Jason D. Allen v. State of Florida

The defendant appeals his conviction for second degree murder in a case where the victim’s body never was found. The defendant argues the trial court erred, in: (1) denying his motion for judgment of acquittal; and (2) denying his motion in limine to prohibit evidence of his pre-arrest refusal to submit to a DNA swab. We conclude without further discussion that the'first argument lacks merit. However, on the second argument, we agree with the defendant and reverse for a new trial.

Although the state presented a great deal of evidence to prove the defendant’s guilt, we present in this opinion…