Case Name: Janis FLEMING, Petitioner, v. The STATE of Florida, Respondent.
Court: District Court of Appeal of Florida, Third District
Jurisdiction: Florida
Decision Date: 2018-11-07
Citations: 258 So. 3d 553
Docket Number: No. 3D18-1647
Parties: Janis FLEMING, Petitioner,
v.
The STATE of Florida, Respondent.
Judges: Before EMAS, FERNANDEZ, and LOGUE, JJ.
Reporter: Southern Reporter, Third Series
Volume: 258
Pages: 553–554

Head Matter:
Janis FLEMING, Petitioner,
v.
The STATE of Florida, Respondent.
No. 3D18-1647
District Court of Appeal of Florida, Third District.
Opinion filed November 7, 2018
Law Offices of Grey and Mourin, and Jason Grey and Lana Cucchiella, for petitioner.
Pamela Jo Bondi, Attorney General, and Marlon J. Weiss, Assistant Attorney General, for respondent.
Before EMAS, FERNANDEZ, and LOGUE, JJ.

Opinion:
PER CURIAM.
Although the trial court properly decided the other issues on review, the circuit court departed from the essential requirements of law when it ruled it was legally barred from viewing the videotape of the altercation at the heart of this matter, as the State commendably concedes. Precisely because the county court expressly based its factual finding on a determination that the videotape contradicted the testimony of the defendant, the circuit court should have included a review of the videotape in deciding whether the county court's fact finding was supported by any competent substantial evidence.
Petition granted.