BRANDY BAIN JENNINGS, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE.
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Brandy Bain Jennings appealed the denial of her motion for relief under Hurst v. Florida, which held that jury recommendations on capital sentencing are unconstitutional. The Florida Supreme Court affirmed the denial because Hurst does not apply retroactively to Jennings' death sentences, which became final in 1999.
Hurst does not apply retroactively to Jennings' sentences of death. Therefore, Jennings is not entitled to relief under Hurst, and the denial of her motion is affirmed.
[1] The United States Supreme Court's decision in Hurst v. …
[2] A motion for postconviction relief filed pursuant to Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.851 is properly denied when the controlling precedent dictates that the relief s…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“Thus, Hurst does not apply retroactively to Jennings' sentences of death.”
The court's holding that the retroactivity bar prevents relief under Hurst for sentences that became final before 2016.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceJennings was convicted of three counts of first-degree murder. A jury recommended death on all three counts by a vote of ten to two. The trial court s…
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We have for review Brandy Bain Jennings' appeal of the circuit court's order denying Jennings' motion filed pursuant to Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.851. This Court has jurisdiction. See art. V, § 3(b)(1), Fla. Const.
Jennings' motion sought relief pursuant to the United States Supreme Court's decision in Hurst v. Florida, --- U.S. ----, 136 S.Ct. 616, 193 L.Ed.2d 504 (2016), and our decision on remand in Hurst v. State (Hurst ), 202 So.3d 40 (Fla. 2016), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 137 S.Ct. 2161, 198 L.Ed.2d 246 (2017). This Court stayed Jennings' appeal pending the disposition of Hitchcock v. State, 226 So.3d 216 (Fla. 2017), --- U.S. ----, 138 S.Ct. 513, 199 L.Ed.2d 396 (2017). After this Court decided Hitchcock, Jennings responded to this Court's order to show cause arguing why Hitchcock should not be dispositive in this case.
After reviewing Jennings' response to the order to show cause, as well as the State's arguments in reply, we conclude that Jennings is not entitled to relief. A jury convicted Jennings of three counts of first-degree murder and recommended a death sentence for each murder by a vote of ten to two. Jennings v. State, 718 So.2d 144, 147 (Fla. 1998). Following the jury's recommendations, the trial court sentenced Jennings to death on all three counts of murder. Id. Jennings' sentences of death became final in 1999. Jennings v. Florida, 527 U.S. 1042, 119 S.Ct. 2407, 144 L.Ed.2d 805 (1999). Thus, Hurst does not apply retroactively to Jennings' sentences of death. See Hitchcock, 226 So.3d at 217. Accordingly, we affirm the denial of Jennings' motion.
The Court having carefully considered all arguments raised by Jennings, we caution that any rehearing motion containing reargument will be stricken. It is so ordered.
LABARGA, C.J., and QUINCE, POLSTON, and LAWSON, JJ., concur.
PARIENTE, J., concurs in result with an opinion.
LEWIS and CANADY, JJ., concur in result.
PARIENTE, J., concurring in result.
I concur in result because I recognize that this Court's opinion in Hitchcock v. State, 226 So.3d 216 (Fla. 2017), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 138 S.Ct. 513, 199 L.Ed.2d 396 (2017), is now final. However, I continue to adhere to the views expressed *911in my dissenting opinion in Hitchcock.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Authorities Cited (12 total)
- Hurst v. Florida., 136 S. Ct. 616 (U.S. 2016)
- Hurst v. State, 202 So. 3d 40 (Fla. 2016)
- Florida v. Hurst., 137 S. Ct. 2161 (U.S. 2017)
- Hitchcock v. State, 226 So. 3d 216 (Fla. 2017)
- Rainey v. Dist. Attorney Off. of Philadelphia., 138 S. Ct. 513 (U.S. 2017)
- Ward v. Neal, 137 S. Ct. 2161 (U.S. 2017)
- Boone v. Lorie Davis, 137 S. Ct. 2163 (U.S. 2017)
- Loud v. Lorie Davis, 138 S. Ct. 513 (U.S. 2017)
- Allen v. United States, 138 S. Ct. 513 (U.S. 2017)
- Jennings v. State, 718 So. 2d 144 (Fla. 1998)