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Oral Argument Press Summaries
May 8-12, 2000
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,
May 8, 2000
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 Florida
Rules of Judicial Administration
#99-162
View briefs in Acrobat
format by clicking the case number(s) here |
9:00 |
A Court committee has proposed
new Rules of Court to implement the Kayla McKean Act, which deals with
children who are the victims of abuse, abandonment, or neglect. |
Statewide impact |
| David R. May v. Illinois
National Insurance Co.
No. 96,652
View briefs in Acrobat
format by clicking the case number(s) here |
Approx. 9:40 |
On Sept. 21, 1991, a vehicle
driven by Oscar Bradley in Holmes County collided with another vehicle,
injuring Donald J. Prockup, Sr., and killing Inez Prockup. Mr. Prockup
later petitioned the Escambia County Probate Court to appoint Robert May
as administrator ad litem of Bradley's estate. Prockup alleged he had a
claim against Bradley's estate because of the accident. After a complex
series of legal proceedings, May filed a "bad faith" action against Illinois
National based on an insurance policy it had issued to Bradley. The federal
district court granted summary judgment in favor of Illinois National,
and on appeal, the U.S. Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals certified a question
to the Florida Supreme Court regarding the interpretation of Florida law. |
Escambia County
Holmes County connection |
| Carlton Francis v. State
of Florida
No. 94,385
View briefs in Acrobat
format by clicking the case number(s) here |
Approx. 10:30 |
On July 24, 1997, two 66-year-old
twin sisters-Claire Blunt and Bernice Flegel-were stabbed to death during
a robbery of their home on Ware Drive in West Palm Beach. Francis was arrested,
tried, and convicted of the murders, and the jury recommended the death
penalty 8-to-4. The trial judge imposed it. This is Francis' direct appeal. |
Palm Beach County |
| Case |
Time |
Facts & Issues |
Place of Origin |
| Milo A. Rose v. State
of Florida
No. 95,227
View briefs in Acrobat
format by clicking the case number(s) here |
9:00 |
Rose was convicted and sentenced
to death for the October 1982 murder of Robert "Butch" Richardson. His
conviction and sentence were upheld on appeal. He now challenges the validity
of his sentence. |
Pinellas County |
| Michael George Bruno,
Sr. v. State of Florida
No. 92,223
View briefs in Acrobat
format by clicking the case number(s) here |
Approx. 9:40 |
Bruno was convicted and
sentenced to death for the August 1986 murder of Lionel Merlano. His conviction
and sentence were upheld on appeal. He now challenges the validity of his
sentence. |
Broward County |
| Becky S. Torrey v. Leesburg
Regional Medical Center
No. 95,841
View briefs in Acrobat
format by clicking the case number(s) here |
Approx. 10:30 |
Torrey sued Leesburg Regional
and others for damages allegedly sustained in the death of Helen Rose Woodard,
whose estate she represented. The suit was not signed by Torrey, however,
but by a Michigan attorney not licensed to practice law in Florida. The
trial court dismissed the suit. On appeal, the Fifth District Court held
that the signature was not legally sufficient. |
Lake County |
| Bryan Frederick Jennings
v. State of Florida
No. 93,056
View briefs in Acrobat
format by clicking the case number(s) here |
Approx. 10:50 |
Jennings was convicted and
sentenced to death for the May 11, 1979, murder of Rebecca Kunash. On appeal
his conviction and sentence were upheld. He now challenges the validity
of his sentence. |
Broward County |
| Case |
Time |
Facts & Issues |
Place of Origin |
| Inquiry Concerning a
Judge: Alan R. Schwartz
No. 95,422
View briefs in Acrobat
format by clicking the case number(s) here |
9:00 |
The Supreme Court has ordered
Schwartz, a judge on the Third District Court of Appeal in Miami, to appear
for administration of a public reprimand for improper conduct. |
Dade County |
| The Natural Parents of
J.B. v. Florida Dept. of Children & Family Services
No. 96,171
View briefs in Acrobat
format by clicking the case number(s) here |
Approx. 9:05 |
The natural parents of J.B.
were accused of child abuse allegedly involving Munchausen's Syndrome by
Proxy in a case extensively reported in the media. The Department eventually
brought proceedings to terminate parental rights. The parents asked that
the proceedings be open to the public despite a state statute closing all
such proceedings to the public. The trial court declared the statute unconstitutional.
