Reyes v. State

POLEN, Judge.

Luis Enrique Reyes appeals from a final judgment and sentence convicting him of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon. We reverse because the trial court fundamentally erred by giving an instruction to the venire on reasonable doubt, which unlawfully minimized this standard.

The trial court’s instructions to the venire at bar, were almost identical to those given to the venire in Jones v. State, 656 So.2d 489 (Fla. 4th DCA 1995), rev. denied 663 So.2d 632 (Fla.1995). The following portion of the instruction at bar is virtually identical to the instruction given in Jones:

In order…