Florida Supreme Court Decisions 2020
Date: December 31, 2020
Docket Numbers: SC18-2142, SC18-2143
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court held that a unilateral attorney's fee provision in a credit card contract was made reciprocal to prevailing debtors under Fla. Stat. 57.105(7) where the debtors prevailed in an account stated action…
Date: December 31, 2020
Docket Number: SC19-1137
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court concluded that a unilateral attorney's fee provision in a note and mortgage was made reciprocal to a borrower under Fla. Stat. 57.105(7) where the borrower prevailed in a foreclosure action in which the…
Date: December 31, 2020
Docket Number: SC19-1336
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court held that there should not be an exception to the present summary judgment standards applied by Florida state courts that would allow for summary judgment in favor of the moving party when the movant's…
Date: December 31, 2020
Docket Number: SC20-1098
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court imposed sanctions upon Defendant, holding that, based on his persistent history of filing pro se petitions that were meritless or otherwise inappropriate for the Supreme Court's review, Defendant abused…
Date: December 31, 2020
Docket Number: SC20-1490
Date: December 31, 2020
Docket Number: SC20-1746
Date: December 10, 2020
Docket Number: SC18-1108
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court quashed the decision of the Second District Court of Appeal concluding that Defendant's dual convictions for driving under the influence (DUI) with serious bodily injury and driving while license…
Date: December 10, 2020
Docket Number: SC19-1947
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court answered in the negative a certified question asking whether the single homicide rule found in House v. State, 474 So. 2d 1193 (Fla. 1985), precludes separate convictions of vehicular homicide and…
Date: December 3, 2020
Docket Number: SC18-2149
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant's two sentences of death imposed during a resentencing that the Supreme Court ordered as a result of a Hurst v. State, 202 So. 3d 40 (Fla. 2016), error, holding that Defendant was not…
Date: December 3, 2020
Docket Number: SC19-884
Date: December 3, 2020
Docket Number: SC20-597
Date: November 25, 2020
Docket Number: SC18-2014
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant's two first-degree murder convictions and two corresponding sentences of death, holding that Defendant's assignments of error were unavailing. Specifically, the Supreme Court held…
Date: November 25, 2020
Docket Number: SC20-257
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court denied the State's petition seeking an extraordinary writ that would direct the circuit court to dismiss a resentencing proceeding and reinstate two previously vacated death sentences for the State or,…
Date: November 25, 2020
Docket Number: SC20-323
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court held that its 2017 judgment vacating on direct appeal Defendant's death sentence is final, that neither the Supreme Court nor the trial court can lawfully reinstate that sentence, and that, therefore,…
Date: November 25, 2020
Docket Number: SC20-850
Date: November 19, 2020
Docket Number: SC19-953
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant's first-degree murder conviction and sentence of death, holding that any error in the proceedings below was not prejudicial. Defendant pleaded guilty to the first-degree murder of…
Date: November 12, 2020
Docket Number: SC20-162
Date: November 5, 2020
Docket Number: SC20-1073
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court held that the conduct of Judge David Craig Miller of the Eleventh Judicial Court violated the Code of Judicial Conduct and that the appropriate discipline was a public reprimand, concluding that the…
Date: October 29, 2020
Docket Number: SC18-2061
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court held that the conformity clause of Fla. Const. art. I, 17 precluded the Court from analyzing death sentences for comparative proportionality in the absence of a statute establishing that…
Date: October 29, 2020
Docket Number: SC20-1374
Date: October 29, 2020
Docket Number: SC20-216
Date: October 22, 2020
Docket Number: SC18-1643
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant's conviction for first-degree murder and his sentence of death, holding that no error occurred in the proceedings below. Specifically, the Supreme Court held (1) the trial court did…
Date: October 15, 2020
Docket Number: SC19-1032
Date: October 1, 2020
Docket Number: SC18-962
Justia Opinion Summary: In this child sexual abuse case concerning the separation of powers and the proper role of courts in applying statutes of limitations the Supreme Court held that courts cannot go beyond the statutory framework and adopt…
Date: September 24, 2020
Docket Number: SC19-487
Date: September 24, 2020
Docket Number: SC19-87
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court answered a certified question by holding that a mass shooting committed by Patrick Dell was a single "incident or occurrence" for purposes of Fla. Stat. 768.28(5) and that the cumulative liability for…
Date: September 24, 2020
Docket Number: SC20-21
Date: September 17, 2020
Docket Number: SC19-1356
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the order of the circuit court denying Defendant's successive motion for postconviction relief filed under Fla. R. Crim. P. 3.851, holding that the circuit court properly denied…
Date: September 10, 2020
Docket Number: SC18-581
Date: September 10, 2020
Docket Number: SC20-1153
