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Oral Argument Press Summaries
June 2-6, 2003
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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Robert
Craig Waters, Director of Public Information
(850) 414-7641
Florida Supreme Court Oral
Arguments
Monday, June 2, 2003
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 |
| Naji Nehme v. SmithKline
Beecham Clinical Laboratories, Inc.
SC02-1680
View briefs in Acrobat
format by clicking the case number(s) here |
9:00 |
Nehme died in 1997 of cervical
cancer that allegedly could have been prevented if SmithKline's staff had
correctly read a pap smear performed some years earlier. Her estate sued.
The trial court dismissed the lawsuit, and the Fifth District affirmed. |
Orange County |
| Amendment to Rules Regulating
The Florida Bar: Unbundled Legal Services
SC02-2035
View briefs in Acrobat
format by clicking the case number(s) here |
Approx. 9:40 |
This cases involves the
question whether Florida lawyers should be permitted to provided limited
legal services to clients in certain circumstances, such as where a client
wishes to pay for only a part of what would constitute full legal representation.
This is called unbundled legal services. |
Statewide impact |
| Miami-Dade County v.
Omnipoint Holdings, Inc.
SC02-815
View briefs in Acrobat
format by clicking the case number(s) here |
Approx. 10:30 |
Omnipoint applied for a
variance of County zoning regulations in order to erect a telecommunications
tower in Miami-Dade County. The zoning board denied the variance. On certiorari
review, the circuit court reversed the board's ruling and the County appealed
to the Third District Court, which held that portions of the Miami-Dade
County zoning ordinances are facially unconstitutional. |
Dade County |
| Robert Patton v. State
of Florida
SC02-423
| SC02-2158
View briefs in Acrobat
format by clicking the case number(s) here |
Approx. 11:10 |
Patton was tried, convicted,
and sentenced to death for the 1981 murder of a police officer. He now
challenges the validity of his sentence. |
Dade County |
| Case |
Time |
Facts & Issues |
Place of Origin |
| John Ruthell Henry v.
State of Florida
SC02-804
View briefs in Acrobat
format by clicking the case number(s) here |
9:00 |
Henry, a death-sentenced
defendant, appeals from the lower court's denial of his motion for postconviction
relief alleging ineffective assistance of counsel and resulting prejudice
in both the guilt and penalty phases of his retrial for the murder of his
estranged wife. |
Pasco County |
| Gary Kent Kirby v. State
of Florida
SC02-1511
View briefs in Acrobat
format by clicking the case number(s) here |
Approx. 9:40 |
Kirby was found guilty of
driving under the influence and causing serious bodily harm to another.
The victim received payment for losses and signed a release of liability.
Based on this, the trial court declined to order restitution. The Fifth
District reversed. |
Putnam County |
| James Guzman v. State
of Florida
SC02-860|
SC02-2131
View briefs in Acrobat
format by clicking the case number(s) here |
Approx. 10:30 |
Guzman was tried, convicted,
and sentenced to death for the 1991 murder of David Colvin. A new trial
was ordered because of errors, and he again was convicted and sentence
to death. This sentence was affirmed on appeal. He now challenges the validity
of his sentence. |
Volusia County |
| Lamar Z. Brooks v. State
of Florida
SC02-538
View briefs in Acrobat
format by clicking the case number(s) here |
Approx. 11:10 |
Brooks was charged in the
1996 murder of Rachel Carlson and her infant daughter, Alexis Stuart. He
was tried, convicted of both murders, and sentenced to death for each.
This is Brooks's direct appeal. |
Okaloosa County |
| Case |
Time |
Facts & Issues |
Place of Origin |
| Inquiry Concerning a
Judge: Sheldon Schapiro
SC01-2419
View briefs in Acrobat
format by clicking the case number(s) here |
9:00 |
Judge Schapiro has been
summoned to appear before the Court to be publicly reprimanded for ethical
breaches. |
Broward County |
| State of Florida v. City
of Clearwater; Times Publishing Co. v. State of Florida
SC02-1694|
SC02-1753
View briefs in Acrobat
format by clicking the case number(s) here |
Approx. 9:10 |
Times Publishing made a
public records request to the City of Clearwater asking for copies all
e-mail either sent from or received by the government computers used by
two employees. The employees reviewed their respective e-mails and sorted
them into two categories, personal and public, and the City provided copies
of the e-mails determined to be public. The Times filed an action in the
circuit court, arguing that it was entitled to all of the e-mail generated
by and stored on the City's computers. The circuit court and district court
disagreed. The Second District held that "personal" e-mail falls outside
the current definition of "public records" and certified a question of
great public importance. |
Pinellas County |
| Lancelot Uriley Armstrong
v. State of Florida
SC01-1874
| SC02-1122
View briefs in Acrobat
format by clicking the case number(s) here |
Approx. 9:50 |
Armstrong was convicted
of the February 17, 1990, murder of Deputy Sheriff John Greeney and attempted
murder of Deputy Sheriff Robert Sallustio in Broward County. He was sentenced
to death, and his conviction and sentence were affirmed on direct appeal.
