WILLIAMS v. STATE (2019)

District Court of Appeal of Florida, Third District.

Montrell WILLIAMS, Appellant, v. The STATE of Florida, Appellee.

No. 3D18-1188

Decided: June 12, 2019

Before SALTER, FERNANDEZ and LINDSEY, JJ.

Carlos J. Martinez, Public Defender, and Susan S. Lerner, Assistant Public Defender, for appellant. Ashley Moody, Attorney General, and Sandra Lipman, Assistant Attorney General, for appellee.

The defendant, Montrell Williams, appeals the trial court's final judgment of conviction and sentence for burglary, trespass, theft, and criminal mischief. At the defendant's jury trial, Florida Standard Jury Instruction (Criminal) 3.7, “Plea of Not Guilty; Reasonable Doubt; and Burden of Proof,” was not given to the jury, nor was it included in the written jury instructions. The State has confessed error on this point, as it is fundamental error for a trial court to fail to instruct the jury on the contents of Standard Jury Instruction 3.7. Smith v. State, 260 So. 3d 578 (Fla. 3d DCA 2019) (“[T]he trial court's failure to instruct the jury as to Florida Standard Jury Instruction (Criminal) 3.7 Plea of Not Guilty; Reasonable Doubt, and Burden of Proof, or any similar instruction, constituted fundamental error.”). Accordingly, we reverse the defendant's conviction and sentence and remand for a new trial.

Reversed and remanded.

PER CURIAM.

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