Florida Supreme Court Oral Argument Press Summaries

Oral Argument Press Summaries
January 6-10, 2003

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.

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

Florida Supreme Court OralArguments
Monday, January 6, 2003
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 arguments scheduled

Florida Supreme Court OralArguments
Tuesday, January 7, 2003
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

Inauguration Day

No cases scheduled

Florida Supreme Court OralArguments
Wednesday, January 8,2003
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

Gerald Lynn Bates v.State of Florida

SC02-1481

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

9:00

Bates was sentenced to lifein prison for armed burglary and armed robbery. This was an enhanced habitual-offendersentence based in part on a drug conviction from 1990. Bates alleges thathis attorney in the 1990 proceeding erroneously told him that this offensecould not be used to enhance his sentences in future criminal cases, promptinghim to plead guilty to the drug charge. He sought to overturn his 1990conviction, but the First District Court declined to grant him relief.

Duval County

Kenneth E. Lott v. Stateof Florida

SC02-112

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

Approx. 9:40

Lott was tried, convicted,and sentenced to death for the March 1994 murder of Rose Conners. His sentencewas affirmed on appeal. He now challenges its validity.

Orange County

Richard McCoy v. Stateof Florida

SC01-2113

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Approx. 10:30

McCoy was charged with theJune 2000 murder of Shervie Elliott at an ABC Liquor store in Jacksonville.After finding him guilty, the jury recommended the death penalty 7-to-5,and the trial judge imposed it. This is McCoy's direct appeal.

Duval County

Florida Supreme Court OralArguments
Thursday, January 9,2003
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

State of Florida v. RobertoRuiz

SC02-389| SC02-524

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

9:00

These two cases involvethe effect a 2001 statute has on the Florida Supreme Court's 2000 opinionin Delgado v. State. The statute purports to retroactively overruleDelgado,which construed the definition of burglary found in Florida Statutes. Thedistrict court certified a question of great public importance as to whetherthis statute has legislatively overruled Delgado for crimes committed onor before July 1, 2001. 

Dade County

State of Florida v. ThomasKnight

SC01-1415| SC02-1106

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Approx. 9:40

Knight (now known as AskariAbdullah Muhammad) was tried, convicted, and sentenced for the October1980 murder of Corrections Officer Richard James Burke. His sentence wasaffirmed on appeal. Later, Knight sought to overturn his conviction andsentence. The trial judge in this case ordered a new sentencing proceedingon grounds that the State suppressed evidence it should have given to Knight.Both the State and Knight appeal.

Bradford County

Adam Davis v. State ofFlorida

SC00-313

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Approx. 10:30

Davis was charged with theJune 1998 murder of Vicki Lyn Robinson. After finding him guilty, the juryrecommended the death penalty 7-to-5, and the trial judge imposed it. Thisis Davis' direct appeal.

Hillsborough County

Marvin Nettles v. Stateof Florida

SC02-1523

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Approx. 11:30

Nettles was sentenced to66.4 months in prison for two counts of attempted lewd and lascivious conduct.His sentence was enhanced because of two separate statutes, one dealingwith habitual felons and the other with prison releasee reoffenders. Laterhe filed a motion alleging that his sentence was illegal under recent opinionsissued by the Second and Fifth District Courts, which concluded that defendantscould not be sentenced under both statutes for the same offenses. The FirstDistrict disagreed and affirmed the length of the sentence. The SupremeCourt accepted the case to resolve the conflicting opinions of the lowercourts.

Escambia County

Florida Supreme Court OralArguments
Friday, January 10, 2003
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

Brian P. Patchen v. FloridaDept. of Agriculture

SC02-1291

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8:30

The Patchens sued the Statefor damages after the Florida Department of Agriculture & ConsumerServices destroyed their six large fruit-bearing citrus trees. This wasdone under a state policy of eradicating citrus canker by destroying anycitrus trees found within 1,900 feet of an infected tree. Statewide, about380,000 residential citrus trees have been destroyed under this policyduring the recent canker outbreak. Both the trial court and the Third DistrictCourt found that the Patchens were not entitled to damages because theirtrees had no market value at the time they were destroyed. 

Dade County

Humana Worker's CompensationServices v. Home Emergency Services

SC02-1206

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Approx. 9:10

Alberto Milian was injuredwhen he fell from a collapsing ladder while working for Home EmergencyServices. Later, the ladder disappeared, and Milian and his wife sued hisemployer for allegedly losing the evidence they intended to use in a lawsuitagainst the ladder's manufacturer and distributor. Home Emergency Services'workers compensation insurer, Humana, argued that it had no liability forthis particular type of claim. The trial court agreed, and the Third Districtreversed. 

Dade County

Howard S. Ault v. Stateof Florida

SC00-863

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Approx. 9:50

Ault was charged with theNovember 1996 murders of Deanne Mumin and Alicia Jones. After finding himguilty, the jury recommended the death penalty for both murders 9-to-3,and the trial judge imposed it. This is Ault's direct appeal.

Broward County

Marshall Lee Gore v.State of Florida

SC01-1524| SC02-684

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Approx. 10:50

Gore was tried, convicted,and sentenced to death for the 1988 murder of Susan Roark. His sentencewas affirmed on appeal. He now challenges its validity.

Columbia County

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