Florida Supreme Court Oral Argument Press Summaries

Oral Argument Press Summaries
August 21, 26-30, 2002

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
Wednesday, August 21,2002
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

Linroy Bottoson v. MichaelW. Moore

SC02-1455

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

9:00

Bottoson was tried, convicted,and sentenced to death for the December 29, 1979, murder of Catherine WillieAlexander. His sentence was affirmed on appeal. The Governor issued a warrantfor his execution earlier this year. The execution was stayed by the U.S.Supreme Court pending its resolution of an Arizona case in an opinion issueda few months later. Bottoson now argues that the U.S. Supreme Court's opinionhas undermined the validity of Florida's death penalty statute, while theState contends it has not.

Orange County

Amos Lee King v. MichaelW. Moore

SC02-1457

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

Approx. 9:40

King was tried, convicted,and sentenced to death for the March 18, 1977, murder of Natalie Brady.His sentence was affirmed on appeal. The Governor issued a warrant forhis execution earlier this year. The execution was stayed by the U.S. SupremeCourt pending its resolution of an Arizona case in an opinion issued afew months later. Bottoson now argues that the U.S. Supreme Court's opinionhas undermined the validity of Florida's death penalty statute, while theState contends it has not.

Pinellas County

Florida Supreme Court OralArguments
Monday, August 26, 2002
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

Anthony Spann v. Stateof Florida

SC00-1498

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

9:00

Spann was arrested and chargedwith the November 1997 murder of Kazue Perron. A jury convicted him, andSpann waived his right to present evidence to a jury in a penalty phase.The judge sentenced him to death, and he appeals.

Marion County

PNR, Inc. v. Beacon PropertyManagement

SC01-1507

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

Approx. 10:00

In 1994 PNR purchased GoodfellasRestaurant in Boca Raton. Beacon managed the property in which the restaurantwas located. Because of alleged failure to maintain the building, its northwall collapsed in 1995, causing the city to order it shut for several months.Goodfellas went out of business. PNR sued and won a jury verdict of morethan $2 million. The Fourth District Court reversed. 

Palm Beach County

Chester R. Morrisey,Jr. v. Thomas M. Owen

SC01-2430

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

Approx. 10:40

Morrisey suffered back injuriesin a traffic accident on I-95 in November 1993. He sued, and the jury awardedmore than $1.8 million in damages. On appeal, the Fourth District reversedin part.

Palm Beach County

Jason Dirk Walton v.Michael W. Moore

SC76,695| SC78,070

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

Approx. 11:10

Walton was tried, convicted,and sentenced to death for the June 1982 murders of three men. His sentenceswere affirmed on appeal. He now challenges their validity.

Pinellas County

Florida Supreme Court OralArguments
Tuesday, August 27, 2002
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

Omar Wilson v. Stateof Florida

SC01-2083| SC01-2333

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

9:00

These cases involve judgeswho made plea offers that the defendants rejected. Both defendants ultimatelyreceived more severe sentences than the original offer and appealed arguingtheir respective sentences were vindictive. The Fifth District reversedin one of the cases, but the Fourth District affirmed the other case.

Broward County

Orange County

Fred Anderson, Jr. v.State of Florida

SC01-336

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Approx. 9:40

Anderson was arrested andcharged with the March 2000 murder of Heather Young during a bank robbery.A jury convicted him and recommended the death penalty 12-to-0. The trialcourt imposed it, and Anderson appeals.

Lake County

William Gregory Thomasv. State of Florida

SC01-1439

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

Approx. 10:40

Thomas was tried, convicted,and sentenced to death for the September 1991 murder of his wife Rachel.His sentence was affirmed on appeal. He now challenges its validity.

Duval County

Caribbean ConservationCorp. v. Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission

SC01-1885

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Approx. 11:20

In 1998 voters amended thestate Constitution to create the Florida Fish & Wildlife Commission.In 1999 a statute was approved that allegedly restricted the Commission'sability to regulate practices affecting endangered and threatened species.Conservation groups sued, and the trial court found the statute unconstitutional.On appeal, the First District Court reversed.

Leon County

Statewide impact

Florida Supreme Court OralArguments
Wednesday, August 28,2002
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

Willie Seth Crain, Jr.v. State of Florida

SC00-661

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

9:00

Crain was arrested, tried,and convicted for the September 1998 murder of Amanda Victoria Brown. Thejury recommended the death penalty 12-to-0, and the trial court imposedit. Crain appeals.

Hillsborough County

State of Florida v. JoseAbreu

SC01-2596

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

Approx. 10:00

Abreu was charged with theFebruary 1998 burglary of a dwelling. At his first trial, the state's maineyewitness was Jeffrey Eckman, who had left Florida and moved to Philadelphia.The first trial ended in a hung jury. At the second trial, Eckman wouldnot return to testify, so the trial judge permitted his earlier testimonyto be read to the jury under an exception to the hearsay rule. On appeal,the Fourth District reversed on grounds that exception to the rule appliedonly if the witness was genuinely unavailable.

Broward County

George James Trepal v.State of Florida

SC89,710| SC01-2267

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

Approx. 10:40

Trepal was tried, convicted,and sentenced to death for the March 1989 murder of Peggy Carr, whom heallegedly poisoned some months before her death. His sentence was affirmedon appeal. He now challenges its validity.

Polk County

Florida Supreme Court OralArguments
Thursday, August 29,2002
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

Richard Lynch v. Stateof Florida

SC01-795

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9:00

Lynch was arrested and chargedwith the March 1999 murders of Rose Morgan and her 13-year-old daughterLeah. He pled guilty and waived his right to a penalty phase jury. Thetrial court sentenced him to death. He appeals.

Seminole County

State of Florida v. PaulVanbebber

SC01-2558

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

Approx. 10:00

Vanbebber pled no contestto DUI-related offenses that included a manslaughter and a serious bodilyinjury count. The judge imposed a suspended sentence of 200 months on themanslaughter and serious bodily injury charges together with 15 years'probation, and three years in jail on the other offenses. This was a morelenient sentence than suggested by the sentencing guidelines, and the trialcourt justified it on grounds of Vanbebber's remorse and other evidence.On appeal, the Second District Court affirmed.

Collier County

State of Florida v. JohnnyDiaz

SC01-2779

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Approx. 10:40

Diaz was stopped while drivinga car because an officer could not read the expiration date on the vehicle'stemporary license tag. Diaz had no driver's license because his had beensuspended, and he was charged with driving while his license was revoked.He argued that the traffic stop itself was improper and the evidence againsthim should be suppressed. The trial judge disagreed and sentenced him to24 months incarceration. On appeal, the Second District Court reversed. 

Hillsborough County

Chadwick D. Banks

SC01-1153| SC02-63

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

Approx. 11:20

Banks was tried, convicted,and sentenced to death for the September 1992 murder of Sandra Banks. Hissentence was affirmed on appeal. He now challenges its validity.

Gadsden County

Florida Supreme Court OralArguments
Friday, August 30, 2002
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

Jim Smith v. Coalitionto Reduce Class Size

SC02-1624

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

8:30

The Coalition has proposeda constitutional amendment on maximum class sizes in Florida that willappear on the ballot this fall. Earlier this year, the legislature approveda new law that will require that a fiscal impact note also appear on theballot stating an approximate cost of implementing the amendment. The Coalitionsued and the trial court granted a temporary injunction, and the FirstDistrict Court certified the case to the Supreme Court.

Leon County

Statewide impact

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