The decisions could apply to about 100 inmates, possibly including David Snelgrove of Palm Coast, who was removed from death row in January after his lawyer successfully argued for life without parole, and Cornelius Baker, whose hope for a new penalty-phase trial is still pending.
Circuit & County Court
Oral Arguments on Alachua’s Mask Mandate Evoke Hijabs, Nazis, KKK, Crime and, Finally, Public Health
Oral arguments about Alachua County’s mask mandate before a three-judge panel of the First Circuit Court of Appeal Monday was a spectacle of audacious leaps and strange analogies that nevertheless illustrated the sharp and far from resolved divide between mask proponents and anti-maskers, including on the judicial bench.
State Attorney Will Seek Death Penalty for Derrek Perkins in Stabbing Murder of Wife Brandi in Hastings
The victim, a resident of Green Cove Springs who worked at a restaurant in St. Augustine, had filed an injunction against Derrek the day before the stabbing and after several intimidating and threatening incidents involving him.
Warrantless Search of Car’s GPS Data Is Constitutional, Florida Appeals Court Rules
The ruling by a panel of the 1st District Court of Appeal rejected arguments by Brandon Joshua Bailey that the GPS evidence, which was obtained without a warrant, should be suppressed and his first-degree murder conviction should be overturned.
Judge Denies County’s Motion to Dismiss Captain’s BBQ Suit But Cracks Open a Way to Get There
While all but ridiculing the county’s claim that it had broken the law by approving a lease amendment with Captain’s BBQ without putting it out to bid, Circuit Judge Perkins was far more receptive to the county’s claim that the amendment had not yet kicked in, and so could not have been breached. He all but drew a map for the county’s next attempt to dismiss the lawsuit, pending the taking of depositions.
Appeals Court Will Hear Challenge to Alachua County’s Mask Mandate
The Alachua County case, which will be heard Nov. 23 by a panel of the 1st District Court of Appeal, could serve as a test for mask requirements that have been approved in various parts of the state.
As Flagler’s Covid Numbers Keep Going the Wrong Way, Even a Judge Says It Doesn’t Look Good for a Murder Trial
Nathaniel Shimmel, 25, faces a 1st-degree murder charge in the stabbing death of his mother in 2017. He’s willing to plea to 30 to 50 years. The state wants 35 to life. The trial, the oldest on Flagler’s docket, keeps getting delayed despite that mere five-year gap in the negotiations.
Facing Life in Prison, Benjamin Allen, 18, Rejects 30-Year Offer; State Rejects 50-Year Limit for Shimmel in Mom’s Murder
Benjamin Allen, the 18-year-old Palm Coast resident accused of first-degree murder in the shooting death of 17-year-old Elijah Rizvan 15 months ago, and Nathaniel Shimmel, facing a similar charge in the stabbing death of his mother three years ago, are both set for trial after settlement offers were rejected. Shimmel goes to trial next week.
A Week Before Prison Term Was to End, Palm Coast Man Faces Delayed Charges On Same 2-Year-Old Case
Brian Scott Odell, 37, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to two years in prison for unlawful sex with a 16-year-old girl, but now faces new charges from that same case, only because it took this long for investigators and the prosecution to produce the evidence. He was to be released to probation next week.
FHP Trooper Faces Hostile Discrimination Over Time Away on Military Service. Court Rules He Can’t Sue.
An Appeals court ruled that sovereign immunity protects state agencies like the Florida Highway Patrol from the lawsuit filed in 2014 by James Hightower, who alleged he faced a “hostile work environment” at the highway patrol because of leave he took for military duties.
