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Oral Argument Press Summaries
December 6-10, 1999
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,
December 6, 1999
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 |
| Public Reprimand of Judge
Brenda C. Wilson
No. 94,587
View briefs in Acrobat
format by clicking the case number(s) here |
9:00 |
Judge Brenda C. Wilson has
been ordered to appear before the Court to be publicly reprimanded for
ethical misconduct. |
Collier County |
| Florida Power Corp. v.
Joe Garcia
Nos. 94,664
& 94,665
View briefs in Acrobat
format by clicking the case number(s) here |
Approx. 9:05 |
In 1991 Florida Power Corp.
entered into a contract, approved by the Florida Public Service Commission,
with North Canadian Power to obtain electrical capacity and electrical
power from it. A dispute later arose over payments, and in 1994 Florida
Power requested a declaratory statement from the PSC interpreting the contract.
The PSC dismissed the petition, holding it lacked jurisdiction. A North
Canadian subsidiary filed suit seeking damages under the contract. In 1998
Florida Power again petitioned the PSC for a statement as to its interpretation
of the contract when approved in 1991. The PSC dismissed on grounds that
administrative finality prevented it from revisiting the issue. This appeal
followed. |
South & Central Florida |
| John Crocker v. Richard
Pleasant
No. 95,148
View briefs in Acrobat
format by clicking the case number(s) here |
Approx. 9:45 |
In December 1995, West Palm
Beach officers investigated the death of a body later identified as that
of Jay Crocker, whose parents lived in Miami Shores. Officers asked law
enforcement in Miami Shores to contact the parents but did not say it was
to report the death of their son. Officers never reached the parents, who
did not learn of their son's death until six months later, after their
son's body had been buried in an unmarked pauper's grave. They sued the
city and county, but the trial court dismissed the claims. The Fourth District
Court affirmed but certified a question to this Court. |
West Palm Beach
Palm Beach County
(Miami Shores connection) |
| State of Florida v. Jorge
Olivo
No. 94,097
View briefs in Acrobat
format by clicking the case number(s) here |
Approx. 10:30 |
Olivo, a minor at the time,
was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs in connection
with a traffic accident in August 1995 that severely injured himself and
a passenger. The trial judge later dismissed the case on grounds the State
failed to bring Olivo to trial within a 90-day speedy trial rule. The Third
District affirmed. |
Dade County |
| State of Florida v. Michael
Randy Miles
No. 95,490
View briefs in Acrobat
format by clicking the case number(s) here |
Approx. 11:10 |
Miles was charged with driving
under the influence, thereby killing one person and injuring another. A
blood sample, taken without his consent, showed an unlawful blood alcohol
level. In court, he challenged the Florida statute that makes this presumptive
evidence of impaired driving. He argued that associated state regulations
did not require adequate safeguards to prevent blood alcohol levels from
being altered by heat, bacterial action, or other agents before testing.
The trial and district courts agreed. |
Escambia County
Statewide impact |
| Case |
Time |
Facts & Issues |
Place of Origin |
| Chicago Title Insurance
Co. v. S. Clark Butler
No. 95,312
View briefs in Acrobat
format by clicking the case number(s) here |
9:00 |
Butler filed suit challenging
Florida laws regulating the title insurance industry, specifically laws
and related regulations forbidding title insurance agents from rebating
to buyers any of their profits. Florida's major title insurers intervened
on grounds that rebating, if allowed, would result in cut-throat competition
that could degrade underwriting. The trial judge found in favor of Butler,
and the First District Court certified the case to the Court for immediate
resolution. |
Leon County
Statewide impact |
| Jane Doe v. William Dunbar
Evans III
No. 94,450
View briefs in Acrobat
format by clicking the case number(s) here |
Approx. 9:40 |
Doe was a parishioner at
the Church of the Holy Redeemer, an Episcopal church in Lake Worth. She
later began counseling with a minister, Evans, that allegedly turned into
a romantic involvement. Later, Doe said she was held up to public ridicule
because of this affair. She sued Evans and officials of the Episcopal Diocese
of South Florida. The trial judge dismissed the claims against the officials
on First Amendment religious freedom grounds. The Fourth District affirmed.
On appeal, friend of the court briefs have been filed by other major religious
organizations including the Florida Catholic Conference. |
Lake Worth
Palm Beach County |
| Zackery Holiday v. State
of Florida
No. 95,582
View briefs in Acrobat
format by clicking the case number(s) here |
Approx. 10:30 |
Holiday was arrested in
June 1997 for sale or delivery of cocaine, and he testified at trial that
he was entrapped into committing the crime. At the request of Holiday's
attorney, the trial court instructed the jury with the then-current standard
instruction on entrapment. The jury found Holiday guilty as charged. On
appeal, the First District held that even though the entrapment instruction
given by the trial court was erroneous, the error did not constitute "fundamental
error" that would entitle him to raise the issue for the first time on
appeal. The First District certified conflict with another case from the
Fourth District, and this Court accepted jurisdiction to resolve the conflict. |
Duval County |
| Marc James Asay v. State
of Florida
No. 90,963
View briefs in Acrobat
format by clicking the case number(s) here |
Approx. 11:10 |
Asay was convicted and sentenced
to death for the July 1987 murders of Robert Lee Booker and Robert McDowell.
