Sparks v. State, 4D18-307
| Court | Court of Appeal of Florida (US) |
| Writing for the Court | Kuntz, J. |
| Citation | 299 So.3d 1 |
| Parties | Jerome SPARKS, Appellant, v. STATE of Florida, Appellee. |
| Docket Number | No. 4D18-307,4D18-307 |
| Decision Date | 01 April 2020 |
Jerome SPARKS, Appellant,
v.
STATE of Florida, Appellee.
No. 4D18-307
District Court of Appeal of Florida, Fourth District.
[April 1, 2020]
Carey Haughwout, Public Defender, and Benjamin Eisenberg, Assistant Public Defender, West Palm Beach, for appellant.
Ashley Moody, Attorney General, Tallahassee, and Allan R. Geesey, Assistant Attorney General, West Palm Beach, for appellee.
ON REMAND FROM THE FLORIDA SUPREME COURT
Kuntz, J.
This case is on remand from the Florida Supreme Court for reconsideration based on the court's decision in Love v. State , 286 So. 3d 177 (Fla. 2019). Previously, a panel of this Court per curiam affirmed the circuit court's judgment with a citation to this Court's earlier decision in Hight v. State , 253 So. 3d 1137 (Fla. 4th DCA 2018). Sparks v. State (Sparks I ), 266 So. 3d 1187, 1187 (Fla. 4th DCA 2019), quashed by Sparks v. State (Sparks II ), No. SC19-524, 2020 WL 972589, at *1 (Fla. Feb. 28, 2020). On remand, we again affirm without comment the circuit court's judgment in all respects and write only to explain our affirmance on Sparks's Stand Your Ground challenge.
In January 2017, the circuit court denied Sparks's Stand Your Ground motion to dismiss two counts of the information charging him with attempted first-degree murder.1 The court found that, under Bretherick v. State , 170 So. 3d 766 (Fla. 2015), Sparks did not carry his burden of proof to establish immunity by a preponderance of the evidence. See Bretherick , 170 So. 3d at 779 ("We conclude that placing the burden of proof on the defendant to establish entitlement to Stand Your Ground immunity by a preponderance of the evidence at the pretrial evidentiary hearing, rather than on the State to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant's use of force was not justified, is consistent with this Court's precedent and gives effect to the legislative intent.").
Months later, the legislature amended the burden of proof in a Stand Your Ground hearing. See § 776.032(4), Fla. Stat...
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