Summary
holding on remand from the supreme court that the jury instruction for manslaughter by act constituted fundamental error, reversing the conviction and remanding for a new trial
Summary of this case from Wardlow v. StateOpinion
No. 2D08–3809.
10-30-2015
Angel Manuel NIEVES, Appellant, v. STATE of Florida, Appellee.
Lee Hollander of Law Offices of Hollander and Hanuka, Naples, for Appellant. Pamela Jo Bondi, Attorney General, Tallahassee, and Dawn A. Tiffin, Assistant Attorney General, Tampa, for Appellee.
Lee Hollander of Law Offices of Hollander and Hanuka, Naples, for Appellant.
Pamela Jo Bondi, Attorney General, Tallahassee, and Dawn A. Tiffin, Assistant Attorney General, Tampa, for Appellee.
ON REMAND FROM THE SUPREME COURT OF FLORIDA
PER CURIAM.
Upon remand from the Florida Supreme Court, we reconsider Angel Manuel Nieves' conviction for second-degree murder in light of the subsequent decision in Griffin v. State, 160 So.3d 63 (Fla.2015). In Griffin, the Florida Supreme Court clarified that “a sole defense of misidentification does not concede or fail to place in dispute intent or any other element of the crime charged except identity when the offense charged is an unlawful homicide.” Id. at 67. Accordingly, the jury instruction for manslaughter by act given in this case did indeed constitute fundamental error, and we must reverse and remand for a new trial.
Reversed and remanded for new trial.
WALLACE, KHOUZAM, and MORRIS, JJ., Concur.