Taylor v. State

The Supreme Court affirmed the order of the postconviction court denying Appellant’s successive postconviction motion to vacate a sentence of death under Fla. R. Crim. P. 3.851. In his successive motion, Appellant claimed that his death sentence violated the Sixth Amendment in light of Hurst v. State (Hurst), 202 So. 3d 40 (Fla. 2016), and Hurst v. Florida, 136 S. Ct. 616 (2016) and violated the Eighth Amendment under Caldwell v. Mississippi, 472 U.S. 320 (1985). The Supreme Court affirmed the circuit court’s order summarily denying Appellant’s successive motion for postconviction relief, holding (1) any Hurst error in this case was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt; and (2) Appellant’s Caldwell claim was procedurally barred because it was raised and rejected on direct appeal. View "Taylor v. State" on Justia Law