Supreme Court of Florida

The Supreme Court of Florida affirmed the petition to amend Florida Rules of Civil Procedure 1.080 and 1.090 as proposed, while declining to amend Rule 1.490, and ordered the amendments effective October 1, 2026.

The Florida Supreme Court affirmed the trial court's summary denials of Daniel O. Conahan, Jr.'s third and fourth successive post‑conviction relief motions, his motion for post‑conviction DNA testing, his request for a stay of execution, and his habeas corpus petition.

The Florida Supreme Court adopts amendments to Florida Rules of Appellate Procedure 9.020 (Definitions) and 9.100 (Original Proceedings) as proposed by the Appellate Court Rules Committee, after publication for comment drew no comments.

The court affirmed the summary denial of Silvia's successive postconviction motion and denied a stay and oral argument. It held that his valid 2012 waiver permanently barred collateral attacks based on later legal developments, while alternatively concluding that his execution-timing and etomidate claims lacked merit.

The Supreme Court of Florida denied Kevin Emas's petition for a writ of mandamus as moot because Governor Ron DeSantis had already made the appointment to the Third District Court of Appeal on July 10, 2026. The per curiam order contains no analysis of the merits.

Acting on The Florida Bar Probate Rules Committee's fast-track report, the Supreme Court of Florida amended Florida Probate Rules 5.025 (Adversary Proceedings), 5.425 (Disposition Without Administration in Small Estates), and 5.530 (Summary Administration) to conform the rules to chapter 2026-57, Laws of Florida…

The court affirmed the denial of Brown's successive postconviction motion and public-records request. It held that Frazier's evidence was untimely, Doyle's recantation was not credible, and, even assuming the evidence were credible and admissible, it would not probably produce a lesser sentence because of the evidence…

The Supreme Court of Florida affirmed Patrick R. McDowell’s first‑degree murder conviction and death sentence. The Court rejected McDowell’s five constitutional challenges, finding the amended sentencing scheme, non‑unanimous jury recommendation, victim‑impact evidence, and the death‑penalty scheme constitutional, and…

The court affirmed the denial of Foster’s amended successive postconviction motion. It held that competent, substantial evidence supported the postconviction court’s finding that Henderson was not coerced into giving false testimony, defeating Foster’s Brady and Giglio claims.

The Florida Supreme Court affirmed the trial court's sentencing of juvenile homicide offender Corey B. Johnson to life without parole for murder and concurrent life terms for attempted murder, holding that the structure does not violate the Eighth Amendment because Graham’s meaningful‑opportunity requirement applies…

The Florida Supreme Court held that the Florida Bar’s rule prohibiting lawyers from making false statements about a candidate’s qualifications (Rule 4‑8.2(a)) violates the First Amendment when applied to political speech in a state‑attorney campaign.

The court held that section 61.075 authorizes a trial court to award prejudgment interest as an equitable remedy in distributing marital property. Such an award is discretionary rather than automatic and depends on facts showing that it would achieve equity between the parties.

The court rejected a specialized or heightened abuse-of-discretion standard for reviewing dismissals based on fraud on the court. It held that factual findings receive competent, substantial evidence review, legal conclusions receive de novo review, and the choice of sanction receives ordinary abuse-of-discretion…

The court held that an employee assaulted by a third party while acting within the course and scope of employment may recover workers’ compensation benefits if the claimant establishes a work-related connection between the injury and the employment.

The court affirmed validation of the recreation district’s 2024 bond issue, holding that the district had statutory authority to proceed, that the proposed special assessments were supported by logically related special benefits, and that the appellant received due process.

The court affirmed the summary denial of Duckett’s fifth successive postconviction motion and denied his habeas petition. It held that later completion and disclosure of the DNA testing, together with the inconclusive results, satisfied due process and did not establish newly discovered evidence probably sufficient to…

The court affirmed the summary denial of Sochor's sixth successive postconviction motion insofar as he challenged Florida's three-drug lethal-injection protocol. It held that the challenge was untimely because the asserted evidence had been discoverable for years, and independently concluded that the challenge lacked…

The court held that a joint proposal for settlement must apportion the amount and terms attributable to each party, even when the proposal concerns a unified, single claim for undifferentiated damages.

The Supreme Court of Florida approved the uncontested referee report and plea agreement, found Elizabeth Hidalgo guilty of indirect criminal contempt for violating prior court orders, and imposed five months of probation with GPS monitoring.

The court affirmed the denial of Rhodes’s successive postconviction motion, rejecting his claims that the State suppressed favorable evidence, presented or failed to correct false testimony, elicited statements through jailhouse agents in violation of the right to counsel, or presented newly discovered evidence…

The court held that the governing DNA-testing statute and rule do not authorize an evidentiary hearing after DNA-testing results have been provided to the court, defendant, and prosecuting authority, and that the order denying such a hearing was not appealable.

