Opinion ID: 1988657
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: The Florida Connection

Text: In our earlier opinion, this Court noted that Delaware's 1991 death penalty statute was modeled after Florida's law, which had been upheld by the United States Supreme Court. Given this legislative linkage, the Court determined that Florida's death penalty jurisprudence should be followed in deciding when a judge may override the jury's recommendation of a life sentence. Specifically, this Court applied the standard announced by the Florida Supreme Court in Tedder v. State , [5] holding that a jury override is permissible only if the facts supporting a death sentence are so clear and convincing that virtually no reasonable person could differ. The trial court took exception to this ruling, noting that the 2002 amendment to Delaware's death penalty statute [6] clearly demonstrates the General Assembly's intention to vest primary sentencing responsibility with the judge, not the jury. The trial court also protested our reliance on Florida law, arguing that the Tedder standard is inconsistent with Delaware's public policy, as expressed by our legislature. [7] We respect the trial court's views, and the General Assembly's power to set public policy. But Garden's sentence is controlled by the 1991 statute, not the 2002 amendment, or a 2003 amendment directed specifically at the weight to be given to the jury's recommended sentence. [8] The Synopsis to the 1991 statute expressly states that Delaware's law was modeled after the Florida death penalty statute, as approved by the United States Supreme Court. [9] In State v. Cohen , [10] in response to certified questions regarding the constitutionality of the 1991 statute, this Court noted that the 1991 statute was patterned after Florida law. Moreover, this Court, in upholding the Delaware statute, relied on the fact that the United States Supreme Court had found Florida's statute constitutional. [11] The United States Supreme Court decision, Proffitt v. Florida, [12] in turn, noted the Tedder standard in upholding the Florida statute [13] . Thus, Florida death penalty jurisprudence, in general, and the Tedder standard, in particular, have been recognized as the underpinning for the 1991 statute from the time the law was enacted. The majority and the dissent are in complete agreement that the 1991 Delaware death penalty statute implicates the Tedder standard imported from the Florida law upon which the Delaware statute was then based. The issue that we review, and on which the majority and the dissent part company, is how that standard should be applied to the facts of this case.