Federal habeas grant finds Ring problem in Florida death sentence
As reported in this new AP piece, in a habeas ruling from earlier this week, a “federal judge has declared that Florida’s method of imposing the death penalty is unconstitutional because jurors are not required to make specific findings on the aggravating factors that increase a sentence from life in prison to death.” Here is more:
The ruling by U.S. District Judge Jose E. Martinez applies only to the case of a convicted murderer currently on Florida’s Death Row, but legal experts say it will likely spark a series of challenges across the state in death cases. They also say it could be used to seek stays of execution. “It could have a dramatic impact, a life or death impact,” said Kendall Coffey, a former federal prosecutor now in private practice. “It says that essential elements in criminal cases have to be found by a jury, not by a judge.”
In Florida death penalty cases, jurors who voted to convict a defendant of murder are then asked whether to recommend death or life as punishment. The judge then gives “great weight” to the recommendation but is not required to follow it. The recommendation is by majority vote. But jurors are not asked to make specific decisions on aggravating factors necessary to impose death, such as whether it was a crime for money or was particularly heinous and cruel. Those particular rulings are left to the judge.
In his 94-page ruling Monday, Martinez said Florida’s system violates a 2002 U.S. Supreme Court decision that voided Arizona’s method of imposing death sentences. That ruling, Martinez said, makes clear that jurors must determine which specific aggravating factors apply in each case. “The defendant has no way of knowing whether or not the jury found the same aggravating factors as the judge,” Martinez wrote. “Indeed, the judge, unaware of the aggravating factor or factors found by the jury, may find an aggravating circumstance that was not found by the jury.”
Florida is the only state with this exact system, although many others have hybrids that involve both jury and judge. Martinez said the Florida Supreme Court has not found that the state’s method of imposing capital punishment violates the Constitution, even in light of the 2002 U.S. Supreme Court decision….
The ruling does not automatically void Florida law, but other judges could follow it if lawyers challenge the system around the state. There could also be attempts to modify jury instructions to comply with the decision. In addition, if the state appeals as is likely, a decision upholding Martinez’s ruling by the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals would have the effect of striking down Florida’s sentencing system in death cases, Coffey said. The office of Attorney General Pam Bondi did not immediately comment on whether it would appeal.
A helpful reader forwarded me a copy of the lengthy habeas ruling in Evans v. McNeil, No. 2:08-cv-14402-JEM (S.D. Fla. June 20, 2011), which I have made available for downloading below. The Ring-related discussion begins on page 78 of the pdf, and the facts of the case and the reasoning of this opinion includes some nuances that may preclude every Florida capital defendant from benefiting from the ruling. Nevertheless, almost a decade after the US Supreme Court’s Ring ruling, it now appears that at least some Florida capital sentences are finally running into some Sixth Amendment difficulties.