LAWSON
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA
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Dexter Lawson appeals his convictions for attempted murder, theft, and tampering with evidence, challenging both trial procedure and his sentence enhancement as a prison releasee reoffender. The court affirms, rejecting his claims about reopening his case, prosecutorial error in closing argument, and sentencing unconstitutionality, finding any sentencing error harmless beyond a reasonable doubt.
The court rejected all three claims. The court held that even assuming the court erred in failing to require a jury determination for the prison releasee reoffender status, any such error was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt.
[1] A trial court does not abuse its discretion by denying a defendant's request to reopen their case after the close of evidence, absent a showing of fundamental error.
[2] Alleged errors in a prosecutor's closing argument do not constitute fundamental error unless they are so egregious as to deprive the defendant of a fair trial.
Previewing 2 of 4 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“Even if we presume that the court erred by failing to require a jury determination, we find that such error was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt.”
Establishes the court's harmless error analysis for the sentencing enhancement claim
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceLawson was convicted of attempted murder, theft, and tampering with evidence. At sentencing, he was enhanced as a prison releasee reoffender based on …
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FIRST DISTRICT COURT OF APPEAL STATE OF FLORIDA
No. 1D2023-3115
DEXTER LAWSON,
Appellant,
V.
STATE OF FLORIDA,
Appellee.
On appeal from the Circuit Court for Gadsden County. James Lee Marsh, Judge.
November 5, 2025
PER CURIAM.
Dexter Lawson appeals his convictions of attempted murder, theft, and tampering with evidence. We reject his claims that the trial court erred in failing to permit him to reopen his case and that fundamental error occurred in the State's closing argument. Lawson also claims that his sentence as a prison releasee reoffender was unconstitutional because the determination of whether he was released from prison within three years of committing his current offense was not made by the jury. Even if we presume that the court erred by failing to require a jury determination, we find that such error was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. *Hicks v. State*, 50 Fla. L. Weekly D2238a (Fla. 1st DCA Oct. 15, 2025); *Dowdell v. State*, 50 Fla. L. Weekly D2236c
(Fla. 1st DCA Oct. 15, 2025); *McGlaun v. State*, 50 Fla. L. Weekly D2178a (Fla. 1st DCA Oct. 1, 2025).
AFFIRMED.
RAY and KELSEY, JJ., concur. WINOKUR, J., concurs with opinion.