Latest 4 Cases: Brown v. State (Civil Rights), Davis v. State (Criminal Law), James v. Fox (Criminal Law)

Drafted and Shafted: Who Should Complain About Male-Only Registration?

SHERRY F. COLB

Cornell law professor comments on a recent opinion by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit holding that requiring men but not women to register for the draft is constitutional under mandatory U.S. Supreme Court precedents. Specifically, Colb considers what the U.S. Supreme Court should do if it agrees to hear the case and more narrowly, whether the motives of the plaintiffs in that case bear on how the case should come out.

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Brown v. State

Dockets: SC19-704, SC19-1419

Opinion Date: August 27, 2020

Judge: Per Curiam

Areas of Law: Civil Rights, Constitutional Law, Criminal Law

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 petition for a writ of habeas corpus, holding that Brown was not entitled to relief. As to Brown's postconviction appeal, the Supreme Court held (1) the circuit court did not err in denying Brown's allegations of ineffective assistance of counsel in some respects but erred in denying Brown's allegations of ineffective assistance of counsel in other respects; (2) there was no reasonable probability that bur for trial counsel's deficiencies, individually or cumulatively, the outcome would have been different; (3) the circuit court did not err in denying Brown's claim of newly discovered evidence; and (4) the circuit court did not err in summarily denying Brown's claim that she was not entitled to relief from her death sentence under Hurst v. Florida, 136 S. Ct. 616 (2016), and Hurst v. State, 202 So. 3d 40 (Fla. 2016). As to Brown's habeas petition, the Supreme Court held that appellate counsel was not ineffective on direct appeal.

Davis v. State

Docket: SC19-1207

Opinion Date: August 27, 2020

Judge: Per Curiam

Areas of Law: Criminal Law

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 Defendant's claims. Defendant was convicted of first-degree felony murder, aggravated child abuse, and sexual battery and sentenced to death for first-degree felony murder. Defendant later filed a successive postconviction motion claiming that the State committed Giglio and Brady violations. The circuit court summarily denied the motion. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the circuit court did not err in summarily denying Defendant's Giglio claim and properly denied Defendant's Brady claim.

James v. Fox

Docket: SC20-355

Opinion Date: August 27, 2020

Judge: Per Curiam

Areas of Law: Criminal Law

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 future filings submitted by Petitioner that are related to two criminal cases unless such filings are signed by a member in good standing of The Florida Bar. Petitioner was convicted in two separate cases of drug-related offenses. Petitioner since filed thirty-four petitions or notices, the majority of which were related to his convictions and sentences in the aforementioned criminal cases. All of the filings were denied, dismissed, or transferred. In this quo warranto petition, Petitioner claimed that the State Attorney for the Twentieth Judicial Circuit failed to acknowledge a habeas petition that he had mailed to her office. The Supreme Court dismissed the petition and concluded that sanctions should be imposed because Petitioner has abused the judicial process and burdened the Supreme Court's limited judicial resources.

Thompson v. DeSantis

Docket: SC20-985

Opinion Date: August 27, 2020

Judge: Muniz

Areas of Law: Government & Administrative Law

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, holding that there was no legal justification for the Court to require a replacement appointment from a new list of candidates rather than the one already before the Governor. In her petition, Thompson argued that the Florida Constitution required Judge Francis to have been a member of the Florida Bar for at least ten years at the time of the appointment, which Judge Francis was not. As a remedy, Thompson asked the Supreme Court to invalidate the appointment, require the judicial nominating commission to certify a new list of candidates, and order the Governor to appoint someone from the new list. The Supreme Court denied relief, holding (1) the Governor did not exceed his authority in making the appointment; and (2) the remedy Thompson sought was not legally available under the circumstances, and the correct remedy - an appointment from the existing list of eligible nominees - would be contrary to Thompson's stated objectives in filing this case.