Date: September 10, 2020
Docket Number: SC20-1263
Date: September 3, 2020
Docket Number: SC19-1335
Date: September 3, 2020
Docket Number: SC19-1370
Date: September 3, 2020
Docket Number: SC20-1236
Date: September 3, 2020
Docket Number: SC20-178
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the order of the circuit court dismissing Petitioner's third successive motion for postconviction relief filed under Fla. R. Crim. P. 3.851, holding that the circuit court did not err in…
Date: August 27, 2020
Docket Number: SC19-1207
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the circuit court's order summarily denying Defendant's successive emotion for postconviction relief filed under Fla. R. Crim. P. 3.851, holding that the circuit court properly denied…
Date: August 27, 2020
Docket Numbers: SC19-704, SC19-1419
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the circuit court denying Tina Lasonya Brown's motion to vacate her conviction of first-degree murder and sentence of death under Fla. R. Crim. P. 3.851 and denied Brown's…
Date: August 27, 2020
Docket Number: SC20-355
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court concluded that Petitioner's quo warranto petition filed in this case was a frivolous proceeding brought before the Supreme Court by a state prisoner and instructed the Clerk of Court to reject any…
Date: August 27, 2020
Docket Number: SC20-985
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court denied the petition filed by Representative Geraldine Thompson seeking to invalidate Governor Ron DeSantis's appointment of Judge Renatha Francis to fill a vacancy in office on the Supreme Court,…
Date: August 13, 2020
Docket Number: SC19-1354
Date: August 13, 2020
Docket Number: SC19-1532
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the order of the circuit court summarily denying Defendant's second successive motion for post conviction relief, holding that Defendant was not entitled to postconviction relief. Defendant…
Date: August 13, 2020
Docket Number: SC19-1709
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the order of the circuit court denying Defendant's fifth successive postconviction motion filed pursuant to Fla. R. Crim. P. 3.851, holding that Defendant was not entitled to postconviction…
Date: July 9, 2020
Docket Number: SC19-1864
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the order of the circuit court summarily dismissing as untimely Petitioner's successive motion for postconviction relief, holding that the record conclusively established that Petitioner was…
Date: July 9, 2020
Docket Number: SC19-1897
Date: July 2, 2020
Docket Number: SC18-2024
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the order of the postconviction court summarily denying Appellant's successive motion for postconviction relief filed under Fla. R. Crim. P. 3.851, holding that the postconviction court…
Date: July 2, 2020
Docket Number: SC18-357
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court approved the decision of the Second District Court of Appeal in this foreclosure case, holding that the proper predicate for admission of records into evidence under the business records exception to…
Date: July 2, 2020
Docket Number: SC20-873
Date: June 25, 2020
Docket Number: SC18-806
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant's conviction of first-degree murder and sentence of death, holding that there was no reversible error in the proceedings below. Defendant pleaded guilty to first-degree murder. After…
Date: June 25, 2020
Docket Number: SC18-810
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the order of the circuit court denying Defendant's motion to vacate his sentence of death under Fla. R. Crim. P. 3.851, holding that there was no constitutional infirmity in Defendant's…
Date: June 11, 2020
Docket Number: SC18-1172
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the postconviction court summarily denying Defendant's second successive motion for postconviction relief filed under Fla. R. Crim. P. 3.851, holding that Defendant was not…
Date: June 11, 2020
Docket Number: SC18-1750
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the order of the postconviction court denying Appellant's successive motion for postconviction relief filed under Fla. R. Crim. P. 3.851, holding that Appellant was not entitled to…
Date: June 11, 2020
Docket Number: SC19-1916
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court dismissed Petitioner's petition for review of an unelaborated order from the Second District Court of Appeal striking Petitioner's brief as unauthorized, holding that this Court lacked jurisdiction to…
Date: June 11, 2020
Docket Number: SC60-72622
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court instructed the Clerk of this Court to reject any future pleadings, petitions, documents, motions, or other filings submitted by Defendant relating to case number 86-038693, unless such filings are…
Date: June 4, 2020
Docket Number: SC18-1102
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the order of the trial court denying Appellant's successive motion for postconviction relief filed under Fla. R. Crim. P. 3.851, holding that the trial court properly denied relief. In his…
Date: June 4, 2020
Docket Number: SC19-1266
Justia Opinion Summary: In this matter where the Attorney General requested the Supreme Court's opinion as to the validity of a citizen initiative petition circulated pursuant to Fla. Const. Art. XI, 3, the Supreme Court held that the proposed…
Date: June 4, 2020
Docket Number: SC19-140
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the order of the postconviction court denying Appellant's claim of ineffective assistance of counsel for failure to challenge a biased juror, holding that the postconviction court's finding…