His sentences were affirmed on appeal. He now challenges their validity. |
Duval County |
| Case |
Time |
Facts & Issues |
Place of Origin |
| Gary Herzfeld v. Frank
Herzfeld
No. 95,054
View briefs in Acrobat
format by clicking the case number(s) here |
9:00 |
In 1988 at age 13, Frank
Herzfeld was placed as a foster child with Gary Herzfeld, who adopted him
3 years later. In 1997 Frank sued his adoptive father on claims stemming
from alleged sexual molestation. The adoptive father moved to dismiss the
suit based on the common law doctrine of parental immunity, which prohibited
children from suing parents. The trial court agreed, but the Third District
Court reversed. |
Dade County
Statewide impact |
| Ocala Breeders' Sales
Co. v. Florida Gaming Centers
No. 95,561
View briefs in Acrobat
format by clicking the case number(s) here |
Approx. 9:40 |
Ocala Breeders' Sales holds
a state license to conduct limited intertrack wagering pursuant to a state
law. Florida Gaming Centers, which conduct jai alai wagering, sued and
obtained a trial court's judgment that the state law was unconstitutional.
The First District affirmed. |
Marion County
Statewide impact |
| Krishna Maharaj v. State
of Florida
No. 91,854
View briefs in Acrobat
format by clicking the case number(s) here |
Aprox. 10:30 |
Maharaj, a British citizen,
was convicted and sentenced to death for the October 1986 murder of Duane
Moo Young in the DuPont Plaza Hotel. His sentence was affirmed on appeal.
He later challenged the validity of both his conviction and sentence. The
judge agreed that a new sentencing proceeding was needed but upheld the
conviction. On appeal, Maharaj continues to challenge his conviction. Friend
of the court briefs have been filed by members of the British House of
Lords, the European Parliament, and others alleging that Maharaj's trial
fell below internationally accepted standards, in part because his trial
judge was arrested for bribery during the trial and because of the alleged
inexperience and ineffectiveness of his trial counsel. |
Dade County |
| Scott Mansfield v. State
of Florida
No. 92,412
View briefs in Acrobat
format by clicking the case number(s) here |
Approx. 11:10 |
Mansfield was charged with
the October 1995 murder of Sara Robles near Boggy Creek Road in Kissimmee.
He was found guilty and sentenced to death based on a 12-to-0 jury vote
favoring capital punishment. He appeals. |
Kissimmee
Osceola County |
| Case |
Time |
Facts & Issues |
Place of Origin |
| Standard Jury Instructions--Civil
Cases (99-2)
No. 95,832
View briefs in Acrobat
format by clicking the case number(s) here |
9:00 |
This case involves rules
proposed for adoption by the Court governing judicial proceedings under
the "Jimmy Ryce Act" for civil commitment of alleged sexual predators. |
Statewide |
| Inquiry Concerning a
Judge: Steven P. Shea
No. 92,913
View briefs in Acrobat
format by clicking the case number(s) here |
Approx. 9:40 |
Judge Steven P. Shea, a
circuit judge at the Plantation Key Courthouse, stands accused by the Florida
Judicial Qualifications Commission with unethical conduct, which has recommended
his removal from office. Judge Shea argues that this recommendation should
be set aside or vacated. |
Plantation Key
Monroe County |
| Caesar H. Robinson v.
State of Florida
No. 93,210
View briefs in Acrobat
format by clicking the case number(s) here |
Approx. 10:30 |
Robinson was convicted and
sentenced to life imprisonment for the December 1981 murder of his ex-wife's
new husband, Avil Francis, and the attempted murder of his ex-wife, Bernadette
Francis, in Winter Haven. His sentence was affirmed by the Second District
Court in 1983. In 1996, Robinson filed a motion alleging that newly discovered
evidence cast doubt on his sentence. The trial court agreed, but the Second
District reversed. |
Polk County |
| State of Florida v. Ronald
Rife
Nos. 95,752
& 96,400
View briefs in Acrobat
format by clicking the case number(s) here |
Approx. 11:10 |
These consolidated cases
involve Robert Willis Brooks (Seminole County) and Ronald Rife (Brevard
County), both convicted of sexual acts with minors. In both cases, the
trial judge departed downward from the penalty recommended by the sentencing
guidelines based on the minor's willing participation. The Fifth District
Court affirmed and certified the question to the Supreme Court. |
Brevard County
Seminole County |