Case Title: Keaton v. State

Citation: 273 So. 2d 385

Docket Number: 

State: florida

Court: Florida Supreme Court

Date: 1973-02-21T00:00:00Z

Document:
273 So. 2d 385 (1973)
Dave Roby KEATON, Appellant,
v.
STATE of Florida, Appellee.
No. 41231.

Supreme Court of Florida.
February 21, 1973.
Kent Spriggs, Tallahassee, Paul L. Ross, James Reif, Morton Stavis and Margaret Ratner, New York City, for appellant.
Robert L. Shevin, Atty. Gen., William E. Whitlock, III, and Raymond L. Marky, Asst. Attys. Gen., for appellee.
PER CURIAM.
Appellant Keaton and his co-defendant Johnny Frederick (who is not a party to this appeal), were tried jointly before a jury in the Circuit Court in and for Leon County and both were convicted of murder in the first degree. Mercy was not recommended in appellant's case, and he received an automatic sentence of death under the law in effect at that time.[1] Notice of appeal seeking review of the judgment and sentence pursuant to Fla. Const., Article V, § 4(2), F.S.A. has been timely filed in this Court.[2]
Subsequent to appellant's conviction, and while the case sub judice was pending in *386 this Court, co-defendant Frederick filed a motion in the Circuit Court pursuant to Rule 3.850, CPR, 33 F.S.A., seeking vacation of the judgment and sentence against him. As his grounds for relief, Frederick alleged the existence of newly discovered evidence which had been knowingly withheld by the State.
At this point the State made a motion in this Court for temporary relinquishment of appellant's case to the Circuit Court for consolidation with the Frederick's Rule 3.850 motion. Because the issues raised by Frederick were equally applicable to both defendants, and because appellant was in basic agreement with the State's motion, we temporarily relinquished the cause to the Circuit Court "for the purpose of taking testimony, if necessary, and mak[ing] findings of fact and conclusions of law."
A consolidated hearing on Frederick's motion has now been held recommending that a new trial be afforded appellant. In pertinent part, the order of the Circuit Court states:
We are in agreement with the Circuit Court that a new trial is warranted under the circumstances, and we hereby adopt the recommendation of the Circuit Court that appellant be afforded a new trial. Accordingly, the judgment and sentence against appellant Keaton is reversed and the cause is remanded to the Circuit Court in and for Leon County for new trial.
It is so ordered.
CARLTON, C.J., and ROBERTS, ERVIN, McCAIN and DEKLE, JJ., concur.
[1]  Fla. Stat. § 919.23(2); Fla. Stat. § 782.04(1), F.S.A.
[2]  At the time Furman v. Georgia, 408 U.S. 238, 92 S. Ct. 2726, 33 L. Ed. 2d 346 (1972), was decided by the U.S. Supreme Court, appellant was under sentence of death in Florida. Subsequently, and under authority of Furman this Court in Anderson v. State, 267 So. 2d 8 (Fla. 1972) reduced appellant's sentence from death to life imprisonment. We held in Anderson that reduction of sentence did not divest this Court of jurisdiction over capital appeals pending at the time Furman was decided.