was created in 1979. Jahren and Gary McLernan bought several
units each as investments, intending to rent them. Originally, units could
be rented on a year-to-year basis by non-owners. However, in later years
the renting rules were changed to forbid renting any unit for more than
nine months in any twelve-month period. The condominium president later
determined that Jahren and McLernan had violated this rule and demanded
that renters leave their units immediately. The Association sued but lost
in the trial court. On appeal, the Second District affirmed. |
Pinellas County |
| James Armando Card v.
State of Florida
SC00-182
View briefs in Acrobat
format by clicking the case number(s) here |
Approx. 11:10 |
Card was tried and sentenced
to death for the June 1981 robbery, kidnaping, and murder of Janice Franklin.
His sentence was upheld on appeal. He now challenges its validity. |
Bay County |
| Gregory Mills v. Michael
W. Moore
SC01-338
View briefs in Acrobat
format by clicking the case number(s) here |
Approx. 11:50 |
Mills is under an active
death warrant for the May 25, 1979, murder of James Wright and is scheduled
to be executed at 6 p.m. on May 2. He challenges the warrant. |
Seminole County |
| Case |
Time |
Facts & Issues |
Place of Origin |
| Juan Carlos Chavez v.
State of Florida
SC94,586
View briefs in Acrobat
format by clicking the case number(s) here |
9:00 |
Chavez was arrested and
charged with the September 11, 1995, kidnaping, molestation, and murder
of 9-year-old Jimmy Ryce. He was tried in Orlando, convicted, and sentenced
to death based on a jury recommendation of 12-to-0. This is his direct
appeal. |
Dade County
Orlando Connection |
| Frank C. Walker, Jr.
v. Virginia Insurance Reciprocal
SC00-1710
View briefs in Acrobat
format by clicking the case number(s) here |
Approx. 10:00 |
Ann & Robert Auman sued
a Georgia hospital over alleged negligent failure to diagnose hypothyroidism
in their newborn. Later the infant came under the care of Dr. Larry Walker
and another physician in Tallahassee. About 11 months later another physician
diagnosed the child's condition. The Auman's sued, eventually reaching
a settlement with the Georgia hospital's insurer, V.I.R. V.I.R. then sued
the two Tallahassee physicians asking that they pay a share of the settlement.
The trial court dismissed the complaint, but the First District Court reversed. |
Leon County |
| Mark Dean Schwab v. State
of Florida
SC97,008&
SC00-1629
View briefs in Acrobat
format by clicking the case number(s) here |
10:40 |
Schwab was tried, convicted,
and sentenced to death for the April 1991 kidnaping, molestation, and murder
of 11-year-old Junny Rios-Martinez. He now challenges the validity of his
sentence. |
Brevard County |
| Florida Dept. of Revenue
v. Florida Municipal Power Agency
SC00-1916
View briefs in Acrobat
format by clicking the case number(s) here |
Approx. 11:20 |
FMPA is a wholesale electricity
supplier owned by the municipalities it serves. It contended that a 1996
statute exempted municipally owned utilities like itself from paying sales
taxes when purchasing materials meant to repair, replace, or refurbish
its facilities. The Department of Revenue rejected this contention, but
the First District Court disagreed and certified the case to the Supreme
Court. |
Leon County |
| Case |
Time |
Facts & Issues |
Place of Origin |
| Coastal Florida Police
Benevolent Assn. v. Phillip B. Williams
SC00-1860&
SC00-2072
View briefs in Acrobat
format by clicking the case number(s) here |
9:00 |
In 1978 the Supreme Court
issued an opinion saying that deputy sheriff's have no right to engage
in collective bargaining. In intervening years, however, the Supreme Court
has issued other opinions that have been interpreted as reaching a contrary
result. Based on these new opinions, the Coastal PBA filed a petition with
the state asking to be certified as the bargaining agency for Brevard County
deputy sheriffs. The state accepted the petition, and Sheriff Williams
appealed. The First District denied his request but certified the case
to the Supreme Court. |
Brevard County
Statewide impact |
| Harold Lee Harvey, Jr.
v. State of Florida
SC95,075
View briefs in Acrobat
format by clicking the case number(s) here |
Approx. 9:40 |
Harvey was tried, convicted,
and sentenced to death for the February 23, 1985, murders of William &
Ruby Boyd. His sentences were affirmed on appeal. He now challenges their
validity. |
Okeechobee County |
| John M. Gouty v. J. Alan
Schnepel
SC00-1853
View briefs in Acrobat
format by clicking the case number(s) here |
Approx. 10:30 |
Schnepel negligently shot
a gun manufactured by the Glock company, injuring Gouty. Prior to trial,
Gouty settled with Glock for $137,500, but Glock admitted no liability.
Schnepel admitted liability, but also contended that Glock was partially
at fault. At trial, the jury was asked to apportion liability between Schnepel
and Glock, and it found Schnepel 100 percent liable. It awarded total damages
of $250,000. Schnepel asked that this award at least be partially offset
by the Glock settlement, but the trial court refused. On appeal, the First
District Court reversed but certified the question to the Supreme Court. |
Duval County |
| Mark Evan Olive v. Roger
R. Maas
SC00-317
View briefs in Acrobat
format by clicking the case number(s) here |
Approx. 11:10 |
Olive applied to join the
state registry of attorneys available to represent death row inmates in
the event the capital collateral representatives could not do so due to
conflict. In 1998 he was appointed to represent death-row inmate Anthony
Mungin. Maas then asked Olive to sign the state contract required by law
for all registry counsel. Olive refused on grounds it improperly restricted
the lawyer-client relationship. Later, he sued, challenging portions of
the registry counsel laws. The trial court rejected his claims, and the
First District Court certified the case to the Supreme Court. |
Leon County |