On appeal, the Fourth District Court reversed but certified the question
to the Supreme Court. |
Broward County |
| Bryan Gordon v. State
of Florida
No. 96,834
View briefs in Acrobat
format by clicking the case number(s) here |
Approx. 9:45 |
After he shot a man during
a robbery outside the Full Moon Saloon, Gordon was charged with four separate
crimes. A jury found him guilty, but Gordon argued he could not be sentenced
for multiple offenses based on a single incident because of the constitutional
prohibition against double jeopardy. The trial judge found that he could
only be sentenced on two of the crimes, but the Fifth District Court reversed
and ordered him sentenced on all four. |
Orange County |
| Arthur Dennis Rutherford
v. Michael W. Moore
#99-150
View briefs in Acrobat
format by clicking the case number(s) here |
Approx. 10:30 |
Rutherford was convicted
and sentenced to death for the 1985 murder and armed robbery of sixty-three-year-old
Stella Salamon, whose body was found in the bathtub of her home in Milton,
Florida. His conviction and sentence were upheld on appeal. He now challenges
the validity of his sentence. |
Santa Rosa County |
| State of Florida v. Paul
W. Kirby
No. 96,428
View briefs in Acrobat
format by clicking the case number(s) here |
Approx. 11:10 |
Kirby was convicted of DUI
and, based on his three prior DUI convictions, was sentenced for felony
DUI. On appeal, he argued that one of his prior convictions could not be
used against him on grounds he pled to the charge without benefit of an
attorney. The First District Court agreed and ordered his conviction reduced
to misdemeanor DUI. |
Gadsden County |
| Case |
Time |
Facts & Issues |
Place of Origin |
| Rob Turner v. Hillsborough
County Aviation Authority
No. 96,674
View briefs in Acrobat
format by clicking the case number(s) here |
9:00 |
The Aviation Authority leases
property to the New York Yankees for use as a minor league training facility.
Both applied for a property tax exemption on grounds the training facility
served a governmental purpose under the law. Turner, the property appraiser,
denied the exemption. The Value Adjustment Board later reversed the denial,
and Turner sued. The trial judge dismissed the suit, and the Second District
Court agreed with that result. |
Hillsborough County |
| Lawrence Fuchs v. Joel
W. Robbins
Nos. 96,182
& 96,183
View briefs in Acrobat
format by clicking the case number(s) here |
Approx. 9:40 |
In the early 1990s, Miami
Beach Ocean Resort acquired and began renovating a hotel built in the 1940s.
Renovation were not completed by Jan. 1, 1992, the date at which property
is assessed for tax purposes. The tax appraiser, Joel Robbins, assessed
the property at more than $6 million for the tax year, but the Value Adjustment
Board reduced this to $50,000. Robbins sued, and the trial judge reinstated
his assessment. The Third District Court affirmed. |
Dade County |
| Raymond P. Murphy v.
Lee County
No. 96,997
View briefs in Acrobat
format by clicking the case number(s) here |
Approx. 10:30 |
In May 1999, Lee County
filed suit to validate a bond issue to purchase an existing private water
system in the Town of Fort Myers Beach. Murphy, a citizen, objected on
grounds the Town needed to give its consent before the County could buy
the water system. The trial judge disagreed and validated the bonds. |
Lee County |
| Lawrence Singleton v.
State of Florida
No. 93,035
View briefs in Acrobat
format by clicking the case number(s) here |
Approx. 11:10 |
Singleton was tried, convicted,
and sentenced to death for the Feb. 19, 1997, murder of Roxanne Hayes.
In the penalty phase, the jury recommended the death penalty 10-to-2, and
the judge imposed it. This is Singleton's direct appeal. |
Hillsborough County |