Tag Archives: constitutionality

Still Waiting for Florida Supreme Court to Issue Opinions in State v. Hernandez and State v. Adkins

Posted by

It’s been quite a while, but still no word from the Court on two important criminal appeals cases.  If you recall, Hernandez concerns the issue of advising criminal defendants of the immigration consequences of their pleas, in light of the United States  Supreme Court decision, Padilla v. Kentucky.  Adkins involves the constitutionality of Florida’s drug possession statute, section 893.13.  The longer the wait, the more cases pile up in the courts, both at the trial and appellate levels.  The docket for State v. Hernandez, SC11-1357, and State v. Adkins, SC11-1878, can both be viewed at the Florida Supreme Court website.

The wait continues. . .

Update on Shelton issue: Florida Supreme Court Moves up Oral Argument in State v. Luke Jarrod Adkins et al., SC11-1878

Posted by

In a recent post, I mentioned that the Florida Supreme Court has accepted jurisdiction over the case of State v. Luke Jarrod Adkins et al., SC11-1878, to decide the constitutionality of Florida’s drug statute, section 893.13.  Although oral argument had originally been set for December 8, 2011, the docket shows that oral argument has been moved up to December 6, 2011.  The first briefs were due in the Court on November 2, 2011, but do not yet appear in the docket.

Shelton update: Florida Supreme Court Accepts Jurisidiction to Review Constitutionality of Florida’s Drug Possession Statute, Section 893.13, in State v. Luke Jarrod Adkins, SC11-1878

Posted by

A quick update on the hot topic that began this last July: Shelton and the constitutionality of Florida’s drug possession statute.  On October 12, 2011, the Florida Supreme Court issued an Order indicating that it will accept jurisdiction to review the constitutionality of Florida’s Drug Possession statute, section 893.13.  As practically every Florida criminal defense attorney knows by now, the Shelton opinion held that the statute is unconstitutional.  Initial, Answer and Reply Briefs are due in the Supreme Court by November 2, November 16, and November 23, 2011, and oral argument is set for December 8, 2011.  You can see the Florida Supreme Court docket for State v. Luke Jarrod Adkins, SC 11-1878, here.  You can see my previous posts on the issue here, here, here, and here.

Florida’s Second District Court of Appeal Asks Florida Supreme Court to Immediately Review the Constitutionality of Florida’s Drug Possession statute, section 893.13

Posted by

In an extremely rare move, Florida’s Second District Court of Appeal issued an Order today, September 28, 2011, asking the Florida Supreme Court to immediately decide the constitutionality of Florida’s drug possession statute, section 893.13, in light of Shelton and other cases from around the State of Florida.  You can view the Second DCA’s order here.  Stay tuned!

Still Waiting for Order in Evans v. McNeil, 08-14402-CIV-JEM

Posted by

0

For any criminal attorneys who have some time on their hands while we wait to see how the Court will rule on the State of Florida’s motion to reconsider, I thought you might like to read the Court’s Order on the petition for writ of habeas corpus.  You can find it here.  A word of warning: the Order is long.  The discussion of the constitutionality of the death penalty scheme runs from pages 78-93.

Meanwhile, according to an article posted in the Miami Herald on June 22, 2011, this is the first time a Court has declared the Florida death penalty scheme unconstitutional.  If the Court maintains its ruling, and the State of Florida appeals to the Eleventh Circuit, as Attorney General Pam Bondi has stated will likely be done, such an appeal could set the stage for the case to make its way to the United States Supreme Court.