Supreme Court of Florida

In a murder prosecution, the Florida Supreme Court answered a certified question from the court of appeal as follows: 1) the crime of manslaughter by act does not require the State to prove that the defendant intended to kill the victim; and 2) the Court approved the decision of the court of appeal to the extent that it held that the use of the standard jury instruction on manslaughter, which required that the state prove the defendant's intent to kill the victim, constituted fundamental error in defendant's case.

Appellate Information

• Decided 04/08/2010
• Published 04/08/2010

Judges

Court

• Supreme Court of Florida

Counsel