EDWARD J. ZAKRZEWSKI, II, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE.

Fla. | 2018-09-20
No. SC18-646
254 So. 3d 324 Florida Supreme Court (2018) Positive Treatment
Cited by 1 case

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Synopsis

Edward Zakrzewski appealed the denial of his Rule 3.851 motion seeking relief based on Hurst v. Florida, which held jury overrides in capital sentencing unconstitutional. The Florida Supreme Court affirmed the denial, finding the claim barred by the court's prior denial of habeas relief and holding that Zakrzewski is not entitled to retroactive application of Hurst.


Holding

The court affirmed the denial of Zakrzewski's motion, holding that the prior denial of his habeas petition raising similar claims constitutes a procedural bar to the claims in this appeal, and that Zakrzewski is not entitled to retroactive application of Hurst.


Headnotes

[1] A prior denial of a petition for writ of habeas corpus raising similar claims can serve as a procedural bar to subsequent claims.

[2] Claims depending on the retroactive application of Hurst v. …

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Key Quotes

“All of Zakrzewski's claims depend upon the retroactive application of Hurst, to which we have held he is not entitled.”

This establishes the primary basis for the court's affirmance—that retroactive application of Hurst is not available to Zakrzewski.

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Facts & Procedural History

Zakrzewski was sentenced to three death sentences. Following the penalty phase, the jury recommended two death sentences by a vote of seven to five an…

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Opinion of the Court
PER CURIAM.

PER CURIAM.

We have for review Edward J. Zakrzewski's appeal of the circuit court's order denying Zakrzewski's motion filed pursuant to Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.851. This Court has jurisdiction. See art. V, § 3(b)(1), Fla. Const.

Zakrzewski's 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). Zakrzewski responded to this Court's order to show cause arguing why Hitchcock v. State , 226 So.3d 216 (Fla.), cert. denied , --- U.S. ----, 138 S.Ct. 513, 199 L.Ed.2d 396 (2017), should not be dispositive in this case.

After reviewing Zakrzewski's response to the order to show cause, as well as the State's arguments in reply, we conclude that our prior denial of Zakrzewski's petition for a writ of habeas corpus raising similar claims is a procedural bar to the claims at issue in this appeal. All of Zakrzewski's claims depend upon the retroactive application of Hurst , to which we have held he is not entitled. See Zakrzewski v. Jones , 221 So.3d 1159, 1159 (Fla. 2017) ;

*325Hitchcock , 226 So.3d at 217. Accordingly, we affirm the denial of Zakrzewski's motion.

The Court having carefully considered all arguments raised by Zakrzewski, we caution that any rehearing motion containing reargument will be stricken. It is so ordered.

CANADY, C.J., and LEWIS, QUINCE, POLSTON, LABARGA, and LAWSON, JJ., concur.

PARIENTE, J., concurs in result with an opinion.

I agree with the per curiam opinion that we have formerly denied Zakrzewski relief pursuant to Hitchcock ,1 which, of course, is now final. However, I write separately to emphasize the jury override in Zakrzewski's case.

Following the penalty phase, the jury in Zakrzewski's case recommended two sentences of death-both by a vote of seven to five-and one sentence of life by a vote of six to six. Nevertheless, the trial court sentenced Zakrzewski to three sentences of death, thereby overriding the jury's recommendation for life on the final sentence. See Asay v. State (Asay V ), 210 So. 3d 1, 29 n.19 (Fla. 2016), cert. denied , --- U.S. ----, 138 S.Ct. 41, 198 L.Ed.2d 769 (2017) (Labarga, C.J., concurring); id. at 35 n.32 (Pariente, J., concurring in part and dissenting in part).

As I expressed in Asay V , "the jurisprudence on the acceptability of judicial overrides has so dramatically changed" since sentences like Zakrzewski's were finalized. Id. at 35 n.32 (Pariente, J., concurring in part and dissenting in part). Hurst2 made clear that jury overrides are unconstitutional, and, likewise, jury overrides are not permitted under Florida's current capital sentencing scheme. See § 921.141, Fla. Stat. (2018).


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