The Florida Supreme Court affirmed William Roberts' first-degree murder conviction and death sentence for the 2017 killing of Elizabeth Hellstrom, whose body was found in the trunk of her car.

The Supreme Court of Florida answered a certified question in the negative, holding that evidence obtained during execution of a valid search warrant need not be suppressed to remedy a violation of the knock-and-announce statute, section 933.09, because the statute's plain text contains no exclusionary remedy and…

Acting on the Florida Bar's Probate Rules Committee proposal in this original rulemaking proceeding, the Supreme Court of Florida amended the Florida Probate Rules as set out in the appendix to the opinion, effective October 1, 2026, at 12:01 a.m.

Acting on the Florida Bar's Probate Rules Committee report, which was published for comment and drew a single comment and Committee response, the Supreme Court of Florida amended Florida Probate Rules 5.025, 5.122, 5.200, 5.320, and 5.470 as proposed, with minor revisions.

The Supreme Court of Florida affirmed the summary denial of Harold Lee Harvey, Jr.'s third successive rule 3.851 motion, which sought a new trial or new penalty phase based on brain-development science, a 2022 American Psychological Association resolution, and reports from two neuroscientists who never examined him.

The Florida Supreme Court affirmed the summary denial of Gary Richard Whitton's second successive motion for postconviction relief under Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.851, in which the death-sentenced prisoner claimed that jailhouse informant Jake Ozio's recantation testimony from Whitton's federal habeas…

The Supreme Court of Florida held that a district court of appeal has jurisdiction under article V, section 4(b)(1) of the Florida Constitution to review a trial court's final order denying a downward departure sentence, because a sentencing order is a final order and the Legislature has not clearly limited review of…

The Florida Supreme Court affirmed the summary denial of Dusty Ray Spencer's third successive rule 3.851 motion and denied his request for a stay of his June 25, 2026 execution. His lethal-injection claim, premised on alleged deviations from the published protocol and his longstanding cirrhosis, was untimely because…

Acting on its own motion in an original rulemaking proceeding, the Supreme Court of Florida amended Florida Rule of General Practice and Judicial Administration 2.515(d)(2) to require every signer of a court filing—whether prepared by an attorney or an unrepresented party—to represent that "the legal authorities…

The Supreme Court of Florida resolved a certified district-court conflict over the showing required under section 448.102(3) of the private-sector Whistle-Blower's Act, holding that an employee suing under section 448.103 must prove by a preponderance of the evidence that the employer's activity, policy, or practice…

The Supreme Court of Florida affirmed the summary denial of Andrew Richard Lukehart's third successive postconviction motion and the denial of his public-records demands, and denied his motion for a stay of his June 2, 2026 execution.

The Florida Supreme Court denied Walter Javier Arrazola Mendivil's petition for a writ of mandamus against The Florida Bar, concluding that because he failed to show a clear legal right to the relief requested, he was not entitled to mandamus relief.

The Supreme Court of Florida affirmed the denial of Darious Wilcox's initial rule 3.851 postconviction motion and denied his petition for writ of habeas corpus, leaving undisturbed his death sentence for the 2008 murder of Nimoy Johnson.

Acting on a report from The Florida Bar's Appellate Court Rules Committee, the Supreme Court of Florida adopted proposed amendments to Florida Rules of Appellate Procedure 9.020 (Definitions), 9.045 (Form of Documents), 9.200 (The Record), and 9.420 (Filing; Service of Copies; Computation of Time).

The Supreme Court of Florida resolved a certified district-court conflict by holding that Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.170(f)'s good-cause plea-withdrawal standard applies only before imposition of a defendant's original sentence and does not apply during post-appeal resentencing proceedings.

The Supreme Court of Florida, per curiam and with all seven justices concurring, adopted as proposed The Florida Bar's petition amending the Professionalism Expectations, making nine sets of edits across billing, client communication, deposition conduct, discovery, decorum, and responsiveness.

The Supreme Court of Florida accepted the Judicial Qualifications Commission's Findings and Recommendations of Discipline, together with a joint stipulation, and imposed a public reprimand on Broward County Judge Woody Clermont for representing a friend at a first appearance proceeding after the friend's arrest for…

The Supreme Court of Florida affirmed the summary denial of Michael King's successive postconviction motion and denied his concurrent motions to vacate his death sentence and stay his March 17, 2026 execution.

Acting on its own motion, the Supreme Court of Florida amended Florida Rule of Appellate Procedure 9.140(b)(2)(A)(ii) to expressly enumerate "an error in the sentencing process, if preserved" among the direct appeals allowed to a defendant after a guilty or nolo contendere plea.