U.S. Supreme Court Rules Florida Death Penalty Unconstitutional

Recently, In Hurst v. Florida, the United States Supreme Court ruled Florida's death penalty unconstitutional as it requires judges, not juries, to find the existence of aggravating circumstances, and to decide the appropriate sentence.  Florida's scheme relegated the jury to an advisory role, which the court had to give "great weight", but from which the judge received no guidance as to the jury's findings with the exception of its generalized recommendation.  Writing for the eight justice majority, Justice Sotomayer reiterated the holding in Apprendi v. New Jersey that any fact which exposes the Defendant to a greater punishment than that authorized by the jury's guilty verdict is an essential element which must be submitted to the jury.  Applying the Apprendi decision in Ring v. Arizona, the Court had previously held that capital punishment required factfinding by the jury and not a judge if the death penalty was to be constitutionally imposed. Since Florida's death penalty statute explicitly required the judge to make additional findings in order to impose death, and since the greatest punishment under Florida law without those findings was life imprisonment, the Court determined that Apprendi and Ring were squarely on point as applied to Florida.   In Hurst, decided January 12, 2016, the Court therefore rejected the State's arguments that the jury's guilty verdict in the first phase of the trial necessarily included the requisite factfinding, and also rejected its argument that defense counsel's conceding or not opposing the underlying felony in a contested trial has the same effect as a guilty plea from which factfinding is rendered unnecessary. The Court expressly overruled the pre-Ring cases of Hildwin v. Florida and Spaziano v. Florida to the extent that they "allow a sentencing judge to find an aggravating circumstance, independent of a jury's factfinding."  The decision still leaves open the question of whether the judge, with the jury's factfinding, can impose sentence, and whether the jury verdict imposing death has to be unanimous.  Those questions were left for another day.

Criminal Attorney David A. Brener Convinces Jury to Acquit Client in Naples Murder and Attempted Murder Case

An Immokalee man was  found Not Guilty of Murder and Attempted Murder in April, 2015 after his attorney, David A. Brener of Brener and DeMine, PLLC, convinced a Naples jury that his client was not the man who committed the crime.  Gens Cadet, 30, was charged in the murder of one local man and attempted murder of another during an incident that occurred at the Immokalee Apartments during a "vey" or haitian wake in  2013.  After a warrant was issued for Cadet's arrest, Brener surrendered his client to the Naples Jail Center and began to investigate the case and possible defenses.  At trial, Brener raised misidentification as a defense, and elicited testimony regarding the descriptions, opportunity to observe, use of suggestive lineups, and questionable police conduct.  After a ninety minute closing argument, Brener's client was found not guilty of both murder and attempted murder.  Gens Cadet is now a free man.

Criminal Attorneys Brener and DeMine PLLC, Open Naples Office

Fort Myers Criminal Defense Attorneys David A. Brener and Thomas E. DeMine have opened a law office in Naples, Florida.  The Naples office, located across the street from the Collier County Courthouse, is at 2500 Airport Road, Suite 209, Naples, Florida 34112.  Brener and DeMine will continue to practice criminal defense, handling all state and federal crimes, including murder and other violent crimes, narcotics cases, firearms and weapons charges, thefts and frauds, sex offenses, probation and control release violations, and driving and DUI charges.

  David A. Brener is rated "AV Preeminent" in Criminal Law by Martindale Hubbell,   "Superb" by AVVO,  and is one of a select few criminal attorneys in the State of Florida who is lead counsel qualified for capital death penalty cases.

Thomas E. DeMine is a former felony prosecutor in the State Attorneys Office for the Twentieth Judicial Circuit.  He is a former President of the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, Lee County Chapter, and a member of the Florida Bar and the Bar of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida.

Brener and DeMine, PLLC have 35 years of combined criminal law experience.  The attorneys have handled virtually every type of criminal case, and have had jury trials on a wide variety of criminal charges. For more information, visit the website at www.justiceisourpassion.com.

Brener and DeMine, PLLC
2500 Airport Road
Suite 209
Naples, Fl.34112
239-300-4837