LEONARD SPENCER, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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Leonard Spencer appealed his convictions from his fourth trial for multiple violent felonies, including two counts of first-degree murder, four counts of robbery with a firearm, and one count of attempted first-degree murder. The court affirmed most convictions but reversed and remanded the attempted first-degree murder conviction because the jury was instructed on the legally nonexistent crime of attempted first-degree felony murder.
The court reversed Spencer's conviction for attempted first-degree murder and remanded for a new trial. The conviction was reversed because attempted first-degree felony murder no longer exists in Florida under State v. Gray, and the jury was instructed on both this nonexistent crime and attempted first-degree premeditated murder, making it impossible to determine which theory the jury relied upon. The court held this error was not harmless, and Spencer could be retried for attempted first-degree premeditated murder or lesser included offenses.
[1] A conviction for attempted first-degree felony murder is invalid in Florida.
[2] A judicial decision that abolishes a crime applies to cases pending on direct review.
Previewing 2 of 5 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“As both parties agree, the crime of attempted first-degree felony murder no longer exists in Florida. State v. Gray, 654 So.2d 552 (Fla.1995).”
Establishes that Spencer was convicted of a legally nonexistent offense, forming the basis for reversal.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceSpencer was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder with a firearm, four counts of robbery with a firearm, and one count of attempted first-deg…
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PER CURIAM.
This is an appeal from numerous convictions involving several victims: two counts of first-degree murder with a firearm; four counts of robbery with a firearm; and one count of attempted first-degree murder with a firearm. We affirm all of the convictions except the last above-mentioned, which we reverse and remand for a new trial on attempted first-degree premeditated murder. This appeal arises from the fourth trial in this case. The first trial’s convictions and resulting death sentence of appellant were reversed due to a special districting jury selection process that resulted in unconstitutional systematic exclusion of a significant portion of the black population from the jury pool. Spencer v. State, 545 So. 2d 1352 (Fla. 1989). The second trial ended in mistrial due to a hung jury. The third trial’s convictions and resulting death sentence were reversed because the trial judge sua sponte excluded jurors with alleged low IQ’s and because of an ex parte communication during the sentencing proceedings. Spencer v. State, 615 So. 2d 688 (Fla.1993), limited by Armstrong v. State, 642 So. 2d 730 (Fla.1994). Upon the convictions in his fourth trial, which is the subject of this appeal, appellant was sentenced to life imprisonment.
While appellant raises issues directed at all of his convictions, argument only as to the last issue is persuasive, and it is that which we address. Appellant’s conviction for attempted first-degree murder regarded the shooting of Terry Howard in a convenience store during the initial robbery. The jury was instructed on both attempted first-degree premeditated murder and attempted first-degree felony murder; and the state argued both theories to the jury.
As both parties agree, the crime of attempted first-degree felony murder no longer exists in Florida. State v. Gray, 654 So. 2d 552 (Fla.1995). Gray is applicable to the immediate case because the supreme court specifically stated that its decision would apply to cases pending on direct review or not yet final. Id. at 554. Additionally, appellant did not need to preserve this issue in order to argue on appeal that he was convicted of a nonexistent crime. See Campbell v. State, 671 So. 2d 876, 877 (Fla. 4th DCA 1996); Tape v. State, 661 So. 2d 1287, 1289 (Fla. 4th DCA 1995).
The state maintains that any error was harmless because the evidence supported a conviction for attempted first-degree premeditated murder. However, because the jury was instructed on both attempted first-degree felony murder and attempted first-deg'ee premeditated murder and both theories were argued to the jury, it is not possible to determine with any certainty upon which of the two theories the jury relied in convicting appellant of attempted first-degree murder. Accordingly, the fact that the jury was instructed on attempted first-degree felony murder cannot be considered harmless error. Campbell, 671 So. 2d at 877; Williamson v. State, 671 So. 2d 281, 282 (Fla. 4th DCA 1996); Tape, 661 So. 2d at 1289; Harris v. State, 658 So. 2d 1226, 1226 (Fla. 4th DCA 1995).
