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Oral Argument Press Summaries
November 1-5, 2004
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, November 1, 2004
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 |
| Ronnie Johnson v. State
of Florida
SC03-362
|
SC03-1752
View briefs in Acrobat
format by clicking the case number(s) here |
9:00 |
Johnson was tried, convicted,
and sentenced to death for the March 1989 murder of Lee Arthur Lawrence,
the attempted murder of a second person, and the aggravated assault of
a third person. His sentences were affirmed on appeal. He now challenges
the validity of his death sentence.. |
Miami-Dade County |
| Ronnie Johnson v. State
of Florida
SC03-382
|
SC03-1680
View briefs in Acrobat
format by clicking the case number(s) here |
Approx. 9:40 |
Johnson was tried, convicted,
and sentenced to death for the March 1989 murder of Tequila Larkins and
related crimes. His sentences were affirmed on appeal. He now challenges
the validity of his death sentence. |
Miami-Dade County |
| Janet Maggio v. Florida
Department of Labor & Employment Security
SC04-755
View briefs in Acrobat
format by clicking the case number(s) here |
Approx. 10:30 |
Maggio filed a civil suit
alleging disability discrimination in violation of the Florida Civil Rights
Act of 1992. The Florida Department of Labor filed a motion to dismiss,
asserting that Maggio's claim was barred for failure to comply with pre-suit
notice requirements for tort claims, which the trial court granted. The
Second District affirmed on appeal and certified the question of whether
a claimant bringing suit under the Florida Civil Rights Act has to comply
with the pre-suit notice requirements for tort claims when the complaint
names the State as a defendant. |
Hillsborough County |
| Earl Stewart, Jr. V.
Raymond G. Ingalsbe
SC04-752
View briefs in Acrobat
format by clicking the case number(s) here |
Approx. 11:10 |
The Court accepted jurisdiction
over a certified question of great public importance concerning the "litigation
privilege." This privilege bars certain lawsuits arising out of a judicial
proceeding. The Court will determine whether the litigation privilege applies
to a parties-only settlement where the claim alleged direct interference
with an attorney fee award by a seller-initiated settlement without counsel
where the attorney's fee award was the lowest of three options contained
in the plaintiff's contract with their counsel. |
Palm Beach County |
| Case |
Time |
Facts & Issues |
Place of Origin |
| Inquiry Concerning a
Judge: Robert Lance Andrews
SC03-2108
View briefs in Acrobat
format by clicking the case number(s) here |
9:00 |
Judge Andrews has been ordered
to appear before the Court to be publicly reprimanded for ethical breaches. |
Broward County |
| The Florida Bar v. David
A. Barrett
SC03-375
View briefs in Acrobat
format by clicking the case number(s) here |
Approx. 9:10 |
David Barrett was the senior
and managing partner of a Tallahassee law firm. A disciplinary proceeding
was brought for alleged solicitation of clients through the use of a runner.
This is an appeal of the referee's finding of guilt and disciplinary punishment
of a one year suspension based upon Barrett's actions. |
Leon County |
| Howard M. Engle, M.D.
v. Liggett Group, Inc.
SC03-1856
View briefs in Acrobat
format by clicking the case number(s) here |
Approx. 9:40 |
Engle and others filed a
class-action lawsuit against several tobacco companies for alleged smoking-related
illnesses and deaths. The jury eventually awarded punitive damages of $145
billion. On appeal, the Third District reversed. |
Miami-Dade County |
| Case |
Time |
Facts & Issues |
Place of Origin |
| Sun State Ford, Inc.
V. Laverica Burch
SC04-157
View briefs in Acrobat
format by clicking the case number(s) here |
9:00 |
This case involves Sun State
Ford's vicarious liability as the owner of a vehicle involved in an incident
in which an individual was killed. The Fifth District Court of Appeal ruled
that the dangerous instrumentality doctrine is not limited to the negligent
operation of a vehicle and that reckless driving or other intentional misconduct
by the operator does not terminate the owner's liability under the doctrine.
The Fifth District held that the owner's liability will be terminated when
the operator uses the vehicle in a weapon-like manner with the intent to
cause physical harm. However, if this weapon-like use was reasonably foreseeable
to the owner, liability will still be imputed under the doctrine under
the Fifth District's ruling. |
Orange County |
| Dwaine Woodson v. State
of Florida
SC04-56
View briefs in Acrobat
format by clicking the case number(s) here |
Approx. 9:40 |
Woodson pled no contest
to several sexual offenses and was ordered to undergo sexual offender counseling
and an HIV test after completing his incarceration. He allegedly failed
to receive counseling or the test, and the trial court found him in violation
of probation and sentenced him to 11 years. On appeal, the Fifth District
affirmed. |
Orange County |
| State of Florida v. Jerry
D. Anderson
SC04-261
View briefs in Acrobat
format by clicking the case number(s) here |
Approx. 10:30 |
In this case, the Second
District Court of Appeal certified conflict with a decision of the First
District Court regarding the harmless error standard to be used in determining
whether facial scoresheet errors raised by postconviction motion require
resentencing. |
Pinellas County |
| Case |
Time |
Facts & Issues |
Place of Origin |
| Amendments to the Rules
of Judicial Administration
SC04-135
View briefs in Acrobat
format by clicking the case number(s) here |
N/A |
Removed from the calendar |
Statewide impact |
| Shari Daniels v. Florida
Department of Health
SC04-230
View briefs in Acrobat
format by clicking the case number(s) here |
9:00 |
The Department brought an
administrative proceeding against Daniels but later dismissed it. Daniels
sought attorney's fees under the Florida Equal Access to Justice Act but
was denied these fees because both the administrative law judge and the
district court of appeal found that she was not a "small business party"
within the meaning of the statute. The issue to be decided is whether the
owner of a partnership or a corporation who prevails in an administrative
proceeding initiated by a state agency is a "prevailing small business
party" within the meaning of the FEAJA when the administrative complaint
was filed against the Daniels individually, rather than against the corporation
or partnership. |
Miami-Dade County |
| Darrick T. Adaway v.
State of Florida
SC04-239
View briefs in Acrobat
format by clicking the case number(s) here |
Approx. 9:40 |
Adaway challenges the constitutionality
of a sentence of life imprisonment without possibility of parole for sexual
contact with a child under 12 years old. He contends that the sentence
constitutes cruel and unusual punishment. |
Miami-Dade County |
| Crescent Miami Center,
LLC v. Florida Department of Revenue
SC03-2063
View briefs in Acrobat
format by clicking the case number(s) here |
Approx. 10:30 |
The documentary stamp tax
is assessed on a deed conveying property to a purchaser. Crescent argues
that the conveyance of property from another company that wholly owns Crescent
should not be subject to the documentary stamp tax because Crescent was
not a purchaser and no consideration was exchanged for the property. |
Miami-Dade County |