He now appeals the denial of his motion for postconviction relief and petitions
this Court for writ of habeas corpus. |
Broward County |
| Curtis Windom v. State
of Florida
SC01-2706|
SC02-2142
View briefs in Acrobat
format by clicking the case number(s) here |
Approx. 10:30 |
Windom was tried, convicted,
and sentenced to death for the February 1992 murders of three people in
Winter Garden. His sentences were affirmed on appeal. He now challenges
their validity. |
Orange County |
| Robert R. Gordon v. State
of Florida
SC02-1212
View briefs in Acrobat
format by clicking the case number(s) here |
Approx. 11:10 |
Gordon was tried, convicted,
and sentenced to death for the January 1994 murder of Dr. Louis A. Davidson.
His sentence was affirmed on appeal. He now challenges its validity. |
Pinellas County |
| Case |
Time |
Facts & Issues |
Place of Origin |
| Jack Kephart v. Jerry
Regier
SC02-936|
SC02-2280
View briefs in Acrobat
format by clicking the case number(s) here |
9:00 |
Petitioners, similarly situated
offenders who were in pretrial detention in proceedings to commit them
as sexually violent predators, filed petitions for writ of habeas corpus
in their respective counties. The trial court denied the petitions, and
petitioners appealed. On appeal, the Fourth District Court of Appeal reversed,
holding that probable cause petitions verified by assistant state attorney
was insufficient to support pretrial detention, but the State should be
given time to cure the defects in the petitions. |
Indian River, Martin, Okeechobee,
& St. Lucie Counties |
| Kenneth Friedman, M.D.
v. Heart Institute of Port St. Lucie, Inc.
SC02-502
View briefs in Acrobat
format by clicking the case number(s) here |
Approx. 9:40 |
After filing a civil action
against Dr. Friedman alleging breach of his employment contract and seeking
an injunction or $300,000 in liquidated damages, the Heart Institute amended
its complaint to include a claim that Dr. Friedman was fraudulently divesting
himself of assets in an effort to frustrate any judgments obtained against
him in the underlying contract action. Dr. Friedman sought to have the
progression of the fraudulent transfer portion of the action stayed pending
resolution of the underlying contract action, but his motion was denied
by the trial court. The Fourth District Court of Appeal agreed, and Dr.
Friedman is now before this Court seeking review of the district court's
decision. |
St. Lucie County |
| Leonard Northup v. Herbert
W. Acken, M.D., P.A.
SC02-2435
View briefs in Acrobat
format by clicking the case number(s) here |
Approx. 10:30 |
In the context of a medical
malpractice action, Northup sought to obtain through civil discovery all
prior deposition testimony of one of his medical experts possessed by Dr.
Acken. The trial court ordered Dr. Acken to turn over the documents to
Northup. The Second District Court of Appeal reversed, concluding that
the selection and gathering of the documents by Dr. Acken's attorneys protected
them from pretrial discovery. Northup seeks review based upon conflict
between the decision of the Second District and a previous decision of
the Fourth District Court of Appeal. |
Polk County |
| Elizabeth Sullivan v.
Landon Cole Sapp
SC02-2490
View briefs in Acrobat
format by clicking the case number(s) here |
Approx. 11:10 |
Sullivan's daughter, Adrienne,
and Sapp had a child together out-of-wedlock. Adrienne filed a paternity
action against Sapp. After the trial court had issued a judgment in the
paternity action, but during the pendency of a motion for rehearing filed
by Adrienne, Adrienne died in an automobile accident. Sapp took custody
of the child and Sullivan filed a motion to intervene in the paternity
action, seeking grandparent visitation pursuant to a Florida statute. The
trial court denied the motion to intervene. The First District affirmed,
and expressly declared the statute unconstitutional as violative of the
father's right of privacy. |
Madison County |
| Case |
Time |
Facts & Issues |
Place of Origin |
| NAACP, Inc. v. Florida
Board of Regents
SC02-1878
View briefs in Acrobat
format by clicking the case number(s) here |
8:30 |
The NAACP challenged administrative
rules that eliminated affirmative action in Florida's state university
system. An administrative law judge affirmed the rules change, but on appeal
the First District determined that the NAACP lacked standing to challenge
the rules and ordered that the action be dismissed on that basis. |
Leon County
Statewide Impact |
| American Home Assurance
Co. v. National Railroad Passenger Corp.
SC02-709
View briefs in Acrobat
format by clicking the case number(s) here |
Approx. 9:10 |
In November 1993 a tractor
trailer carrying a $12 million, 82-ton generator became immobilized on
CSX train tracks near the Kissimmee Utility Authority plant, which had
purchased the generator. An Amtrack train hit the trailer, destroying the
generator. KUA had entered into an agreement with CSX to build a road over
the track for delivery of the generator, and it included an agreement to
indemnity CSX for any damages associated with use of the road. A complex
lawsuit arose in federal court over who should pay for the resulting damages.
An issue arose whether KUA as a municipal agency had any authority to waive
sovereign immunity by agreeing to indemnify CSX, which is the subject of
this appeal. |
Kissimmee |