Public Information

Public Information

Oral Argument Press Summaries
 March 7-11, 2005

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

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

Florida Supreme Court Oral Arguments

Monday, March 7, 2005

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

   

Florida Supreme Court Oral Arguments

Tuesday, March 8, 2005

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 -- Legislature Convenes

 
 
 Florida Supreme Court Oral Arguments

Wednesday, March 9, 2005

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

Daniel Ely Perez v. State of Florida

SC03-1651

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

9:00

Perez was arrested, tried, and convicted for the August 2001 murder of Susan Martin. The jury recommended a death sentence 9-to-3, which the trial judge imposed. This is Perez' direct appeal.

St. Lucie County

Cedrick Jones v. State of Florida

SC04-1217

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

Approx. 10:00

Jones was tried and found guilty for battery on a law enforcement officer and related offenses. On appeal, it was discovered that the transcript of the pretrial examination of potential jurors had been lost. Jones sought a new trial based on the missing transcript, but the Fourth District Court held that none was required because he had failed to identify any specific erroneous decision of the trial court that would have been revealed in the transcript.

Broward County

John Richard Therrien v. State of Florida

SC03-2219

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

Approx. 10:40

In 1997, Therrien pled no contest to attempted sexual battery by a person under eighteen years of age upon a person under twelve years of age and lewd and lascivious assault upon a child less than sixteen years old. He was given a suspended sentence. Three years later the State filed a motion to classify Therrien as a sexual predator under a 1998 amendment to the Sexual Predators Act. The trial judge approved the motion, the First District Court affirmed and certified a question of great importance.

Escambia County

 
 Florida Supreme Court Oral Arguments

Thursday, March 10, 2005

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

MCI WorldCom Network Services v. Mastec, Inc.

SC04-948

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

9:00

In July 2000 Mastec severed an MCI underground fiberoptic communications cable in Miami worth more than $8 million, resulting in the loss of its use for about 97 hours. MCI was able to reroute communications onto a backup cable it had built at a cost of more than $9.6 million. It sued Mastec for the fair rental value of the alternate cable up to a statutory maximum, but the federal district court ruled in favor of Mastec. On appeal, the U.S. Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals certified questions to the Florida Supreme Court.

Miami-Dade County

James Hitchcock v. State of Florida

SC03-2203 | SC04-1286

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

Approx. 9:40

Hitchcock was arrested in 1976 and sentenced to death in 1977 for the murder of Cynthia Driggers. Due to errors in the proceedings, Hitchcock's case was returned to the trial court for resentencing three times over the years. He now challenges the validity of his conviction and sentence.

Orange County

The Florida Bar v. Steven Edward Cohen

SC03-2041

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

Approx. 10:30

Cohen entered into a plea agreement finding him guilty of a federal felony associated with money he kept on behalf of a friend that allegedly was derived from illegal drug operations. The Florida Bar seeks his disbarment.

Broward County

George L. Wright v. State of Florida

SC04-137

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

Approx. 11:00

This case involves issues regarding the proper procedures for challenging an allegedly illegal criminal sentence.

Pinellas County

Florida Supreme Court Oral Arguments

Friday, March 11, 2005

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

Charles J. Crist, Jr. v. Lila Jaber

SC04-9 | SC04-10 | SC04-946

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

9:00

This is an appeal from an order of the Florida Public Service Commission permitting phone companies to raise certain telephone charges billed to customers.

Statewide impact

The Florida Bar v. Bruce Edward Committe

SC03-1203

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

Approx. 9:40

Committe was charged with ethical breaches for allegedly filing bad faith lawsuits and taking other legal actions against another party who was trying to collect a debt from him. The referee recommended a private reprimand, but The Bar asks for a 91-day suspension of Committe's license. Committe argues that the charges against him should be dropped on grounds he was exercising legal rights afforded debtors.

Escambia County

Michael Ray Clines v. State of Florida

SC04-1882

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

 

Removed from Calendar

Escambia County

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