Supreme Court of Florida
Buckner v. State
April 16, 1998714 So. 2d 384
Summary
The Florida Supreme Court affirmed Buckner's convictions for shooting into an occupied conveyance and first-degree murder and upheld the sentence for the shooting conviction, but reversed the death sentence for the murder, remanding for a life sentence without parole. The Court found sufficient evidence of premeditation, held that Buckner validly waived his right to be present at bench conferences, rejected claims of prejudicial extrajudicial evidence, and concluded the aggravating factors of cold, calculated, premeditated murder and heinous, atrocious, or cruel conduct were unsupported.