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Oral Argument Press Summaries
May 4-8, 1998
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) 488-0007
Florida Supreme Court Oral Arguments
Monday, May 4, 1998
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 |
| Advisory Opinion: Term Limits Pledge
No. 92,162
Briefs were not filed in electronic format |
9:00 |
Floridians for Congressional Term Limits has proposed
a constitutional amendment allowing, but not requiring, candidates for
U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate to pledge that they will
serve a maximum number of terms: three for the House, two for the Senate.
This petition asks whether the proposal meets legal requirements. |
Statewide impact |
| Amendments to Rules of Criminal Procedure: Collateral
Death Cases
Nos. 82,322 & 92,026
Briefs were not filed in electronic format |
Approx. 9:40 |
The process of splitting the previous Office of Capital
Collateral Representative (CCR) into three regional offices led to problems
in meeting deadlines in the cases of a number of death-row inmates. On
Jan. 15, 1998, the Supreme Court tolled the time limits temporarily but
ordered the regional offices to report on their progress in meeting deadlines.
In this case, the three offices will appear before the Court to explain
their present conditions. |
Statewide impact |
| Guillermo Arbelaez v. Robert Butterworth, etc.
Nos. 92,288 & 92,595
View briefs in Acrobat
format: A |
Approx. 10:30 |
In early April 1998 private attorneys representing the
three Capital Collateral regional offices filed suit under the Court's
"All Writs" jurisdiction asking the Supreme Court to declare a moratorium
on executions due to alleged underfunding and understaffing of the offices.
They also ask the Court to declare that death row inmates have a constitutional
right to representation. |
Statewide impact |
| Michael J. Cohen, M.D. v. Michael Dauphinee
No. 91,239
View briefs in Acrobat
format: A, B,
C,
D |
Approx. 11:10 |
Rosemarie Dauphinee died in November 1991, apparently
of an infection her physicians failed to detect. Her husband sued. Under
Florida law, the suit was subject to pretrial screening, during which time
an expert stated that Dauphinee's physicians deviated from accepted standards.
Later he contradicted this statement. The jury found no negligence and
made no award, but the Fifth District Court ordered a new trial on grounds
that Dauphinee improperly impeached the expert at trial because of the
contradictory statements. |
Orange County |
| Avatar Development Corp. v. State of Florida
No. 91,424
View briefs in Acrobat
format: A, B,
C,
D |
Approx. 11:50 |
In early 1994 the Florida Department of Environmental
Protection issued a permit for Avatar Development Corp. to stabilize the
banks of an existing man-made canal system connected to the Intracoastal
Waterway. In 1995 the state charged Avatar with violating two conditions
of the permit, a first-degree misdemeanor. The trial court dismissed the
charges on grounds that the legislature had improperly delegated DEP authority
to determine what constitutes a crime. The Fourth District reversed. |
Broward County |
| Case |
Time |
Facts & Issues |
Place of Origin |
| Barbara White Gentile v. Gary Bauder
No. 91,519
View briefs in Acrobat
format: A |
9:00 |
In 1990 Detective Barbara Gentile heard allegations that
Bauder was luring boys to his house, giving them drugs and alcohol, and
using them for child pornography. Bauder was arrested and convicted, but
his conviction was overturned by the Third District Court on grounds there
was no probable cause for his arrest. He then sued Gentile for civil damages.
The trial court dismissed the complaint, but the Third District reversed
for a new trial |
Dade County |
| Gerardo Plaza v. State of Florida
No. 91,622
View briefs in Acrobat
format: A, B |
Approx. 9:40 |
Plaza was convicted of first degree murder and sentenced
to life in prison. During pretrial, the state used its peremptory challenges
to excuse a number of women over Plaza's objection. On appeal he argued
that the excusals were motivated by unlawful gender discrimination. The
Third District disagreed, and Plaza appealed. |
Dade County |
| Walter Ruiz v. State of Florida
No. 89,201
View briefs in Acrobat
format: A, B,
C |
Approx. 10:30 |
Ruiz and an accomplice were charged in the April 1995
murder of Rolando Landrian, and related crimes. Ruiz was convicted and
sentenced to death. This is his direct appeal. |
Hillsborough County |
| Philip Goode von Eiff v. Leonor Azicri
No. 91,647
View briefs in Acrobat
format: A, B,C,D,E |
Approx. 11:30 |
Von Eiff is the biological father of a child whose maternal
grandparents, the Azicris, sought a right of grandparent visitation authorized
by Florida statute. The child's biological mother was dead, and von Eiff
and his present wife opposed the visitation. The trial court ordered it
anyway, pursuant to the statute. On appeal, the Third District Court upheld
the visitation but remanded for reconsideration of several details. In
a similar case, the Fifth District Court found the statute unconstitutional.
