Z Law Firm

The Florida Legislature has enacted an act making it a crime to threaten terror or acts of violence towards public officials.  Senate Bill 436 was signed into law and created Florida Statute 836.12.  This statute defines the terms "family member" and "law enforcement officer."  Senate Bill 436 also amends Florida Statutes 790.163 and 790.164 by creating the crime of falsely reporting the use of firearms in a violent manner against a person or persons.

This morning, the United States Supreme Court, in an 8 - 1 decision, has ruled that Florida's system for sentencing persons to death is unconstitutional.  The system is set up to where the same jury who found the accused guilty, will participate in the "penalty phase" of the trial.  During the penalty phase, both the State and Defense will put on testimony and offer evidence in an effort to sway a jury into deciding to rule in favor of death or life in prison.  The problem the Court found was that regardless of the jury's decision, the ultimate decision power rested in the hands of the trial Judge. 

Article I, § 9 of the Florida Constitution reads, “no person shall be twice put in jeopardy for the same offense.”   Similarly, the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution provides that “no person shall be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb.”   But what happens when a jury returns a verdict finding a defendant guilty of two criminal offenses having the same elements, but one which carries a lesser sentence than the other?   As seen, neither the United States Constitution nor the Florida Constitution dictate which conviction should be vacated. This issue was recently addressed by the Florida Supreme Court in State of Florida v. Tuttle , SC14-817 (Nov. 12, 2015).   In Tuttle , a jury returned a verdict finding the defendant guilty of attempted home invasion burglary and armed burglary.   Before the trial court entered the sentencing phase, the State of Florida advised the court of the double jeopardy issue an...