Opinion ID: 1670351
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Specific Concerns

Text: While I concur in the plurality's respect for prior U.S. Supreme Court decisions upholding Florida's death penalty scheme, I must express my concerns that Florida's scheme may not comply with the Sixth Amendment as now construed in Ring in the following respects: 1. Florida's scheme requires a finding of the existence of aggravating circumstances before a death penalty may be imposed. [18] That scheme relies upon finding of facts determining the existence of statutory aggravators that have been made by a judge and not by a jury. Perhaps most importantly, it is the findings of fact made by the trial judge that are actually relied upon by the same trial judge in determining the capital defendant's sentence, and it is these same findings of fact that are actually reviewed and relied upon by this Court in determining whether the trial court's sentence should be upheld. 2. A Florida trial judge not only independently determines the existence of aggravators, but in doing so is not limited to the aggravation that may have been submitted to the jury. Further, in some instances, the trial judge is vested with the authority to override the jury's advisory recommendation as to penalty. 3. In Florida, neither the jury nor any individual juror makes any findings of fact or any actual determination of the existence of any aggravating circumstances. Hence, no jury findings of fact are considered by the trial court in making its own findings of fact and in determining a sentence, and no jury findings of fact are considered by this Court on review of the trial judge's sentence. Rather, the trial court is limited to a consideration of the jury's advisory recommendation. 4. In Florida, the jury renders only an advisory recommendation as to penalty. 5. A Florida jury's advisory recommendation is not required to be unanimous.