THE STATE OF FLORIDA, PETITIONER,
v.
LAWRENCE CARL NELSON, AND CHRISTOPHER ADAM SLADE, RESPONDENTS
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's petition for writ of certiorari is granted because the trial court failed to conduct a full Richardson hearing before excluding prosecution witnesses, and the State is entitled to an extension of the speedy trial period during appeal.
A trial court must conduct a complete Richardson hearing assessing all appropriate circumstances, including the effect of any violation on the defendant's trial preparation ability, before excluding prosecution witnesses.
[1] A trial court must conduct a full Richardson hearing before excluding prosecution witnesses, including analysis of the effect of any violation on the defendant's ability…
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“what effect, if any, did [the violation] have upon the ability of the defendant to properly prepare for trial”
Required element of a Richardson hearing under State v. Del Gaudio
The State sought to call three Drug Enforcement Agents as witnesses, but the trial court issued a pretrial order excluding their testimony without con…
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 Witness Exclusion cases and more on FLexlaw
PER CURIAM.
The State of Florida has filed an Emergency Petition for Writ of Certiorari and Motion for Extension of Speedy Trial Period challenging a pretrial order excluding three Drug Enforcement Agents from testifying at trial: Special Agents Dennis Hocker, Charles Noonan, and Dan Maho-ney. The respondent, Christopher Adam Slade, argues that the facts of this case closely resemble State v. Sowers, 763 So. 2d 394 (Fla. 1st DCA 2000). The trial court in Sowers excluded the testimony of a key prosecution witness after conducting a Richardson
hearing. Id. at 396. In this case, however, the trial court did not conduct a full Richardson hearing which would have included a determination of “what effect, if any, did [the violation] have upon the ability of the defendant to properly prepare for trial.” State v. Del Gaudio, 445 So. 2d 605, 609 (Fla. 3d DCA 1984). Thus, the trial court here did not properly assess all the appropriate circumstances. See Sowers, 763 So. 2d at 399.
Furthermore, the State is entitled to an extension of the speedy trial period during the pendency of this appeal. See State v. Fiorentino, 25 Fla. L. Weekly D772, 2000 WL 305750, — So. 2d - (Fla. 3d DCA March 24, 2000); State v. Weber, 466 So. 2d 345, 346 (Fla. 3d DCA 1985).
We therefore grant the petition for writ of certiorari.
. Richardson v. State, 246 So. 2d 771 (Fla.1971).
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Authorities Cited
- Richardson v. State, 246 So. 2d 771 (Fla. 1971)
- State v. del Gaudio, 445 So. 2d 605 (Fla. 3d DCA 1984)
- State v. Sowers, 763 So. 2d 394 (Fla. 1st DCA 2000)
- The State of Fiorida, 466 So. 2d 345 (Fla. 3d DCA 1985)