Although the above cases establish that appellant’s conviction for attempted first-degree murder must be vacated, appellant may be retried for attempted first-degree premeditated murder, see, e.g., Williamson, 671 So. 2d at 282; Kaplan v. State, 681 So. 2d 1166, 1167-68 (Fla. 5th DCA 1996), or any of the lesser included offenses of attempted first-degree murder on which the jury was instructed, see State v. Wilson, 680 So. 2d 411 (Fla.1996).
GLICKSTEIN, DELL and PARIENTE, JJ., concur.
ON MOTION FOR REHEARING AND/OR CLARIFICATION
PER CURIAM.
We deny appellant’s motion for rehearing, but grant his motion for clarification on the issue of improper prosecutorial comment, which issue did not present reversible error. The prosecutor’s closing comment regarding hundreds of witnesses did not reference any particular witnesses who would testify favorably for the state. Nor did it identify which testifying witnesses would be corroborated by the additional witnesses’ testimony. Therefore, the challenged comment was not as egregious as the comments in Tillman v. State, 647 So. 2d 1015 (Fla. 4th DCA 1994), and Thompson v. State, 318 So. 2d 549 (Fla. 4th DCA 1975), cert. denied, 333 So. 2d 465 (Fla.1976). Furthermore, the context in which the challenged comment was made makes it less egregious. Here, the prosecutor was not arguing about the evidence per se and how it related to the defendant’s guilt, but rather was commenting on anticipating the defense and the selection of witnesses in doing so. For these reasons, we conclude that the challenged comment was not as egregious as the comments in Tillman and Thompson, and reversal is not warranted. See King v. State, 623 So. 2d 486 (Fla.1993) (“A conviction will not be overturned unless a prosecutor’s comment is so prejudicial that it vitiates the entire trial”).
GLICKSTEIN, DELL and PARIENTE, JJ., concur.
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Rocco Tricarico v. State, 711 So. 2d 624 (Fla. 4th DCA 1998)…murder theory in an attempt to find harmless error. As in the present ease the jury was instructed on two possible theories, the verdict failed to state on which ground the jury relied, and the alternative crime did not exist. In Spencer v. State, 693 So. 2d 1001 (Fla. 4th DCA), rev. denied, 698 So. 2d 1225 (Fla.1997), we reversed a murder conviction on a general verdict because the jury was instructed on both attempted first degree, felony murder and premeditated murder, and both theories were argued to the…
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MacKey v. State, 703 So. 2d 1183 (Fla. 3d DCA 1997)…allayed, as the comment, considered in context, addressed the jury’s obligation as fact-finder to determine the blunt trauma issue despite the conflicting experts’ testimony rather than the evidence per se of defendant’s guilt. See Spencer v. State, 693 So. 2d 1001, 1002 (Fla. 4th DCA)(on rehearing), review denied, 698 So. 2d 1225 (Fla.1997); see also Kirkland v. State, 684 So. 2d 732 (Fla.l996)(where trial court sustained objection to single improper remark mistrial not warranted). We, therefore, conclude tha…
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Amos v. State, 695 So. 2d 411 (Fla. 4th DCA 1997)…one count of attempted first-degree murder. We affirm all of the convictions except the last above-mentioned, which we reverse and remand for a new trial on attempted first-degree premeditated murder for the same reasons recited in Spencer v. State, 693 So. 2d 1001 (Fla. 4th DCA 1997), which case concerned the codefendant of appellant. This appeal arises from the fifth trial in this ease. The first trial’s convictions and resulting death sentence of appellant were reversed due to a special districting jury s…
Previewing 3 of 4 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited (14 total)
- Spencer v. State, 615 So. 2d 688 (Fla. 1993)
- State v. Collin Gray, 654 So. 2d 552 (Fla. 1995)
- Lancelot Armstrong v. State, 642 So. 2d 730 (Fla. 1994)
- State v. Eduards Wilson, 680 So. 2d 411 (Fla. 1996)
- King v. State, 623 So. 2d 486 (Fla. 1993)
- Thompson v. State, 318 So. 2d 549 (Fla. 4th DCA 1975)
- Spencer v. State, 545 So. 2d 1352 (Fla. 1989)
- Amos v. State, 545 So. 2d 1352 (Fla. 1989)
- Harris v. State, 658 So. 2d 1226 (Fla. 4th DCA 1995)
- Carlton Bernard Tape v. State, 661 So. 2d 1287 (Fla. 4th DCA 1995)