DARNELL L. BROWN, APPELLANT,
v.
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 affirmed a conviction for attempted second degree murder while certifying to the state supreme court the question of whether this crime exists, given the conflict between attempt's specific intent requirement and second degree murder's general intent nature.
The crime of attempted second degree murder exists under Florida law and the conviction is affirmed, pending supreme court resolution of the intent requirement conflict.
[1] Conflict among Florida appellate districts regarding whether attempted second degree murder is a cognizable crime, given that attempt requires specific intent while secon…
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“[i]f the crime of attempted felony murder does not exist, then neither, it would seem, could the crime of attempted second degree murder”
Watkins v. State, 705 So. 2d 938, 940 (Fla. 5th DCA 1998), concurring opinion by Cobb, J., discussing the logical relationship between attempted felony murder and attempted second degree murder
Appellant was convicted of attempted second degree murder. He challenged the conviction arguing that because attempt requires specific intent and seco…
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 General Intent Crime cases and more on FLexlaw
DAUKSCH, J.
Appellant was convicted of attempted second degree murder which he says is a “nonexistent” crime. He says that because an attempt requires specific intent and second degree murder is a general intent crime, there can be no attempt to commit a crime which does not require intent. There are many cases from the appellate courts and many learned opinions; majority, concurring, and dissents discussing this issue. See State v. Gray, 654 So. 2d 552, 553-54 (Fla.1995)(ruling that there is no crime of attempted felony murder); Quesenberry v. State, 711 So. 2d 1359 (Fla. 2d DCA 1998)(“We ... leave to the supreme court the task of deciding whether its decision in [State v. Gray ] eliminates the crime of attempted second degree murder”); Pitts v. State, 710 So. 2d 62, 62-63 (Fla. 3d DCA 1998)(holding that the crime is recognized and “requir[es] only general intent, not the specific intent to Mil”); Watkins v. State, 705 So. 2d 938, 940 (Fla. 5th DCA 1998)(Cobb, J., concurring speciallyXciting State v. Gray and stating that “[i]f the crime of attempted felony murder does not exist, then neither, it would seem, could the crime of attempted second degree murder ... ”).
The time has come for our supreme court to directly address and put to rest this question which we certify as being of great public importance.
DOES THE CRIME OF ATTEMPTED SECOND DEGREE MURDER EXIST IN FLORIDA?
In the meantime we stick with our precedent and affirm the conviction.
AFFIRMED.
PETERSON and ANTOON, JJ., concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
-
Brown v. State, 790 So. 2d 389 (Fla. 2000)…PER CURIAM. We have for review a decision ruling upon the following question certified to be of great public importance: DOES THE CRIME OF ATTEMPTED SECOND DEGREE MURDER EXIST IN FLORIDA? Brown v. State, 733 So. 2d 598, 599 (Fla. 5th DCA 1999). We have jurisdiction pursuant to article V, section 3(b)(4) of the Florida Constitution. We answer the certified question in the affirmative. Brown was convicted of attempted second-degree murder. On appeal, Brown argued t…
Authorities Cited
- State v. Collin Gray, 654 So. 2d 552 (Fla. 1995)
- Watkins v. State, 705 So. 2d 938 (Fla. 5th DCA 1998)
- Pitts v. State, 710 So. 2d 62 (Fla. 3d DCA 1998)
- Mintus v. City OF W. Palm Beach, 711 So. 2d 1359 (Fla. 4th DCA 1998)
- Quesenberry v. State, 711 So. 2d 1359 (Fla. 2d DCA 1998)