HAROLD SMITH, APPELLANT,
v.
THE STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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Harold Smith was convicted of second-degree murder of his wife after a jury trial where he raised an insanity defense. On appeal, Smith challenged both the denial of a directed verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity and the constitutionality of the jury instruction on the burden of proof for the insanity defense, ultimately resulting in the court certifying a question of great public importance to the Florida Supreme Court.
The court affirmed the conviction on the directed verdict issue, finding that the jury's resolution of the factual dispute regarding insanity could not be interfered with. The court declined to reach the fundamental error question regarding the jury instruction, instead certifying the issue to the Florida Supreme Court due to conflicting precedent and concerns about retroactive application.
[1] A jury's resolution of a factual dispute regarding a defendant's sanity at the time of a crime will not be disturbed on appeal when there is ample contrary testimony.
[2] A prior appellate decision binds the current panel on an issue, even if subsequent decisions suggest the prior ruling may be erroneous.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“We cannot interfere with the jury's resolution of the factual dispute.”
Establishes the standard of review for directed verdict claims, requiring deference to jury determinations on factual matters even when substantial evidence supports the defendant's position.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceSmith was tried for second-degree murder of his wife. His sole defense at trial was insanity, and he presented substantial expert and lay evidence sup…
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SCHWARTZ, Chief Judge.
After a jury trial at which his sole defense was insanity, the appellant Smith was convicted of the second degree murder of his wife. His first point on appeal claims that he was entitled to a directed verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity. We find, however, that while Smith presented substantial expert and lay evidence in support of his defense, there was ample contrary testimony of both types that the defendant was in fact sane when the crime was committed. We cannot interfere with the jury’s resolution of the factual dispute. Byrd v. State, 297 So. 2d 22 (Fla.1974); Eason v. State, 421 So. 2d 35 (Fla. 3d DCA 1982).
Although he recognizes that, in Snook v. State, 478 So. 2d 403 (Fla. 3d DCA 1985), this court decided the issue contrary to his position, Smith next argues that the trial court’s giving the then-standard jury instruction concerning the burden of proof as to the insanity defense, which was subsequently held reversibly erroneous by Yohn v. State, 476 So. 2d 123 (Fla.1985), was fundamental error which requires a new trial even though there was no objection advanced below. This panel is bound by Snook, see In re Rule 9.331, 416 So. 2d 1127, 1128 (Fla.1982), and we therefore reject this contention on the authority of that decision.
Nevertheless, we are concerned that Snook may run counter to several Florida decisions that indicate that instructions which mislead the jury as to the controlling law, particularly upon a close and vital issue such as this one, do indeed involve fundamental error. See, e.g., Doyle v. State, 483 So. 2d 89, 90 (Fla. 4th DCA 1986) (“The instruction was, or certainly could have been, misleading to the jury by suggesting that if they believed the defendant’s version of self-defense, they would have to find the defendant guilty of murder in the third degree. The giving of a misleading instruction constitutes both fundamental and reversible error.”); Carter v. State, 469 So. 2d 194, 195-96 (Fla. 2d DCA 1985) (“We further recognize the fact that counsel made no objection to these instructions as given by the court. However, where, as here, a trial judge gives an instruction that is an incorrect statement of the law and necessarily misleading to the jury, and the effect of that instruction is to negate the defendant’s only defense, it is fundamental error and highly prejudicial to the defendant. Failure to give a complete and accurate instruction is fundamental error, reviewable in the complete absence of a request or objection.”); see also Butler v. State, 493 So. 2d 451 (Fla.1986).1 On the other hand, we are aware also of the far-reaching possible consequences of a holding contrary to Snook, which, if applied retroactively, might expose to attack under Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.850 every one of the countless previously final convictions in which the standard insanity charge had been granted at trial. In these circumstances, we deem it appropriate that this issue be resolved by the Supreme Court itself. Accordingly, we certify that this ease involves the following question of great public importance:
Whether the jury instruction on insanity disapproved in Yohn v. State, 476 So. 2d 123 (Fla.1985), is fundamental error requiring reversal in the absence of objection?
The other points raised are without merit.
Affirmed; question certified.
. The rationale of Snook — that no fundamental error is involved because states may, consistent with federal due process, impose an affirmative burden of proof as to insanity upon the defendant — may not be persuasive in the light of the Yohn holding that the charge is contrary to the established Florida law on the subject. Indeed, the Snook holding may also be called into question by the line of United States Supreme Court decisions that a jury charge which impermissi-bly shifts the burden of proof from the prosecution rises to the level of a due process violation. See Sandstrom v. Montana, 442 U.S. 510, 99 S.Ct. 2450, 61 L.Ed.2d 39 (1979); Francis v. Franklin, 471 U.S. 307, 105 S.Ct. 1965, 85 L.Ed.2d 344 (1985).
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Cited By
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Smith v. State, 521 So. 2d 106 (Fla. 1988)…consolidated for our consideration. The First District Court of Appeal in Lentz v. State, 498 So. 2d 986 (Fla. 1st DCA 1986), certified its decision to be in direct conflict with Snook v. State, 478 So. 2d 403 (Fla. 3d DCA 1985). In Smith v. State, 497 So. 2d 910 (Fla. 3d DCA 1986), the Third District Court of Appeal ruled consistent with its prior decision in Snook v. State and certified that the case involved the following question of great public importance: WHETHER THE JURY INSTRUCTION ON INSANITY DISAP…
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Hill v. State, 511 So. 2d 567 (Fla. 1st DCA 1987)…struction on insanity disapproved in Yohn v. State, 476 So. 2d 123 (Fla.1985), is fundamental error requiring reversal in absence of objection or offer of alternate jury instructions? We note that a similar question was certified in Smith v. State, 497 So. 2d 910, 912 (Fla. 3rd DCA 1986). Smith has been assigned case no. 69,715, and is set for oral argument before the Florida Supreme Court on September 4, 1987. [*569] We affirm appellant’s convictions and remand for resentencing proceedings consistent with o…
Authorities Cited (11 total)
- Sandstrom v. Montana, 442 U.S. 510 (U.S. 1979)
- Francis v. Franklin, 471 U.S. 307 (U.S. 1985)
- Butler v. State, 493 So. 2d 451 (Fla. 1986)
- In re Rule 9.331, 416 So. 2d 1127 (Fla. 1982)
- Carter v. State, 469 So. 2d 194 (Fla. 2d DCA 1985)
- Tura Yohn v. State, 476 So. 2d 123 (Fla. 1985)
- Byrd v. State, 297 So. 2d 22 (Fla. 1974)
- Snook v. State, 478 So. 2d 403 (Fla. 3d DCA 1985)
- Eason v. State, 421 So. 2d 35 (Fla. 3d DCA 1982)
- Doyle v. State, 483 So. 2d 89 (Fla. 4th DCA 1986)