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Oral Argument Press Summaries
August 25 to 29, 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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![[ETCHING: SUPREME COURT OF FLORIDA]](press1.gif)
Robert
Craig Waters, Director of Public Information
(850) 414-7641
Florida Supreme Court Oral
Arguments
Monday, August 25, 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 |
| Amendments to the Florida
Rules of Criminal Procedure & Rules of Appellate Procedure
SC03-685
View briefs in Acrobat
format by clicking the case number(s) here |
9:00 |
The Court will consider
new procedural rules to provide guidelines for implementing a 2002 U.S.
Supreme Court ruling prohibiting execution of the mentally retarded in
certain circumstances. |
Statewide impact |
| Robert Beeler Power,
Jr. v. State of Florida
SC02-874|
SC03-28
View briefs in Acrobat
format by clicking the case number(s) here |
Approx. 10:00 |
Power was tried, convicted,
and sentenced to death for the October 1987 murder of Angeli Bare. His
sentence was affirmed on appeal. He now challenges its validity. |
Orange County |
| Jose Pena v. State of
Florida
SC02-2411
View briefs in Acrobat
format by clicking the case number(s) here |
Approx. 10:40 |
Pena was charged with the
September 1999 murder of Mirranda Ferandes, allegedly by giving her drugs
on which she overdosed. The jury found him guilty, and the judge sentenced
him to life in prison. The Second District Court affirmed but certified
a question to this Court regarding the jury instructions given at trial. |
Hillsborough County |
| Thomas B. Gibson v. Florida
Dep't of Corrections
SC02-2362
View briefs in Acrobat
format by clicking the case number(s) here |
Approx. 11:20 |
Gibson was sentenced to
prison for several offenses and placed on probation for several others.
He completed the prison terms, but then violated the conditions of probation
and received new prison sentences. The trial court granted him credit for
time actually served on the completed sentences. The Department of Corrections
revoked the gain time from the completed sentences and applied the forfeiture
to the new sentences. Gibson challenged the Department's decision by seeking
a writ in the circuit court and then in the district court. Both courts
approved the gain-time forfeiture. Gibson challenges the First District
decision. |
Leon County |
| Case |
Time |
Facts & Issues |
Place of Origin |
| Oscar Ray Bolin, Jr.
v. State of Florida
SC02-37
View briefs in Acrobat
format by clicking the case number(s) here |
9:00 |
Bolin was charged with the
December 1986 murder of Teri Lynn Matthews. He was tried and then retried,
but both of the resulting death sentences were reversed due to errors.
In 2001, the jury in his third trial again found him guilty of first degree
murder. Bolin waived his right to a penalty phase, and the trial judge
sentenced him to death. This is Bolin's direct appeal. |
Polk County |
| David Dionne v. State
of Florida
SC02-1290
View briefs in Acrobat
format by clicking the case number(s) here |
Approx. 10:00 |
Dionne was charged with
sexual battery on a person 12 years of age or older based on his confession
to the crime. Before trial, he argued that his confession was not admissible
unless the state could also show independent evidence that the crime occurred.
The judge agreed, but the Fifth District Court reversed. |
Sumter County |
| Richard Eugene Hamilton
v. State of Florida
SC02-1426|
SC02-2409
View briefs in Acrobat
format by clicking the case number(s) here |
Approx. 10:40 |
Hamilton was tried, convicted,
and sentenced to death for the April 1994 murder of Carmen Gayheart. His
sentence was affirmed on appeal. He now challenges its validity. |
Hamilton County
Lake City connection |
| Aramark Uniform &
Career Apparel, Inc. v. Samuel Easton, Jr.
SC02-2190
View briefs in Acrobat
format by clicking the case number(s) here |
Approx. 11:20 |
Easton sued for alleged
environmental contamination that migrated to his property from property
owned by Aramark. The trial court ruled in favor of Aramark, but the First
District Court reversed. |
Duval County |
| Case |
Time |
Facts & Issues |
Place of Origin |
| Richard Henyard v. State
of Florida
SC02-1105|
SC02-2538
View briefs in Acrobat
format by clicking the case number(s) here |
9:00 |
Henyard was tried, convicted,
and sentenced to death for the January 1993 murders of Jasmine and Jamilya
Lewis. His sentence was affirmed on appeal. He now challenges its validity. |
Lake County |
| Faunce Levon Pearce v.
State of Florida
SC02-476
View briefs in Acrobat
format by clicking the case number(s) here |
Approx. 9:40 |
Pearce was charged with
the September 1999 murder of Robert Crawford. The jury found him guilty
and recommended the death penalty 10-to-2. The judge sentenced him to death.
This is Pearce's direct appeal. |
Pasco County |
| Florida Power Corp. v.
