Public Information

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No arguments scheduled

Case

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No arguments scheduled

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Duane Edwin Sutton v. State of Florida

SC04-1954 | SC04-1955| SC04-1956 | SC04-1957 | SC04-1958 | SC04-1959

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9:00

The Second District Court of Appeal held that civil detainees under the Jimmy Ryce Act cannot make a blanket assertion of the Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination to avoid submitting to depositions during commitment proceedings. Instead, the district court held that detainees must assert the privilege on a question-by-question basis because commitment proceedings under the Act are civil. The petitioners appealed, asserting that the Jimmy Ryce Act is penal in nature, thus entitling them to a blanket Fifth Amendment privilege to refuse to be deposed at all.

Sarasota County

The Florida Bar v. Robert A. Boland

SC01-944

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Approx. 9:40

Boland has been charged with professional misconduct, including violating the Court's prior order suspending him from the practice of law. The referee has recommended that Boland be found guilty and be disbarred.

Hillsborough County

Franklin Delano Floyd v. State of Florida

SC03-35

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Approx. 10:10

Floyd was indicted for the 1989 first-degree murder of Cheryl Commesso. After trial by jury, he was convicted as charged. The jury unanimously recommended a sentence of death, and the court so sentenced him. This is his direct appeal from judgment and sentence.

Pinellas County

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The Florida Bar v. Geneva Carol Forrester

SC01-1819 | SC02-1752

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9:00 a.m.

Forrester has been charged with professional misconduct, including violating the Court's prior order suspending her from the practice of law. The referee has recommended that Forrester be found guilty of the charges and be further suspended for one year and publicly reprimanded. 

Pinellas County

In re: Amendments to Uniform Guidelines for Taxation of Costs

SC96,726

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Approx. 9:30 a.m.

The Florida Bar Civil Procedure Rules Committee has proposed to the Supreme Court new Statewide Uniform Guidelines for Taxation of Costs in Civil Actions to replace the existing guidelines. The proposal is in response to the Court's 2001 request that the committee gather information on improving the guidelines and file a comprehensive report of its findings and conclusions, together with any proposed guidelines. 

Statewide impact

In re: Retirement of Marshal Wilson E. Barnes

2:30 p.m.

In this Ceremonial Session, the Supreme Court honors its Marshal, Wilson E. Barnes, who will retire June 1 after serving 15 years in office. Barnes, 67, took office as the Court's 5th Marshal on July 1, 1990, and oversaw the massive overhaul of court security made necessary by events during his tenure. He successfully kept the Court secure through the 2000 presidential election appeals, the anthrax scares following the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and many other high-profile events. Barnes is a retired U.S. Army colonel with a 29-year military career capped by his final stint at U.S. Central Command at MacDill Air Force Base. There, he served as director of military and civilian personnel in 16 countries. Barnes' military decorations include the Bronze Star medal, the Defense Superior Service medal, and the National Defense Service medal. He received a bachelor's and master's degree from Virginia State University, and has been active in community service in Tallahassee. A reception will follow in the rotunda.

We all will miss him!

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Inaugural Statewide High School Moot Court Appellate Competition

Moot Court Bench Brief

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10:00

Through a series of competitions at Florida's lower appeals courts, high school students around the state are making their way to Tallahassee much like attorneys appealing actual cases. Winning student teams will go through preliminary arguments before Tallahassee's First District Court of Appeal at 3:30 p.m. May 5. The top two teams then will proceed to the Supreme Court to argue before the high-Court Justices at 10:00 a.m. today. They will argue a case involving the lawfulness of police detaining the driver of a vehicle long enough for a police K-9 unit to arrive. In this hypothetical case, the drug-sniffing dog alerted for the presence of contraband, but the trial judge refused to suppress the evidence at trial. 

Statewide