State v. Woodson
| Decision Date | 14 October 2022 |
| Docket Number | Case No. 5D21-2251 |
| Citation | 349 So.3d 510 |
| Parties | STATE of Florida, Appellant, v. Cilvis C. WOODSON, Appellee. |
| Court | Florida District Court of Appeals |
Ashley Moody, Attorney General, Tallahassee, and Richard Alexander Pallas, Jr., Assistant Attorney General, Daytona Beach, for Appellant.
Matthew J. Metz, Public Defender, and Darnelle Paige Lawshe, Assistant Public Defender, Daytona Beach, for Appellee.
Appellant, the State of Florida, appeals an order granting Appellee's, Cilvis C. Woodson, Motion to Dismiss for Statutory Immunity from Prosecution, often referred to as a Stand Your Ground Motion. Specifically, the State argues that the motion was facially insufficient and that, even if it was sufficient, evidence presented at the evidentiary hearing overcame the defense by "clear and convincing evidence" as required by section 776.032(4), Florida Statutes (2019). We agree that because Appellee's motion was facially insufficient an evidentiary hearing should not have been held.1 We reverse the order and remand for further proceedings.
Appellee was charged with two counts of battery by a detainee in a detention facility on another detainee.2 According to Count I of the information, Appellee got into a disagreement with his cellmate because the cellmate allegedly failed to keep his end of a bargain whereby one traded commissary rights for the other's food tray. As the disagreement progressed, the cellmate allegedly asked Appellee if he wanted to fight with him, the two traded angry looks, and they bumped into or brushed against each other. Ultimately, Appellee pushed his cellmate up against the wall, placed his hands on both sides of the cellmate's head, and yelled at him.
Appellee filed his motion to dismiss based on the Stand Your Ground law. Section 776.012(1), Florida Statutes (2019), states in pertinent part that a person is justified in using non-deadly force against another "to the extent that the person reasonably believes that such conduct is necessary to defend himself ... against the other's imminent use of unlawful force." Once a defendant has raised a prima facie claim of self-defense immunity at a pretrial immunity hearing, the burden of disproving that claim by clear and convincing evidence is on the State. § 776.032(4), Fla. Stat.
As noted above, the State unsuccessfully argued that the evidentiary hearing should not have taken place and that its obligation to disprove Appellee's Stand Your Ground immunity had not yet ripened because, given the facial insufficiency of the motion, no prima facie claim of immunity had been raised. More specifically, the State argued that the motion insufficiently alleged that Appellee was defending against an imminent use of force. The facial sufficiency of a motion to dismiss is a legal conclusion. Fla. Bar v. Greene , 926 So. 2d 1195, 1199 (Fla. 2006) ; Derossett v. State , 311 So. 3d 880, 890 (Fla. 5th DCA 2019). The trial court's legal conclusions are reviewed de novo. State v. Sampaio , 291 So. 3d 120, 123 (Fla. 4th DCA 2020).
Statutory interpretation begins with consideration of the plain meaning of the words as used in the relevant statutes. Diamond Aircraft Indus., Inc. v. Horowitch , 107 So. 3d 362, 367 (Fla. 2013). We note that Merriam-Webster defines "imminent" as "ready to take place: happening soon." Imminent , Merriam-Webster Dictionary Online, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/imminent (last visited Sept. 14, 2022). This definition implies that an "imminent" act requires no further measures to manifest; imminence also has a temporal dimension, developing quickly relative to the events that define it. In other words, very little time or preparation may stand between the present moment and an "imminent" event.
The First and Fourth Districts have defined an "imminent" risk of child abuse under section 39.01, Florida Statutes, as a danger "about to occur" within a "narrow[ ] time frame." E.H. v. Dep't of Child. & Fams ., 147 So. 3d 616, 620 (Fla. 4th DCA 2014) ; E.M.A. v. Dep't of Child. & Fams ., 795 So. 2d 183, 186 n.3 (Fla. 1st DCA 2001).3 Appellee's motion alleged that his cellmate: (1) asked if he wanted to fight him and offered to fight now, (2) made repeated threats to Appellee's life, (3) struck Appellee with his shoulder as he walked by, (4) chest bumped Appellee, and (5) was a member of a gang known for murder and gun violence. Taking those factual allegations as true, none of them amount to an imminent threat by the cellmate to use unlawful force. Nor could the cellmate's alleged invitation to fight reasonably lead to the conclusion that Appellee necessarily had to use force. That is essentially an argument that Appellee had to fight his cellmate in order to avoid fighting with his cellmate. But accepting an invitation to fight is not defending with force out of necessity against an imminent threat.
Appellee's motion also contained several conclusory allegations, including that Appellee: (1) was in reasonable fear for his and his family's safety, (2) was threatened with force being used against him, and (3) believed his conduct was necessary to defend against his cellmate's imminent threat of force against him. Those conclusory allegations do not amount to establishing a prima facie claim to which the State must respond and disprove by clear and convincing proof. See, e.g. , Diehl v. Moore , 767 So. 2d 615, 616–17 (Fla. 1st DCA 2000) (); Drake v. Scharlau , 353 So. 2d 961, 965 (Fla. 2d DCA 1978) (...
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