The Supreme Court will resolve the conflict. |
Dade County |
| Case |
Time |
Facts & Issues |
Place of Origin |
| Ted Herring v. State of Florida
No. 89,937
View briefs in Acrobat
format: A, B,C,D |
9:00 |
Herring was convicted of murdering a 7-Eleven store clerk
in Daytona Beach in May 1981, and sentenced to death. His sentence was
upheld on appeal. Later, Herring and other death row inmates alleged that
their public defender, Howard Pearl, had a serious conflict of interest
in that he was a special sheriff's deputy in Marion County. The state argued
that the position was purely honorary. The trial court refused to set aside
the death penalty, and Herring appeals. |
Volusia County
(Marion County connection) |
| Patricia Seifert v. U.S. Home Corp.
No. 91,821
View briefs in Acrobat
format: A |
Approx. 9:40 |
In April 1985 Patricia and Ernest Seifert bought a new
home in Springhill built by U.S. Homes. In September 1985 Ernest forgot
to turn off his car after parking it in the garage. An air conditioning
unit in the garage allegedly had a defect that caused it to spread carbon
monoxide from the car throughout the house, and Ernest died as a result.
His wife sued, and U.S. Homes claimed the sales contract required all claims
to be submitted to arbitration. The trial court disagreed, but the Fifth
District Court reversed. The Fourth District Court on similar facts held
arbitration inappropriate, and the Supreme Court accepted the case to resolve
the conflict. |
Hernando County |
| Marshall Lee Gore v. State of Florida
No. 86,249
View briefs in Acrobat
format: A |
Approx. 10:30 |
On March 16, 1988, the body of Robyn Novick was discovered
under a blue tarp near S.W. 244th Street and S.W. 214th Place. She had
been strangled and stabbed. Witnesses later testified that Gore had been
seen with the victim's car and other possessions. He was found guilty and
sentenced to death. This is his direct appeal |
Dade County |
| Dade County School Bd. v. Radio Station WQBA
No. 91,767
View briefs in Acrobat
format: A, B |
Approx. 11:30 |
On Jan. 7, 1990, an accident occurred at the Three Kings
Day Parade run by radio station WQBA. Miami High School's marching band,
a parade participant, was preparing a special routine using flaming batons
when someone accidentally dropped a can of flammable fluid. It caught fire,
and another student kicked the can away. It landed in an area occupied
by spectators, burning several. Many legal claims resulted, including the
present suit filed by parade sponsors against the Dade County School Board.
At trial, the sponsors won an award of $2,035,000.00, and the School Board
appealed. |
Dade County |
| Case |
Time |
Facts & Issues |
Place of Origin |
| Fernando Fernandez v. State of Florida
No. 84,700
View briefs in Acrobat
format: A, B,
C,
D |
9:00 |
On Jan. 3, 1992, police officer Steven Bauer was shot
and killed during a robbery at the Kislak National Bank in North Miami.
The day after the murder, Fernandez told a friend he had been involved
in the murder and needed to see a Santeria priest (a babalao). The
friend took him to a babalao, who performed a ritual to prevent
Fernandez from being caught. The babalao and the friend later turned
Fernandez in to police and shared a $100,000 reward. Fernandez was convicted
and sentenced to death. This is his direct appeal. |
Dade County |
| Thomas Knight v. State of Florida
No. 87,783
View briefs in Acrobat
format: A, B |
Approx. 10:00 |
On July 17, 1974, an armed gunman stopped Sydney Gans
as he exited his car at the Sydney Bag & Paper Co. The gunman made
him get back in the car and drive home to fetch Mrs. Gans, whom he also
ordered into the car. The gunman demanded $50,000, and Gans said he could
get it at the City National Bank in downtown Miami. Inside, Mr. Gans told
bank officials what was happening, and they summoned police. Officers trailed
the car after it left the bank, but lost sight of it in a construction
site near S.W. 131st St. A surveillance helicopter soon reported shots
fired and a man running into the woods from the car. Arriving, officers
soon found Thomas Knight with the money and the murder weapon--a gun with
the words "trouble" etched on each side. Thomas was tried and sentenced
to death in 1975. A federal court later ordered a resentencing. He was
again sentenced to death in 1996 and appealed. |
Dade County |
| Kayle Barrington Bates v. State of Florida
No. 86,180
Briefs were not filed in electronic format |
Approx. 10:40 |
At about 1:05 p.m. on June 14, 1982, a friend placed
a call to Janet Renee White at a State Farm Insurance office in Lynn Haven.
Shortly after answering the phone, Ms. White began screaming, but someone
hung up the phone. The friend called police, who found White's body nearby,
stabbed to death. Bates soon emerged from the woods and asked to go to
his delivery truck, parked nearby. Police arrested him and found White's
wedding ring in his possession. He was tried and sentenced to death in
1983, but new sentencing proceedings were ordered twice. He now appeals
from the last of these. |
Bay County |
| Kenneth Darcell Quince v. State of Florida
No. 89,960
View briefs in Acrobat
format: A, B,
C |
Approx. 11:20 |
Quince was sentenced to death for the Jan. 3, 1980, murder
of Frances Bowdoin. He later learned that his public defender, Howard Pearl,
was a special deputy sheriff in Marion County at the time of trial. (See
the Herring case, above.) At a hearing on this issue, Quince tried to disqualify
the judge, who allegedly had worked with Pearl on Quince's case. The trial
court denied the motion and denied all relief. Quince appeals. |
Volusia County
(Marion County Connection) |