State of Florida v. Damani Spencer

Once again, the jury pardon doctrine rears its ugly head. I would recede from State v. Lucas, 645 So.2d 425 (Fla. 1994)— a flawed opinion rooted in the inherent lawlessness of the jury pardon doctrine. I therefore dissent from the decision here, which relies on Lucas.

Fundamental error did not occur in this case: there is no logical way to conclude that the defendant’s conviction for attempted second-degree murder occurred because of the trial court’s incomplete jury instruction on the lesser included offense of attempted manslaughter. The majority orders a new trial simply because the trial…