ROSALYN ANN SANDERS, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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First District Court of Appeal affirmed Sanders' first-degree murder conviction, holding that she failed to preserve her insufficiency-of-evidence claim by not filing a motion for judgment of acquittal at trial, and that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in denying a continuance to retain new counsel.
A defendant who fails to file a motion for judgment of acquittal at trial cannot raise insufficiency of evidence on appeal, and the trial court does not abuse its discretion in denying a continuance when defense counsel is prepared to proceed.
[1] A defendant waives an insufficiency-of-evidence claim on appeal by failing to file a motion for judgment of acquittal raising the issue at trial.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceRosalyn Ann Sanders was convicted of first-degree murder. She appealed arguing the evidence was insufficient to establish premeditation and that the t…
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PER CURIAM.
Rosalyn Ann Sanders appeals her conviction for first degree murder, arguing that the evidence was insufficient as a matter of law to establish premeditation and that the trial court abused its discretion in refusing to grant a continuance of the trial to allow appellant the opportunity to retain different trial counsel. Appellant failed to preserve her insufficiency of the evidence issue, however, because she failed to file a motion for judgment of acquittal at trial raising this issue. See James v. State, 745 So. 2d 1141, 1142-48 (Fla. 1st DCA 1999); Woods v. State, 733 So. 2d 980, 984-85 (Fla.1999). Further, we have held that the state’s failure to prove all elements of a charged offense does not constitute “fundamental error” which may be raised for the first time on appeal. James, 745 So. 2d at 1142-43. As to the fundamental error question, we certify conflict with T.E.J. v. State, 749 So. 2d 557 (Fla. 2d DCA 2000); Stanton v. State, 746 So. 2d 1229 (Fla. 3d DCA 1999); and Brown v. State, 652 So. 2d 877 (Fla. 5th DCA 1995).
As to the continuance issue, we find no abuse of discretion in the trial court, after finding that defense counsel was prepared to go forward, refusing to grant a continuance. See Robinson v. State, 325 So. 2d 427 (Fla. 1st DCA 1976).
Accordingly, we AFFIRM.
BOOTH, MINER AND VAN NORTWICK, JJ., CONCUR.
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Cited By (11 total)
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Slydell v. State, 792 So. 2d 667 (Fla. 4th DCA 2001)…different conclusions on whether a sufficiency issue can be raised for the first time on direct appeal. See Griffin v. State, 705 So. 2d 572 (Fla. 4th DCA 1998); Harris v. State, 647 So. 2d 206, 208-209 (Fla. 1st DCA 1994). But cf. Sanders v. State, 765 So. 2d 778 (Fla. 1st DCA), rev. granted, No. SC00-1688, 789 So. 2d 348 (Fla. Mar.30, 2001) (failure to prove elements of a charged offense does not constitute fundamental error which may be raised for the first time on appeal). In Griffin, we held that a crim…
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Alterra Healthcare Corp. v. Est. OF Francis Shelley, 827 So. 2d 936 (Fla. 2002)…LEWIS, J. We have for review Alterra Health Care Corp. v. Estate of Shelley, 779 So. 2d 635 (Fla. 1st DCA 2001), which expressly and directly conflicts with the opinion in Beverly Enterprises-Florida, Inc. v. Deutsch, 765 So. 2d 778 (Fla. 5th DCA 2000). We have jurisdiction. See art. V, § 3(b)(3), Fla. Const. MATERIAL FACTS The executor of the Estate of Frances Shelley filed an action against Alterra Health Care Corporation (a/k/a Alternative Living Services, Inc., d/b/a Ster…1 / 2
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DELTA Health Grp., Inc. v. Williams, 780 So. 2d 337 (Fla. 5th DCA 2001)…of personal and medical records. In any discovery dispute, the privacy concerns of the nonparty residents must be balanced against the need for the disclosure of their identities in a lawsuit. See, e.g., Beverly Enterprises-Florida, Inc. v. Deutsch, 765 So. 2d 778 (Fla. 5th DCA 2000).…
Previewing 3 of 11 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Woods v. State, 733 So. 2d 980 (Fla. 1999)
- T.C. v. Dep't of Child. & Fam. Servs., 746 So. 2d 1229 (Fla. 3d DCA 1999)
- Brown v. State, 652 So. 2d 877 (Fla. 5th DCA 1995)
- T.E.J. v. State, 749 So. 2d 557 (Fla. 2d DCA 2000)
- Robinson v. State, 325 So. 2d 427 (Fla. 1st DCA 1976)
- Kirby Solomon v. Moore, 745 So. 2d 1141 (Fla. 1st DCA 1999)
- Kendrick Bernard James v. State, 745 So. 2d 1141 (Fla. 1st DCA 1999)