City of Winter Park
SC02-2272
View briefs in Acrobat
format by clicking the case number(s) here |
Approx. 10:40 |
In 1913 Winter Park built
the current electrical system that serves its residents. This system was
sold in 1927 to a company later acquired by Florida Power. The original
agreement provided that the purchaser would pay a percentage of its receipts
to Winter Park and also allowed the city to buy back the electrical system
when the agreement expired. Extensions of this agreement were made over
the years on similar terms. When the agreement reached its most recent
expiration date, Florida Power would not agree to any extension allowing
the city to buy back the electrical system. Winter Park then sued to force
Florida Power to sell the system under the terms of the now expired agreement.
The city also moved to continue to collect its percentage of receipts.
The trial court ruled that the city could continue to collect this percentage
until the other legal issues were resolved, and the Fifth District Court
affirmed. |
Orange County |
| Edward J. Zakrzewski,
II v. State of Florida
SC02-1734
View briefs in Acrobat
format by clicking the case number(s) here |
Approx. 11:20 |
Zakrzewski pleaded guilty
to the 1994 first-degree murders of his wife, Sylvia, and two children,
Edward and Anna. After a penalty phase proceeding the trial judge imposed
three death sentences, which were affirmed on appeal. Zakrzewski now challenges
their validity. |
Okaloosa County |
| Case |
Time |
Facts & Issues |
Place of Origin |
| Inquiry Concerning a
Judge: Charles W. Cope
SC01-2670
View briefs in Acrobat
format by clicking the case number(s) here |
9:00 |
Judge Cope has been ordered
to appear before the Court to be publicly reprimanded for ethical breaches. |
Pasco & Pinellas Counties |
| Eddie Wayne Davis v.
State of Florida
SC02-1580|
SC02-2472
View briefs in Acrobat
format by clicking the case number(s) here |
Approx. 9:10 |
Davis was tried, convicted,
and sentenced to death for the March 1994 murder of Kimberly Waters. His
sentence was affirmed on appeal. He now challenges its validity. |
Polk County |
| James Hitchcock v. State
of Florida
SC02-2037
View briefs in Acrobat
format by clicking the case number(s) here |
Approx. 9:50 |
In 1977, Hitchcock was convicted
for the murder of his step-niece, Cynthia Driggers. After numerous resentencing
proceedings, his death sentence was affirmed on appeal in 2000. He now
challenges the denial of his rule 3.853 motion for postconviction DNA testing. |
Orange County |
| R.J.L. v. State of Florida
SC02-1493
View briefs in Acrobat
format by clicking the case number(s) here |
Approx. 10:30 |
R.J.L. received a pardon
for a 1953 kidnaping charge. He subsequently applied to the Florida Department
of Law Enforcement for a certificate of eligibility to have his criminal
history record expunged. His application was denied, and that denial was
upheld by the First District. The decision of the First District is in
apparent conflict with a decision of the Fifth District which held that
a pardoned individual was entitled to a certificate of eligibility. |
Escambia County |
| Dennis Sochor v. State
of Florida
SC01-885|
SC02-1797
View briefs in Acrobat
format by clicking the case number(s) here |
Approx. 11:10 |
Sochor was tried, convicted,
and sentenced to death for the 1981 New Year's eve murder of an 18-year-old
woman he met at a bar. His sentence was affirmed on appeal. He now challenges
its validity. |
Broward County |
| Case |
Time |
Facts & Issues |
Place of Origin |
| State of Florida v. James
Otte
SC03-330
View briefs in Acrobat
format by clicking the case number(s) here |
8:30 |
Otte and others were charged
with a number of prostitution-related racketeering offenses associated
with a business they operated, Elegant Encounters. The State obtained an
order allowing it to place certain wiretaps to investigate. Otte later
filed a motion to suppress the wiretap information, which the trial court
granted on grounds that wiretaps were inappropriate for nonviolent prostitution-related
offenses. The Fifth District Court affirmed. |
Volusia County |
| Amendments to the Rules
Regulating The Florida Bar
SC03-705
View briefs in Acrobat
format by clicking the case number(s) here |
Approx. 9:10 |
The Florida Bar petitions
the Court for revisions of the Rules regulating it, including rules related
to fees for legal services. |
Statewide impact |
| Philip C. D'Angelo, M.D.
v. John J. Fitzmaurice
SC03-33|
SC03-97
View briefs in Acrobat
format by clicking the case number(s) here |
Approx. 9:40 |
Fitzmaurice sued Charlotte
Regional Medical Center and Dr. D'Angelo for allegedly leaving a surgical
pad in his abdomen during an appendectomy. Charlotte Regional settled for
$200,000 plus payment of Fitzmaurice's outstanding medical bills. The claim
against Dr. D'Angelo proceeded to trial, and the jury awarded Fitzmauirce
nearly $400,000. The trial court reduced this sum by a percentage of the
settlement already paid by Charlotte Regional. The Second District Court
reversed. |
Charlotte County |