DAVID HARRICHARAN, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE

Fla. 5th DCA | 2011-02-25
No. 5D10-102
GRIFFIN, SAWAYA, and LAWSON, JJ., concur.
59 So. 3d 1162 Florida District Court of Appeal, Fifth District (2011) Negative Treatment
Cited by 22 cases

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Synopsis

Harricharan appeals an order denying his postconviction motion, arguing he should be allowed to amend it to include a claim of fundamental error based on State v. Montgomery's new ruling regarding manslaughter jury instructions. The court affirms, holding that Montgomery does not apply retroactively to cases that were final before the decision.


Holding

Montgomery does not apply retroactively to cases that were final before Montgomery was decided. New rules of law announced by the courts apply only to cases pending on direct review or not yet final at the time the decision is issued.


Headnotes

[1] A judicial decision announcing a new rule of law or applying an established rule to a new factual situation applies retroactively only to cases pending on direct review o…

[2] A judicial decision does not apply retroactively to cases that were final before the decision was issued.

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Key Quotes

“Montgomery does not apply to cases such as Harricharan's, which were final before Montgomery was decided.”

Establishes the retroactivity limitation on new legal rules

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Facts & Procedural History

Harricharan was convicted and his case became final before the State v. Montgomery decision was issued. Montgomery established that the standard mansl…

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Opinion of the Court
PER CURIAM.

PER CURIAM.

David Harrieharan appeals an order denying his postconviction motion after an evidentiary hearing. We affirm as to all issues and write only to address Harri-charan’s argument that the case should be remanded so that he can amend his post-conviction motion to include a claim of fundamental error based upon State v. Montgomery, 39 So.3d 252 (Fla.2010) (holding that the standard manslaughter by act jury instruction’s second element— that the defendant “intentionally caused the death of (victim)” — erroneously required the jury to find proof that the defendant intended to kill the victim in order to find him guilty of that crime).

With respect to this claim, we conclude that Montgomery does not apply to cases such as Harricharan’s, which were final before Montgomery was decided. See, e.g., Reed v. State, 837 So.2d 366, 370 (Fla.2002) (finding fundamental error in giving of standard jury instruction for aggravated child abuse, but applying holding only to “cases pending on direct review or not yet final.”); Smith v. State, 598 So.2d 1063, 1066 (Fla.1992) (“[W]e hold that any decision of this Court announcing a new rule of law, or merely applying an established rule of law to- a new or different factual situation, must be given retrospective application by the courts of this state in every case pending on direct review or not yet final- To benefit from the change in law, the defendant must have timely objected at trial if an objection was required to preserve the issue for appellate review.”) (citations omitted); see also, Rozzelle v. State, 29 So.3d 1141 (Fla. 1st DCA 2009) (holding that First District’s decision in Montgomery v. State, — So.3d -, 2009 WL 350624 (Fla. 1st DCA 2009), which was approved in the Supreme Court’s Montgomery opinion, did not apply retroactively to cases that were final before the decision was issued).

AFFIRMED.

GRIFFIN, SAWAYA, and LAWSON, JJ., concur.


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Citator

Cited By (11 total)

  • Utile v. State, 235 So. 3d 1045 (Fla. 5th DCA 2018)
    …ipsy coachman" rule because the trial court reached the right conclusion, albeit for the wrong reasons). Utile's reliance on Montgomery is misplaced because Montgomery was not decided by the Florida Supreme Court until 2010. In Harricharan v. State, 59 So. 3d 1162, 1163 (Fla. 5th DCA 2011), rev. denied, 92 So. 3d 213 (Fla. 2012), we held that Montgomery does not apply to cases that were final before Montgomery was decided. Accord Mendoza v. State, 93 So. 3d 458 (Fla. 4th DCA 2012); Rozzelle v. State, 29 So. 3…
  • Ross v. State, 82 So. 3d 975 (Fla. 4th DCA 2011)
    …e used as a substitute for a rule 8.850 motion). We agree that State v. Montgomery, 89 So. 3d 252, 258-60 (Fla.2010), does not apply retroactively to convictions which were final before our supreme court issued that decision. Harricharan v. State, 59 So. 3d 1162 (Fla. 5th DCA 2011), petition for discretionary review pending, SC11-846. See also Rozzelle v. State, 29 So. 3d 1141 (Fla. 1st DCA 2009), petition for discretionary review pending, SC10-127. Dismissed. DAMOORGIAN, CIKLIN and GERBER, JJ., conc…
  • Mendoza v. State, 93 So. 3d 458 (Fla. 4th DCA 2012)
    …ave held that Montgomery “does not apply retroactively to convictions which were final before our supreme court issued that decision.” Ross v. State, 82 So. 3d 975, 976 (Fla. 4th DCA 2011). Our sister courts have held likewise. Harricharan v. State, 59 So. 3d 1162, 1163 (Fla. 5th DCA 2011), rev. denied, 92 So. 3d 213 (Fla.2012) (table); Rozzelle v. State, 29 So. 3d 1141, 1142 (Fla. 1st DCA 2009), rev. denied, 92 So. 3d 214 (Fla.2012) (table). Further, Montgomery does not apply substantively here because the d…

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