DONALD VERNON KELLEY
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA
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A trial court correctly rejects a jury instruction on unnatural and lascivious acts when Knighton establishes that unnatural conduct must mean something other than acts already criminalized under lewd and lascivious statutes.
[1] A jury instruction on unnatural and lascivious acts must define 'unnatural' as conduct distinct from that already prohibited by statutory lewd and lascivious offenses; an…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“unnatural must mean something other than an act that would be criminalized under lewd and lascivious statutes”
The court's explanation of the Knighton standard for jury instructions on unnatural and lascivious acts
Kelley was convicted of multiple offenses including lewd and lascivious battery and lewd and lascivious conduct. The appellant sought a jury instructi…
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PER CURIAM.
We previously reversed Appellant’s sentences and convictions as to three of his twelve convictions: lewd and lascivious battery and two lewd and lascivious conduct counts. Kelley v. State, 204 So. 3d 37, 37-38 (Fla. 1st DCA 2016). The Florida Supreme Court quashed our decision and remanded for reconsideration in light of its decision in State v. Knighton, 235 So. 3d 312 (Fla. 2018).
In light of Knighton, the trial court correctly rejected Appellant’s request for a jury instruction on unnatural and lascivious act. See Knighton, 235 So. 3d at 316-17 (explaining that unnatural must mean something other than an act that would be criminalized under lewd and lascivious statutes).
Accordingly, we AFFIRM Appellant’s judgments and sentences on all counts, in all respects.
BILBREY, KELSEY, and M.K. THOMAS, JJ., concur. _____________________________ Not final until disposition of any timely and authorized motion under Fla. R. App. P. 9.330 or 9.331.
_____________________________ Andy Thomas, Public Defender, and Courtenay H. Miller, Assistant Public Defender, Tallahassee, for Appellant. Pamela Jo Bondi, Attorney General, Trisha Meggs Pate, Assistant Attorney General, and Michael Schaub, Assistant Attorney General, Tallahassee, for Appellee.