Opinion ID: 1907308
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Apprendi and Ring Claim

Text: Marshall's next claim is that the trial judge's decision to override the jury's recommendation in favor of life violates the principles set out in the Supreme Court's decisions in Apprendi v. New Jersey, 530 U.S. 466, 120 S.Ct. 2348, 147 L.Ed.2d 435 (2000), and Ring v. Arizona, 536 U.S. 584, 122 S.Ct. 2428, 153 L.Ed.2d 556 (2002). [4] In over fifty cases since Ring's release, we have rejected Ring claims. [5] Although we have not addressed Ring's application in the context of a jury override verdict, our previous conclusions with regard to Ring claims preclude Marshall from being granted relief on his claim. First, as our plurality opinion noted in Bottoson, the United States Supreme Court repeatedly has reviewed and upheld Florida's capital sentencing statute over the past quarter of a century. Bottoson, 833 So.2d at 695 & n. 4 (Fla.2002) (listing as examples Hildwin v. Florida, 490 U.S. 638, 109 S.Ct. 2055, 104 L.Ed.2d 728 (1989), Spaziano v. Florida, 468 U.S. 447, 104 S.Ct. 3154, 82 L.Ed.2d 340 (1984), Barclay v. Florida, 463 U.S. 939, 103 S.Ct. 3418, 77 L.Ed.2d 1134 (1983), and Proffitt v. Florida, 428 U.S. 242, 96 S.Ct. 2960, 49 L.Ed.2d 913 (1976)). In fact, the United States Supreme Court expressly upheld the jury override aspect of Florida's sentencing scheme. See Spaziano, 468 U.S. at 466, 104 S.Ct. 3154 (We see nothing that suggests that the application of the jury-override procedure has resulted in arbitrary or discriminatory application of the death penalty, either in general or in this particular case.). Spaziano remains good law, and as was noted in the Bottoson plurality opinion, despite any tension between Spaziano and Ring, this Court relies on the United States Supreme Court's admonition that lower courts should follow the case which directly controls, leaving to this Court the prerogative of overruling its own decisions. Bottoson, 833 So.2d at 695 (quoting Rodriguez de Quijas v. Shearson/American Express, 490 U.S. 477, 484, 109 S.Ct. 1917, 104 L.Ed.2d 526 (1989)). Second, Ring did not alter the express exemption in Apprendi that prior convictions are exempt from the Sixth Amendment requirements announced in the two cases. See Apprendi v. New Jersey, 530 U.S. 466, 490, 120 S.Ct. 2348, 147 L.Ed.2d 435 (2000). We have repeatedly relied on the presence of the prior violent felony aggravating circumstance when denying Ring claims. [6] In the instant case, one of Marshall's aggravating circumstances was that he had been previously convicted of nine violent felonies. Therefore, even if Ring were to call Florida's jury override procedures into question, Marshall's nine prior violent felonies are an aggravating circumstance that takes his sentence outside the scope of Ring's requirements. Finally, we have recently held in Johnson v. State, 904 So.2d 400 (Fla. 2005) that we will not apply Ring retroactively in postconviction cases even assuming it affected Florida law.