Williams v. State
Annotate this CaseDefendant was charged with burglary, grand theft, dealing in stolen property, and providing false information to a pawnbroker. The trial court refused to refer to Fla. Stat. 812.025 in its jury instructions or otherwise instruct the jury that it was precluded from finding Defendant guilty of both dealing in stolen property and theft. Defendant was convicted of all of the charges, but the trial judge subsequently dismissed the grand theft conviction. Defendant appealed, arguing that he was entitled to a new trial because the trial court denied his requested instruction modeled on section 812.025. The court of appeal affirmed. The Supreme Court quashed the decision of the court of appeal, holding (1) a trial court must instruct the jury pursuant to section 812.025 when both theft and dealing in stolen property offenses are submitted to the jury; (2) if a trial court denies a defendant's request for a jury instruction under section 812.025, the defendant must be given a new trial if the jury convicts the defendant of both theft and dealing in stolen property; and (3) Defendant was entitled to a new trial on the dealing in stolen property and grand theft counts.
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