Florida Supreme Court Oral Argument Press Summaries

Oral Argument Press Summaries
May 3 to 7, 2004

The following summaries are drawn from briefs and lower court judgments.They are meant to provide a general idea of facts and issues presentedin cases, and should not be considered official court documents. Factsand issues presented in these summaries should be checked for accuracyagainst records and briefs, available from the Court, which provide morespecific information.

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Names &phone numbers of attorneys in these cases are available in Acrobatformat.

RobertCraig Waters, Director of Public Information
(850) 414-7641

Florida Supreme Court OralArguments
Monday, May 3, 2004
Arrive early. Times &order of appearance are tentative and subject to change with no notice.Cases may be postponed due to exigent circumstances.table border width="100%">

Case

Time

Facts & Issues

Place of Origin

No cases schedule

Florida Supreme Court OralArguments
Tuesday, May 4, 2004
Arrive early. Times &order of appearance are tentative and subject to change with no notice.Cases may be postponed due to exigent circumstances.

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Case

Time

Facts & Issues

Place of Origin

Gregory Allen Kokal v.State of Florida

SC01-882

View briefs in Acrobatformat by clicking the case number(s) here 

9:00

Kokal was tried, convicted,and sentenced to death for the September 1983 murder of a Jeffrey Russell.He now challenges the validity of his sentence.

Duval County

Jeffrey Lee Weaver v.State of Florida

SC00-247

View briefs in Acrobatformat by clicking the case number(s) here 

Approx. 9:40

Weaver was arrested andcharged with the January 1996 murder of Bryant Peney.  After findinghim guilty, the jury recommended life in prison 8-to-4, but the trial imposedthe death penalty.  This is Weaver's direct appeal.

Broward County

Lawanda Byrd v. Stateof Florida

SC03-284

View briefs in Acrobatformat by clicking the case number(s) here 

Approx. 10:40

Byrd was arrested on chargesof murder and armed robbery, but the trial court found she was incompetentto stand trial due to mental retardation. She was then committed to a stateinstitution. After two years, her attorney moved to dismiss the criminalcharges under a state statute authorizing this in cases of mental retardation,and asked that she be civilly committed. The State argued that the FloridaSupreme Court had adopted a rule of procedure extending the period to fiveyears and that this rule superseded the statute. The trial court agreed,as did the First District Court of Appeal.

Gadsden County

State of Florida v. AnthonyFrierson

SC03-1528

View briefs in Acrobatformat by clicking the case number(s) here 

Approx. 11:20

Frierson was driving a carstopped at a red light in July 2001 when a police officer pulled up behindhim. The officer noticed that a tail light on the car was cracked, althoughit was lit. When the traffic light turned green, Frierson turned left withoutsignaling. The officer pulled Frierson over because of the failure to signaland the cracked tail light. After checking Frierson's identification, theofficer learned there was an outstanding warrant for his arrest. It laterturned out that the warrant was intended for someone else who had wrongfullyused Frierson's name and date of birth. After the stop, a weapon was foundin the car and Frierson was charged with illegal possession because hewas a felon. At trial, the judge let the state use this evidence even thoughit concluded that the initial stop was unlawful, on grounds that the outstandingwarrant was sufficient cause and that the officer relied upon it in goodfaith. The Fourth District reversed on grounds that the outstanding warrantdid not "cure" the initial unlawful stop.

Palm Beach County

Florida Supreme Court OralArguments
Wednesday, May 5, 2004
Arrive early. Times &order of appearance are tentative and subject to change with no notice.Cases may be postponed due to exigent circumstances.

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Case

Time

Facts & Issues

Place of Origin

Stacey Robinson v. NationwideMutual Fire Insurance Co.

SC03-1670

View briefs in Acrobatformat by clicking the case number(s) here 

9:00

Robinson and her husbandwere injured when an uninsured drunk driver rear-ended their car and thenfled the scene. They offered to settle with their insurance company for$35,000, but Nationwide countered with an offer of $20,000. When the casewent to trial, the jury awarded the Robinsons $243,900 compensation plus$250,000 in punitive damages because of the drunk driver's conduct. Becauseof lengthy court proceedings and appeals, the Robinsons later sought tohave Nationwide pay their legal fees and costs. The trial court agreedand awarded $444,535 in fees and costs. The Fourth District Court of Appealreversed on grounds that the initial $35,000 settlement offer had not beenproperly made.

Palm Beach County

Rick Beber v. State ofFlorida

SC03-1765

View briefs in Acrobatformat by clicking the case number(s) here 

Approx. 9:40

Beber was convicted of severalcounts of sexually abusing a child based in part on evidence permittedunder the rule allowing the use of out-of-court hearsay from children insuch cases. Under oath in court, however, the child-victim gave testimonythat tended to contradict the hearsay. The Fifth District Court upheldthe conviction.

Brevard County

Betty Jones v. FloridaInsurance Guaranty Association

SC03-1259

View briefs in Acrobatformat by clicking the case number(s) here 

Approx. 10:30

Jones filed suit as personalrepresentative of the Estate of Althea Jones, who had been killed in anaccident involving a vehicle owned by a company whose insurance companyhad become insolvent. As a result, FIGA had taken over claims against thecompany. FIGA denied it had an obligation to defend against the lawsuit,and Jones later received a judgment of $75 million. Jones attempted tocollect the judgment from FIGA, and FIGA raised a number of objections.The trial court ruled in favor of Jones, but on appeal the First DistrictCourt reversed.

Leon County

Florida Supreme Court OralArguments
Thursday, May 6, 2004
Arrive early. Times &order of appearance are tentative and subject to change with no notice.Cases may be postponed due to exigent circumstances.

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Case

Time

Facts & Issues

Place of Origin

No cases schedule

Florida Supreme Court OralArguments
Friday, May 7, 2004
Arrive early. Times &order of appearance are tentative and subject to change with no notice.Cases may be postponed due to exigent circumstances.

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Case

Time

Facts & Issues

Place of Origin

No cases scheduled

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