Date: June 4, 2020
Docket Number: SC19-635
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the circuit court summarily denying Petitioner's fourth postconviction motion filed under Fla. R. Crim. P. 3.851, holding that the circuit court did not err in summarily denying…
Date: May 28, 2020
Docket Number: SC19-1625
Date: May 28, 2020
Docket Number: SC19-1688
Date: May 21, 2020
Docket Number: SC18-1149
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the order of the circuit court summarily denying Appellant's successive motion for postconviction relief filed under Fla. R. Crim. P. 3.851, holding that Walls v. State, 213 So. 3d 340 (Fla.…
Date: May 21, 2020
Docket Number: SC19-1861
Date: May 21, 2020
Docket Number: SC19-96
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court quashed the decision of the Fourth District Court of Appeal, holding that the party opposing a peremptory strike must make a specific objection to the proponent's proffered race-neutral reason for the…
Date: May 14, 2020
Docket Number: SC18-227
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant's convictions for first-degree murder and burglary of a dwelling with an assault and while armed with a firearm and Defendant's sentence of death, holding that this Court now joins…
Date: May 14, 2020
Docket Number: SC18-385
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant's conviction of first-degree felony murder, robbery with a firearm, aggravated assault with a firearm, and burglary of a dwelling with an assault or battery while armed with a firearm…
Date: May 7, 2020
Docket Number: SC19-1071
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court held that Jay Barringer's quo warranto petition filed in this case was a frivolous proceeding brought before the Supreme Court by a state prisoner and sanctioned Barringer by barring him from filing any…
Date: May 7, 2020
Docket Number: SC19-1978
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court denied the instant mandamus petition filed by Hicks and sanctioned Hicks by barring him from filing any further pro se requests for relief related to his criminal case. Hicks was convicted of one count…
Date: May 7, 2020
Docket Number: SC19-203
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the order of the circuit court denying Appellant's claim of intellectual disability, raised in successive motions for postconviction relief under Fla. R. Crim. P. 3.851, holding that the…
Date: April 23, 2020
Docket Number: SC19-841
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the order of the circuit court denying Appellant's successive motion to vacate his sentence of death under Fla. R. Crim. P. 3.851, holding that the circuit court did not err in denying the Rule…
Date: April 16, 2020
Docket Number: SC19-607
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the order of the circuit court denying Appellant's successive postconviction motion filed pursuant to Fla. R. Crim. P. 3.851, holding that Appellant was not entitled to postconviction…
Date: April 9, 2020
Docket Number: SC20-392
Date: April 2, 2020
Docket Number: SC17-2244
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant's death sentences that were imposed after a second penalty phase, holding that there was no error or abuse of discretion. Defendant was convicted of two counts of first-degree…
Date: March 26, 2020
Docket Number: SC19-1377
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reviewed the findings, conclusions, and recommendations of the Judicial Qualifications Commission (JQC) concerning five judges (Respondents) and approved the stipulated discipline entered into between…
Date: March 20, 2020
Docket Number: SC20-392
Date: March 19, 2020
Docket Number: SC18-1589
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the order of the trial court summarily denying Appellant's successive motion for post conviction relief pursuant to Fla. R. Crim. P. 3.851 and, alternatively, to correct an illegal sentence…
Date: March 19, 2020
Docket Number: SC19-1267
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court approved for placement on the ballot an initiative petition to amend the Florida Constitution titled "All Voters Vote in Primary Elections for State Legislature, Governor, and Cabinet," holding that the…
Date: March 19, 2020
Docket Number: SC19-714
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the order of the trial court denying Appellant's successive postconviction motion filed pursuant to Fla. R. Crim. P. 3.851 seeking relief from his sentence of death pursuant to Hurst v.…
Date: March 13, 2020
Docket Number: SC20-346
Date: March 12, 2020
Docket Number: SC18-964
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court approved the court of appeal's decision to uphold Defendant's sentence and disapproved of several recent court decisions to the extent they held that resentencing is required for all juvenile offenders…
Date: March 12, 2020
Docket Numbers: SC19-211, SC19-836
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed an order denying in part and dismissing in part Hector Sanchez-Torres's third amended motion filed under Fla. R. Crim. P. 3.851 to vacate judgments of conviction and sentence of death and…
Date: March 5, 2020
Docket Number: SC18-1059
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court approved the First District Court of Appeal's decision affirming Defendant's felony conviction for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, an automobile, and rejecting Defendant's argument that his…
Date: March 5, 2020
Docket Number: SC18-42
