Opinion ID: 1901682
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Constitutionality of the Florida Death Penalty

Text: The appellant asserts that the United States Supreme Court's decision in Apprendi v. New Jersey, 530 U.S. 466, 120 S.Ct. 2348, 147 L.Ed.2d 435 (2000), requires this Court to engage in a wholesale reevaluation of the Florida death penalty scheme. He argues that Florida's death penalty scheme is unconstitutional because it does not require notice to the defendant by the State of the aggravating circumstances it plans to pursue at trial, does not require specific jury findings regarding sentencing factors, permits a non-unanimous recommendation of death, and improperly shifts the burden and standard of proof during the penalty phase. The appellant's claim, however, was resolved by this Court in Mills v. Moore, 786 So.2d 532 (Fla.2001). [17] Therein, we held: The majority opinion in Apprendi forecloses Mills' claim because Apprendi preserves the constitutionality of capital sentencing schemes like Florida's. Therefore, on its face, Apprendi is inapplicable to this case. Id. at 537. Additionally, all of the individual facets of Cox's claim have previously been rejected. This Court has held that since all of the possible aggravating factors are detailed in section 921.141(5) of the Florida Statutes, there is no reason to require the State to notify defendants of the aggravating factors it intends to prove. Vining v. State, 637 So.2d 921, 927 (Fla.1994); see also Mann v. Moore, 794 So.2d 595, 599 (Fla.2001). We have also rejected the assertions that the trial jury constitutionally must make specific written findings, and its verdict recommending the death penalty must be unanimous. See Randolph v. State, 562 So.2d 331, 339 (Fla.1990); Mann, 794 So.2d at 599. Finally, this Court has repeatedly held that there is no merit to the burden shifting claim. Freeman v. State, 761 So.2d 1055, 1067 (Fla.2000); see also Shellito v. State, 701 So.2d 837, 842-43 (Fla. 1997). Based upon the fact that all of the arguments presented by the appellant here have previously been decided adversely to his assertions, we decline to overturn the result reached below and affirm.