Case Name: Raynard J. FORD, Appellant, v. STATE of Florida, Appellee
Court: Florida District Court of Appeal
Jurisdiction: Florida
Decision Date: 2015-09-03
Citations: 172 So. 3d 1003
Docket Number: No. 1D13-6091
Parties: Raynard J. FORD, Appellant, v. STATE of Florida, Appellee.
Judges: LEWIS, J., concurs with'opinion.
Reporter: Southern Reporter, Third Series
Volume: 172
Pages: 1003–1005

Head Matter:
Raynard J. FORD, Appellant, v. STATE of Florida, Appellee.
No. 1D13-6091.
District Court of Appeal of Florida, First District.
Sept. 3, 2015.
Nancy A. Daniels, Public Defender, and David Alan Henson, Assistant-Public Defender, Tallahassee, for Appellant.
Pamela Jo Bondi, Attorney General, and Angela R. Hensel, Assistant Attorney General, Tallahassee, for Appellee.

Opinion:
RAY, J.
On the authority of McGriff v. State, 160 So.3d 167, 168-69 (Fla. 1st DCA 2015), and Garrett v. State, 148 So.3d 466, 471 (Fla. 1st DCA 2014), review granted, No. SC14-2110, 2015 WL 2171635 (Fla. May 6, 2015), we reverse Appellant's judgment and sentence for second-degree murder and remand for a new trial. The trial court committed reversible error when it failed to instruct the jury on Appellant's theory of self-defense based on section 776.012(1), Florida Statutes (2012), notwithstanding the fact that he was a convicted felon in unlawful possession of a firearm at the time of the deadly shooting. The trial court's instruction referencing a "duty to retreat" if Appellant was engaged in unlawful activity was an incorrect statement of then-existing law concerning Appellant's defense. This error was preserved and cannot be deemed harmless under the facts of this case. Appellant's judgment and sentences on the remaining counts, are affirmed without comment.
AFFIRMED in part; REVERSED and REMANDED for a new trial in part.
LEWIS, J., concurs with'opinion.
KELSEY, J., concurs in part and dissents in part with opinion.