JAMES ST. HILARE AND JIMMY FEDE, APPELLANTS,
v.
THE STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.
Florida appellate court reversed defendants' attempted first-degree murder convictions because post-Gray, attempted felony murder is no longer a recognized offense in Florida, and the jury instructions were ambiguous as to which theory supported the conviction.
Attempted felony murder is not a recognized offense in Florida, and convictions for attempted first-degree murder must be reversed when the jury instructions fail to clearly distinguish between attempted felony murder and attempted premeditated murder.
[1] Attempted felony murder is not a recognized offense in Florida following State v. …
Previewing 1 of 1 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“No one may be convicted of a non-existent crime.”
Court explaining why attempted felony murder convictions must be reversed following State v. Gray.
Jimmy Fede and James St. Hilare were convicted of first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, and armed robbery. The state presented jury inst…
The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence© FLexlaw, Inc. — AI-generated enrichments are proprietary. All rights reserved.
Explore caselaw by topic → Browse Attempted Premeditated Murder cases and more on FLexlaw
PER CURIAM.
In these consolidated cases, defendants Jimmy Fede and James St. Hilare appeal their convictions for first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, and armed robbery. Defendants correctly contend that post-State v. Gray, 654 So. 2d 552 (Fla.1995) the offense of attempted felony murder is no longer recognized in Florida. See Thompson v. State, 667 So. 2d 470 (Fla. 3d DCA 1996); Humphries v. State, 20 Fla.L. Weekly D 2634, — So. 2d-[1995 WL 858107] (Fla. 5th DCA Dec. 1, 1995); Tape v. State, 661 So. 2d 1287 (Fla. 4th DCA 1995); Harris v. State, 658 So. 2d 1226 (Fla. 4th DCA 1995). Because the state in the instant case argued to the jury both attempted felony murder and attempted premeditated murder, it is impossible to determine upon which theory the jury based its convictions.
Therefore, defendants’ attempted first-degree murder convictions must be-reversed. See Tape, 661 So. 2d at 1288. No one may be convicted of a non-existent crime. Id. Because the facts may support guilty verdicts on the charges of attempted premeditated murder, a new trial on those charges is mandated. See Thompson, 667 So. 2d at 470-72. Accordingly, defendants’ convictions and sentences for attempted first-degree murder are reversed and the causes remanded.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
-
Woodley v. State, 673 So. 2d 127 (Fla. 3d DCA 1996)…434 So. 2d 325, 328 (Fla.1983); see Thompson v. State, 667 So. 2d 470 (Fla. 3d DCA 1996) (reversing a conviction for attempted felony murder that was pending on direct review because one cannot be convicted of a nonexistent crime); Hilare v. State, 669 So. 2d 1135 (Fla. 3d DCA 1996) (reversing attempted murder conviction “[b]ecause the state ... argued to the jury both attempted felony murder and attempted premeditated murder, [and] it is impossible to determine upon which theory the jury based its conviction…
Authorities Cited
- State v. Collin Gray, 654 So. 2d 552 (Fla. 1995)
- Thompson v. State, 667 So. 2d 470 (Fla. 3d DCA 1996)
- Harris v. State, 658 So. 2d 1226 (Fla. 4th DCA 1995)
- Carlton Bernard Tape v. State, 661 So. 2d 1287 (Fla. 4th DCA 1995)