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Oral Argument Press Summaries
April 30-May 4, 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 30, 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 |
| Anthony Banks v. State
of Florida
SC00-1161
View briefs in Acrobat
format by clicking the case number(s) here |
9:00 |
Banks was the driver of
a car in which another man planned a drug deal with a woman who turned
out to be an undercover officer. Banks was arrested on drug-related charges
and convicted based in part on the officer's statements about her conversation
with the other man, over Bank's objection that this was hearsay. The Fourth
District Court affirmed. |
Broward County |
| Muben-Lamar, L.P. v.
Florida Dept. of Revenue
SC00-1111
View briefs in Acrobat
format by clicking the case number(s) here |
Approx. 9:40 |
Muben-Lamar, a New Jersey
limited partnership, paid more than $200,000 in Florida documentary stamp
taxes on the transfers of three office buildings/shopping centers in Dade
and Volusia Counties. It sought a refund of the tax on grounds the partnership
was merely a vehicle by which the owners would manage the buildings and
that Muben-Lamar offered nothing in consideration for them. The Department
denied the refund, and the trial court and First District Court upheld
this ruling. |
Dade County
Volusia County |
| Burley Gilliam v. State
of Florida
SC95,370&
SC00-1438
View briefs in Acrobat
format by clicking the case number(s) here |
Approx. 10:30 |
Gilliam was tried, convicted,
and sentenced to death for the June 1982 murder of Joyce Marlowe. His sentence
was affirmed on appeal. He now challenges its validity. |
Dade County |
| Case |
Time |
Facts & Issues |
Place of Origin |
| Inquiry Concerning a
Judge: Matthew E. McMillan
SC95,886&
SC00-703
View briefs in Acrobat
format by clicking the case number(s) here |
9:00 |
The Judicial Qualifications
Commission has recommended that Judge McMillan be removed from office for
alleged ethical breaches. This recommendation will be reviewed by the Court. |
Manatee County |
| Lucille Roberts v. Francisco
Tejada, M.D.
SC00-1080
View briefs in Acrobat
format by clicking the case number(s) here |
Approx. 9:40 |
Robert's husband died of
liver cancer, allegedly after a physician negligently treated the disease.
She brought suit, but the jury found against her. She then discovered that
two of the jurors may have erroneously answered questions posed during
pretrial questioning. On this basis, she asked for a new trial. The judge
agreed with her, but the Third District Court reversed. |
Dade County |
| Amerace Corp. v. Gary
E. Stallings
SC00-565
View briefs in Acrobat
format by clicking the case number(s) here |
Approx. 10:30 |
Amerace manufactures devices
called terminators that connect overhead power lines to underground lines.
Stallings was injured when a terminator caused an arc allegedly due to
its defective design. He sued, and the jury ruled in his favor, but the
trial judge refused to award prejudgment interest. Both sides appealed,
and the Second District affirmed the judgment but reversed on the prejudgment
interest issue. |
Hillsborough County |
| Larry Mann v. Michael
W. Moore
SC00-2602
View briefs in Acrobat
format by clicking the case number(s) here |
Approx. 11:10 |
Mann was tried, convicted,
and sentenced to death for the November 1980 murder of 10-year-old Elisa
Nelson. His sentence was affirmed on appeal. He now challenges its validity. |
Pinellas County |
| Case |
Time |
Facts & Issues |
Place of Origin |
| Jose Jimenez v. State
of Florida
SC00-1436
View briefs in Acrobat
format by clicking the case number(s) here |
9:00 |
Jimenez was tried, convicted,
and sentenced to death for the October 1992 murder of Phyllis Minas. His
sentence was affirmed on appeal. He now challenges its validity. |
Dade County |
| Darryl Moody v. State
of Florida
SC94,435
View briefs in Acrobat
format by clicking the case number(s) here |
Approx. 9:40 |
Moody was tried and convicted
for the May 1994 murder of Scott Mitchell. The jury recommended the death
penalty 9-to-3, which the trial judge imposed. Moody now appeals. |
Polk County |
| Oscar Ray Bolin v. State
of Florida
SC95,775
View briefs in Acrobat
format by clicking the case number(s) here |
Approx. 10:40 |
Bolin was tried and convicted
for the November 1986 murder of Stephanie Collins. He was convicted based
in part on the introduction of mitochondrial DNA evidence found on the
victim. The jury recommended the death penalty 12-to-0, and the judge imposed
it. Bolin appeals. |
Hillsborough County |
| Case |
Time |
Facts & Issues |
Place of Origin |
| Robert Rimmer v. State
of Florida
SC95,318
View briefs in Acrobat
format by clicking the case number(s) here |
9:00 |
Rimmer was tried and convicted
for the May 1998 murders of Aaron Knight and Bradley Krause, Jr., during
the robbery of an Audio Logic store in Wilton Manors. The jury recommended
the death penalty 9-to-3 for each murder, and the trial judge imposed it.
Rimmer appeals. |
Broward County |
| Miami-Dade County v.
Victor Tony Jones
SC00-1427
View briefs in Acrobat
format by clicking the case number(s) here |
Approx. 10:00 |
Jones, an inmate under death
sentence, obtained a court order appointing an expert to determine his
competency in proceedings challenging his sentence. Later, his counsel
asked the judge to order Miami-Dade County to pay for the expert costs.
When the court did so, Miami-Dade objected, but the judge did not modify
the order. Miami-Dade appeals. |
Dade County |
| City of North Lauderdale
v. SMM Properties, Inc.
SC00-1555
View briefs in Acrobat
format by clicking the case number(s) here |
Approx. 10:40 |
The City chose to fund its
integrated Fire Rescue Division with a non-ad valorem special assessment.
Several property owners within the City challenged the assessment on grounds
it was merely a disguised and unconstitutional tax. The trial court upheld
the assessment, but the Fourth District Court reversed. |
Broward County |
| Case |
Time |
Facts & Issues |
Place of Origin |
| State of Florida v. Kevin
Kinder
SC01-37
View briefs in Acrobat
format by clicking the case number(s) here |
8:30 |
On Sept. 3, 1999, the State
petitioned for the involuntary civil commitment of Kinder on grounds he
was a sexually violent predator under the Jimmy Ryce Act. A hearing was
set for Sept. 21, 1999, but it was canceled due to an approaching hurricane.
Apparently through oversight, the hearing was not rescheduled until Oct.
18, 1999. Kinder argued he must be released from custody for failure to
bring him to trial within the 30 days required by statute. The trial judge
ruled for the State, but the Second District Court reversed. |
Hillsborough County |
| State of Florida v. Darren
Jerome Goode
SC01-28
View briefs in Acrobat
format by clicking the case number(s) here |
Approx. 9:40 |
On Oct. 28, 1999, the State
petitioned for the involuntary civil commitment of Goode on grounds he
was a sexually violent predator under the Jimmy Ryce Act. However, the
first hearing was not held until Jan. 24, 2000. Goode moved to dismiss
the petition on grounds his hearing had not been held within the 30 days
required by statute, and the trial judge agreed. On appeal, the Second
District Court immediately certified the case to the Supreme Court. |
Hillsborough County |
| Mitchell Westerheide
v. State of Florida
SC00-2124
View briefs in Acrobat
format by clicking the case number(s) here |
Approx. 10:30 |
Westerheide was tried and
convicted under the Jimmy Ryce Act and ordered involuntarily committed
as a sexually violent predator. He argued that the Act is unconstitutional.
The Fifth District Court affirmed and certified the case to the Supreme
Court. |
Volusia County |