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Judge, District Court of Appeal of Florida
KW v. State
District Court of Appeal of Florida · 2012-01-20
In KW v. State, a juvenile defendant appealed an order withholding adjudication and placing her on probation after being charged with leaving the scene of a crash involving injury under Florida Statute 316.027. The case centered on whether the State presented sufficient evidence that K.W. knew or reasonably should have known that the crash caused personal injury, based on testimony from an investigating officer and the injured driver about a multi-vehicle accident on I-275. The District Court of Appeal of Florida, Second District, reversed the trial court's denial of the motion for judgment of dismissal, holding that the circumstantial evidence failed to establish K.W.'s involvement in the specific impact that caused the rollover and injuries or to rule out her reasonable hypothesis of innocence. The court reasoned that without details on how the vehicles collided or the nature of the damage to K.W.'s car relative to the injury-causing impact, the State could not meet the intent requirement from State v. Mancuso.
criminal lawprocedure
Amason v. State
District Court of Appeal of Florida · 2011-12-28 · cited 4×
The case involved Sue Elizabeth Amason's appeal of the revocation of her probation and her resulting five-year prison sentence for the third-degree felony of obtaining food or lodging with intent to defraud. Amason had admitted to violating a condition of her probation by changing her residence without approval, but she argued that the trial court denied her due process by not allowing her or her counsel an adequate opportunity to address sentencing issues, including questioning of witnesses and presentation of mitigating evidence. The court reversed the revocation order and sentence, holding that while the trial judge did not improperly assume the prosecutor's role, the judge cut off defense counsel multiple times and failed to provide a chance to respond before imposing the statutory maximum sentence. It remanded for a new revocation hearing before a different judge. The topics are criminal law and procedure.
criminal lawprocedure
Department of Revenue v. GAT, JR.
District Court of Appeal of Florida · 2011-12-28 · cited 1×
The case involved the Department of Revenue appealing on behalf of a mother from a trial court order that granted a father's petition to disestablish paternity of a child under Florida Statute section 742.18 after the mother did not produce the child for court-ordered DNA testing. The trial court had granted the petition solely based on the mother's non-appearance and denied rehearing on that basis, without addressing other statutory requirements. The appellate court reversed and remanded, holding that the statute requires a determination that the mother's failure to submit the child for testing was willful before relief can be granted against her, and that she must be given an opportunity to show good cause for the failure. The court noted that the trial court also had not made findings on all seven required factors under section 742.18(2).
family lawprocedure
Gizaw v. State
District Court of Appeal of Florida · 2011-10-05 · cited 8×
In Gizaw v. State, Lidia Gizaw was convicted by a jury of trafficking in cannabis, possession of a conveyance for trafficking, and possession of drug paraphernalia after police found cannabis in a suitcase in the trunk of her car during a traffic stop. The appellate court reversed the convictions, holding that the state failed to prove Gizaw's constructive possession of the cannabis. The court reasoned that there was no evidence of Gizaw's knowledge of the drugs or her dominion and control over the suitcase, as the evidence instead supported the passenger's sole possession, including men's clothing in the suitcase and the passenger keeping the car keys during the trip.
criminal lawprocedure
Solomon v. State
District Court of Appeal of Florida · 2011-09-16 · cited 3×
In Solomon v. State, the defendant appealed the summary denial of his Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.850 motion for postconviction relief, in which he sought additional jail credit toward his Polk County sentence for time spent in custody in Calhoun County from March to August 2008 based on an alleged arrest on a Polk VOP warrant or a Polk detainer. The postconviction court denied the claim, attaching records showing the warrant was served on August 26, 2008, and concluding that Solomon was not entitled to credit before that date and that the sentencing court's oral pronouncement aligned with the written sentence. The appellate court reversed, determining that the attachments did not conclusively refute Solomon's claims that he was arrested on the Polk warrant in Calhoun County or would have been released but for the detainer, both of which could entitle him to credit, and remanded for attachment of further records or an evidentiary hearing while also directing reconsideration of the related sentencing pronouncement issue.
criminal lawprocedure
Enix v. State
District Court of Appeal of Florida · 2011-09-09 · cited 5×
The case concerned Michael Enix's appeal of his convictions for attempted kidnapping, possession of cocaine, and possession of paraphernalia arising from a plan to kidnap a store manager's wife for ransom that was discussed with a confidential informant working with law enforcement. The appellate court reversed the attempted kidnapping conviction and sentence, holding that the trial court should have granted a judgment of acquittal because the evidence showed only preparatory acts such as obtaining a name and address and driving by a false location, without any overt act toward completing the kidnapping. The court affirmed the remaining convictions, applying Florida law requiring both specific intent and an overt act beyond mere preparation for an attempt crime.
criminal lawprocedure