New Cases

A Third DCA ruling reverses a conviction where a prosecutor struck a Black juror for prior jury service that a seated non-Black juror shared.

A Third DCA ruling says a prosecutor’s mistaken, administrative waiver of the death penalty did not bind the State on a new murder indictment.

Charged with burglary with an assault or a battery? A Sixth DCA ruling says Florida’s PRR enhancement turns on the conviction, not the charge wording.

In Tracz v. State, No. 2D2025-1443 (Fla. 2d DCA Oct. 28, 2026), Florida’s Second District Court of Appeal considered a pro se rule 3.850 motion from a defendant who had pleaded no contest to a third DUI in Pinellas County. The court affirmed the denial of two claims, reversed as to the rest, and remanded so the defendant can try…

In Warren v. State, No. 4D2025-2430, decided October 28, 2026, Florida’s Fourth District Court of Appeal affirmed the denial of a motion to suppress a firearm found after Jamaine Wayne Warren was arrested for driving while his license was suspended. The court held that the detective had probable cause to believe Warren knew his license was suspended, so the arrest…

Correction, October 22, 2026: the Court corrected the opinion to say three aggravating factors, not four. In Rhodes v. State, No. SC2024-1099, decided July 2, 2026, the Florida Supreme Court affirmed the denial of postconviction relief to Richard Wallace Rhodes, who was sentenced to death for a 1984 murder, on four claims: Brady, Giglio, Massiah and newly discovered evidence. Two…

The Third District Court of Appeal held on October 21, 2026, that any Confrontation Clause error in letting a supervisor summarize an absent nurse practitioner’s report was not fundamental error. The defendant did not object at trial, so he could raise the issue on appeal only as fundamental error, and the court found the testimony played too small a role…

A Florida judge can consider hearsay at a restitution hearing as long as the court “finds that the hearsay evidence has a minimal indicia of reliability.” The Sixth District Court of Appeal applied that rule on October 16, 2026, in Dacosta v. State, No. 6D2025-1329, and refused to accept the State’s own concession that the judge had erred. The case.…

Read the opinion (PDF): Download the opinion (PDF) Florida’s required “Sexual Predator” designation on a driver license does not compel speech, the Fifth District Court of Appeal held in an en banc decision, Crist v. State, 419 So. 3d 183 (Fla. 5th DCA 2025). On October 16, 2026, in State v. Gunter, No. 5D2025-1484, the court relied on that decision…

Read the opinion (PDF): Download the opinion (PDF) If a defendant clearly asks to represent himself at a violation hearing, the judge has to hold a Faretta hearing first. The Sixth District Court of Appeal said so on October 16, 2026, in Johnson v. State, No. 6D2024-2661, and reversed a twelve-year sentence for violating community control. The case. Elijah Johnson…

Read the opinion (PDF): Download the opinion (PDF) The First District Court of Appeal affirmed a habitual felony offender sentence on October 21, 2026, without deciding whether a jury must find the facts behind that label. The court said the defendant never preserved the point, and that even if he had, any error was harmless on his record. The case…

Read the opinion (PDF): Download the opinion (PDF) A trial judge did not abuse his discretion by letting a developmentally disabled alleged victim testify while holding a teddy bear, the Second District Court of Appeal ruled on October 23, 2026, in Wilson v. State, No. 2D2025-0470. The same opinion turned down a request to overturn a six-person jury verdict based…

A Broward circuit judge denied a wrongful-incarceration petition without following the procedures in section 961.03, Florida Statutes, and the Fourth District Court of Appeal reversed on October 21, 2026. The case is Lindsey v. State, No. 4D2025-3395, decided on the State’s confession of error. The background. Herman Lindsey was charged in 2006 with first-degree murder and armed robbery for a…

Due process does not require a certified interpreter when the State plays a jury the recording of a police interview conducted through an uncertified interpreter, if the trial judge finds enough safeguards that the translation is reliable. The court affirmed the conviction. The Fourth District Court of Appeal decided that on October 21, 2026, in Torres v. State, No. 4D2025-2554.…

The Florida Supreme Court affirmed the denial of postconviction relief to a death-row prisoner on October 22, 2026, and in doing so it rejected a late claim built on a neurologist’s 2025 evaluation. In Craven v. State, Nos. SC2024-0251 and SC2024-1181, the Court held that a seizure disorder diagnosed decades earlier is not “newly discovered,” and that a report saying…

The Third District Court of Appeal has affirmed a mandatory life sentence imposed as a prison releasee reoffender (PRR) after a probation revocation. As Judge Miller’s concurrence describes the record, the State had waived PRR at the original plea. The court also certified conflict with the First District’s decision in Hill v. State, 403 So. 3d 505 (Fla. 1st DCA…

The Florida Supreme Court has affirmed the summary denial of William Reaves’ successive postconviction motion, denied his habeas petition, and declined to stay his execution. Reaves was sentenced to death for the 1986 killing of Deputy Richard Raczkoski in Vero Beach. Governor DeSantis signed a death warrant on September 18, 2026. Reaves then raised a challenge to the clemency process,…

The Florida Supreme Court has reversed the denial of postconviction relief for Henry Lee Jones, directed that his conviction for the 2003 murder of Carlos Perez be set aside, and remanded for a new trial. The Court held that the State violated Brady v. Maryland. Two justices dissented. The State had evidence that a woman’s DNA was on the victim…

The First District Court of Appeal has affirmed a trespass conviction from Alachua County, holding that a defendant who represented himself and personally asked for a bench trial validly waived his right to a jury, and that any error in the colloquy was invited. Derrick Lamar Walker argued that the evidence was insufficient and that his oral jury waiver was…

The First District Court of Appeal has reversed a possession conviction and ordered a new trial because the State did not disclose until mid-trial that the defendant had agreed to act as a confidential informant, and the trial court did not finish the inquiry the law requires. After a 2023 traffic stop in Escambia County, police seized two baggies from…