Justia Constitutional Law Opinion Summaries

After a jury trial, Charles Peterson was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to death. The Supreme Court affirmed the conviction and sentence. Peterson subsequently filed a postconviction motion in the circuit court, alleging ineffective assistance of counsel. The postconviction court denied relief. Peterson appealed the denial of his postconviction motion and also petitioned for a writ of habeas corpus, claiming that his appellate counsel provided ineffective assistance. The Supreme Court affirmed the postconviction court’s denial of relief and denied Peterson’s petition for a writ of habeas corpus, holding (1) Peterson’s claims that his trial counsel should have challenged certain jurors for cause and failed to effectively use peremptory challenges were without merit; (2) trial counsel was not ineffective for failing to challenge in- and out-of-court identifications; and (3) appellate counsel was deficient for providing incorrect information to the Court, but appellate counsel’s misstatement did not compromise the appellate process to such a degree as to undermine confidence in the correctness of the result. View "Peterson v. State" on Justia Law

Appellant murdered an eleven-year-old girl while on duty as a police officer. After a jury trial, Appellant was convicted of sexual battery and first-degree murder. The trial court sentenced Appellant to death after finding two aggravating factors. The Supreme Court affirmed Appellant’s convictions and sentences on appeal. This appeal concerned the circuit court’s order summarily denying Appellant’s successive motion for postconviction relief in which Appellant claimed, among other things, that newly discovered evidence demonstrated that an FBI analyst’s testimony at trial regarding hair evidence was erroneous. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) because Appellant’s successive motion constituted relitigation of the same hair-analysis issues that Appellant previously raised, without success, he was not entitled to any relief; and (2) the postconviction court did not err in denying relief on Appellant’s remaining claims. View "Duckett v. State" on Justia Law

Appellant was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to death. Appellant’s conviction and death sentence were affirmed on direct appeal. Appellant subsequently filed a motion for postconviction relief, asserting eleven claims. The circuit court denied relief on all of Appellant’s claims. Appellant appealed and filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus. The Supreme Court affirmed the denial of Appellant’s motion for postconviction relief and denied his habeas petition, holding (1) Appellant’s trial counsel did not provide ineffective assistance during the guilt phase or penalty phases of trial; (2) Appellant’s due process rights were not violated by the State’s institutional policy of reprocessing tape recordings of tips received by Crimeline, a crime reporting hotline, including a recording of a tip that implicated him in the crime of which he was charged; and (3) Appellant’s challenges to Florida’s capital sentencing scheme were without merit. View "McLean v. State" on Justia Law

In 2010, the legislature amended state law to preempt regulation of red light cameras to the state. At issue in these consolidated cases was whether pre-2010 municipal ordinances imposing penalties for red light violations detected by camera devices were invalid because they were preempted by state law. The district courts in these cases reached contrary conclusions: the Third District Court of Appeal held that the City of Aventura’s ordinance was a valid exercise of municipal power, and the Fifth District Court of Appeal concluded that the City of Orland’s ordinance was invalid because it was in conflict with and was preempted by state law. The Supreme Court agreed with the Fifth District, holding that the ordinances at issue were invalid because they were expressly preempted by state law. View "Masone v. City of Aventura" on Justia Law

Petitioners, inmates under a sentence of death, challenged the facial validity of four provisions of the Timely Justice Act of 2013, which was enacted to “reduce delays in capital cases and to ensure that all appeals and postconviction actions in capital cases are resolved as soon as possible after the date a sentence of death is imposed in the circuit court.” The disputed portions of the Act were the provisions that governed conflict of interest and substitute counsel, constitutionally deficient representation, capital postconviction public records production, and the issuance of a warrant of execution. The Supreme Court denied the petition, holding that the challenged provisions of the Act did not facially violate the constitution. View "Abdool v. Bondi" on Justia Law

Defendant was convicted of two counts of first degree murder, burglary and robbery. On remand, the trial court imposed a sentence of death for one of the murders. The Supreme Court affirmed. Defendant subsequently filed a motion for postconviction relief, alleging, among other things, that he was denied the effective assistance of counsel. The postconviction court granted Defendant’s motion to the extent that he was entitled to a new penalty phase trial based on ineffective assistance of counsel. The Supreme Court reversed the postconviction court’s judgment that Defendant be afforded a new penalty phase, as counsel did not provide constitutionally ineffective assistance under Strickland v. Washington, and otherwise affirmed. View "State v. Woodel" on Justia Law

Appellant and his codefendant were convicted of kidnapping and first-degree murder. Appellant was sentenced to death. After the Supreme Court affirmed Appellant’s convictions and sentence, Appellant filed a motion to vacate his judgment of conviction for murder and his death sentence and also filed a motion for DNA testing. The postconviction court denied postconviction relief and denied DNA testing. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the postconviction court did not err in (1) denying relief on some of Appellant’s ineffective assistance of counsel claims after an evidentiary hearing; (2) summarily denying the remainder of Appellant’s ineffective assistance of counsel claims; and (3) denying Appellant’s motion for postconviction DNA testing. View "Jackson v. State" on Justia Law

Petitioners filed a petition for extraordinary writ relief concerning certain documents in the possession of Respondents, non-parties to litigation regarding the constitutional validity of the 2012 plan apportioning Florida’s congressional districts under the Fair Districts Amendments. Petitioners contended that the documents demonstrated “the surreptitious participation of partisan operatives in the apportionment process," but the First District Court of Appeal precluded the admission of the documents. The Supreme Court granted relief to Petitioners and stayed the enforcement of the First District’s order, holding that the circuit court was not precluded from admitting the documents into evidence, subject to a proper showing of relevancy, but that the court must maintain the confidentiality of the documents by permitting disclosure or use only under seal in a courtroom closed to the public. View "League of Women Voters v. Data Targeting, Inc." on Justia Law

After a jury trial, Appellant was convicted of first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, grand theft of a motor vehicle, home invasion robbery, and aggravated assault on a police officer. The trial court imposed a sentence of death for the murder conviction. The Supreme Court affirmed the convictions and sentences. Appellant subsequently filed a motion to vacate his conviction and sentence of death pursuant to Fla. R. Crim. P. 3.851, presenting ten claims. The postconviction court summarily denied all claims except Appellant’s claim of ineffective assistance of counsel. After an evidentiary hearing, the postconviction court denied Appellant’s ineffective assistance of counsel claim. The Supreme Court affirmed the trial court’s order denying postconviction relief, holding (1) Appellant’s trial counsel were not ineffective; and (2) Appellant’s challenges to the death penalty in Florida were either waived, procedurally barred, meritless, or premature. View "Turner v. State" on Justia Law

After a jury trial, Defendant was found guilty of two counts of first-degree murder and one count of armed carjacking. The trial court sentenced Defendant to death on both murder counts. The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant’s convictions and sentences. Defendant subsequently filed a motion for postconviction relief, raising twenty-eight claims. After an evidentiary hearing, the circuit court denied relief. Defendant appealed the denial of his postconviction motion, raising twenty-one claims, and also petitioned the Supreme Court for a writ of habeas corpus, raising two claims of ineffective assistance of appellate counsel. The Supreme Court affirmed the postconviction court’s denial of relief on all claims and denied habeas corpus relief, holding (1) Defendant failed to establish that any errors occurred that, either individually or cumulatively, would entitle him to a new guilt phase trial; and (2) Defendant’s claims of ineffective assistance of appellate counsel were procedurally barred. View "Deparvine v. State" on Justia Law