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the order of the post conviction court denying Appellant's motion for postconviction relief filed under Fla. R. Crim. P. 3.851, holding that the postconviction court properly denied all claims…
Date: March 5, 2020
Docket Number: SC20-145
Date: February 27, 2020
Docket Number: SC19-1246
Date: February 27, 2020
Docket Number: SC19-1806
Date: February 27, 2020
Docket Number: SC19-1856
Date: February 27, 2020
Docket Number: SC19-195
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the post conviction court summarily denying Defendant's eighth successive motion to vacate his judgment of conviction and sentence, holding that all of Defendant's…
Date: February 20, 2020
Docket Number: SC19-1911
Justia Opinion Summary: In this advisory opinion, the Supreme Court approved for placement on the ballot a proposed amendment entitled "Voter Approval of Constitutional Amendments," holding that the proposed amendment complies with the…
Date: February 13, 2020
Docket Number: SC18-635
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the order of the postconviction court denying Appellant's third successive motion for postconviction relief filed pursuant to Fla. R. Crim. P. 3.851, holding that Appellant's claims were…
Date: February 13, 2020
Docket Number: SC18-973
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant's sentence of death imposed in connection with his conviction for the murder of a fellow prison inmate, holding that Defendant's claims on appeal were without merit and that…
Date: February 13, 2020
Docket Number: SC19-1342
Date: February 13, 2020
Docket Numbers: SC19-84, SC19-973
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the order of the circuit court denying in part Marvin Cannon's initial postconviction motion filed pursuant to Fla. R. Crim. P. 3.851 and denied Cannon's petition for writ of habeas corpus,…
Date: February 6, 2020
Docket Number: SC18-1132
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court quashed the decision of the First District Court of Appeal regarding whether the circuit court presiding over a foreclosure action has continuing jurisdiction to consider a third-party purchaser's…
Date: February 6, 2020
Docket Number: SC19-2104
Date: February 6, 2020
Docket Number: SC19-470
Date: January 30, 2020
Docket Number: SC18-1554
Date: January 30, 2020
Docket Number: SC18-2011
Date: January 30, 2020
Docket Number: SC19-884
Date: January 23, 2020
Docket Numbers: SC17-1975, SC18-878
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the order of the circuit court dismissing in part, denying in part, and granting in part Genghis Nicholas Kocaker's initial motion to vacate his conviction of first-degree murder and sentence…
Date: January 23, 2020
Docket Number: SC18-245
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed in part and reversed in part the trial court's judgment ordering a new penalty phase proceeding after finding Defendant was entitled to relief under Hurst v. State, 202 So. 3d 40 (Fla. 2016),…
Date: January 23, 2020
Docket Number: SC18-468
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court answered a certified question by concluding that Fla. R. App. P. 9.130(a)(3)(C)(xi) does not permit an appeal of a non-final order denying immunity if the record shows that the defendant is entitled to…
Date: January 23, 2020
Docket Number: SC19-1350
Date: January 23, 2020
Docket Number: SC19-1734
Date: January 23, 2020
Docket Number: SC19-2018
Date: January 23, 2020
Docket Number: SC19-712
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court quashed the decision of the First District Court of Appeal vacating Defendant's sentence and remanding for resentencing under the prior version of Fla. Stat. 775.082(1), which could have resulted in…
Date: January 16, 2020
Docket Numbers: SC18-214, SC18-1696
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the order of the circuit court denying Appellant's third amended motion to vacate his conviction of first-degree murder and sentence of death filed pursuant to Fla. R. Crim. P. 3.851 and denied…
Date: January 16, 2020
Docket Number: SC19-1165
Justia Opinion Summary: In this advisory opinion, the Supreme Court approved a proposed amendment, which would amend article VI, section 2 of the Florida Constitution, for placement on the ballot, concluding that the proposed amendment complied…
Date: January 16, 2020
Docket Number: SC19-1341
Justia Opinion Summary: In this advisory opinion, the Supreme Court answered a question asked by Governor Ron DeSantis regarding the interpretation of a portion of the Florida Constitution affecting his executive powers and duties by stating…
Date: January 16, 2020
Docket Number: SC19-1654
Date: January 16, 2020
Docket Number: SC19-1696
Date: January 16, 2020
Docket Number: SC19-1760
Date: January 16, 2020
Docket Number: SC19-2071
Date: January 16, 2020
Docket Number: SC19-24
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court quashed the decision of the Fifth District Court of Appeal reversing the trial court's decision denying Defendant's motion to correct his sentence on the grounds that the trial court could not impose…
Date: January 9, 2020
Docket Number: SC18-655
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court quashed the decision of the Fourth District Court of Appeal ruling that a peremptory strike was constitutionally impermissible because it was based on the prospective juror's religion, holding that the…
Date: January 9, 2020
Docket Number: SC19-328
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court rendered this advisory opinion to address the issue of the validity of a citizen initiative petition circulated pursuant to Fla. Const. art. XI, 3, concluding that the proposed initiative should not be…
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