Court Opinion

ID: 9780091
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-30 01:17:59.583824+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:33:55.435154
License: Public Domain

LAWSON, J.,
concurring specially.
I reluctantly concur, as I believe that the fundamental error analysis in State v. Montgomery, 39 So.3d 252 (Fla.2010), is flawed — and is needlessly forcing the reversal of perfectly valid second degree murder convictions. See Burton v. State, — So.3d -, 2011 WL 1326258 (Fla. 5th DCA 2011) (Lawson, J., concurring) (explaining why, in my view, an unpreserved error in the instruction one step removed from the crime for which the defendant was convicted should not result in an automatic reversal). We are compounding the problem by extending Montgomery to cases that became final before Montgomery was decided, and where this claimed jury instruction error was never raised as an issue on appeal. Although I agree that this result flows from our prior precedent and from Montgomery itself, if not bound by Montgomery, I would deny relief.