GARY LEO ARENA, JR.
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA

Fla. 5th DCA | 2023-12-08
No. 23-1288
Wozniak, J., Mize, J., Gannam, J., Strowbridge, J.
Florida District Court of Appeal, Fifth District (2023)

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Holding

A defendant who pleads nolo contendere may only appeal prior dispositive orders of the lower tribunal if the right to appeal is expressly reserved with particularity.


Headnotes

[1] A trial court's denial of a special jury instruction request is not a dispositive order and therefore cannot be appealed by a defendant who has pleaded nolo contendere un…

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Key Quotes

“A defendant who pleads guilty or nolo contendere may expressly reserve the right to appeal a prior dispositive order of the lower tribunal, identifying with particularity the point of law being reserved.”

Court's statement of the applicable rule from Florida Rule of Appellate Procedure 9.140(b)(2)(A)(i)

Facts & Procedural History

Gary Leo Arena, Jr. appealed from a nolo contendere plea in a criminal case. He challenged the trial court's denial of his request for a special jury …

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Opinion of the Court

WOZNIAK, J.

In this appeal from a nolo contendere plea, we dismiss for lack of jurisdiction that portion of the appeal challenging the trial court’s denial of Appellant’s request for a special jury instruction because it is not dispositive. 1 See Fla. R. App. P. 9.140(b)(2)(A)(i) (“A defendant who pleads guilty or nolo contendere may expressly reserve the right to appeal a prior dispositive order of the lower tribunal, identifying

1

This case was transferred from the Fifth District Court of Appeal to this Court on January 1, 2023. with particularity the point of law being reserved.” (emphasis added)). We affirm without comment the other issues raised on appeal. DISMISSED IN PART AND AFFIRMED IN PART. MIZE and GANNAM, JJ., concur.

Jonah Dickstein, of Dickstein Law, Tampa, for Appellant. Ashley Moody, Attorney General, Tallahassee, and Kaylee D. Tatman, Assistant Attorney General, Daytona Beach, for Appellee. NOT FINAL UNTIL TIME EXPIRES TO FILE MOTION FOR REHEARING

AND DISPOSITION THEREOF IF TIMELY FILED

2


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