BREAKING: Florida Supreme Court denies Gonzalez petition related to application of 2023 statute
This morning, the Florida Supreme Court denied Gonzalez’s all-writs petition seeking review of the trial court’s ruling that the 2023 capital sentencing statute applies to his resentencing.
This morning, in what was likely its last regular release of opinions for 2023, the Florida Supreme Court issued its decision in Gonzalez v. State, denying Gonzalez’s all-writs petition seeking review of the trial court’s ruling that the 2023 capital sentencing statute applies to his Hurst resentencing.1
The opinion, written by Justice Grosshans, begins:
In this death-penalty case, Leonard P. Gonzalez, Jr., seeks review of a nonfinal order entered by the circuit court. We deny Gonzalez’s petition, concluding that the review he seeks must come at a later time, if at all.
Further, in the analysis, the opinion says that the Court does not reach the merits of Gonzalez’s petition (i.e., the question about the applicability of the statute to his case) but, rather, that the issue is not properly raised at this point:
Gonzalez seeks to invoke our all-writs authority as well as our authority to issue writs of prohibition. See art. V, § 3(b)(7), Fla. Const. On the merits, he primarily argues that the circuit court was wrong in ruling that the new statute could be lawfully applied at his upcoming penalty phase. We, however, do not reach the merits of Gonzalez’s petition. Instead, we conclude that the relief sought is not available by way of prohibition or our all-writs authority.
Rather, the Court says that any issue Gonzalez has about his new penalty phase is properly raised on direct appeal if the death penalty is imposed.
We note two things. First, if the circuit court was to impose the death penalty, we would have appellate jurisdiction under section 3(b)(1) to review that sentence. In such a proceeding, Gonzalez could advance arguments like the ones presented in his petition. And second, the circuit court’s adverse ruling on the applicability of the new statute does not alter the nature of the proceedings below. Like other capital defendants, Gonzalez will have the opportunity to challenge the State’s aggravating evidence, present his own mitigating evidence, and argue to the jury and judge that a life sentence is the appropriate punishment in his case.
Justice Labarga concurred in result with a one-sentence opinion:
The full opinion can be accessed here.
Prior TFDP Coverage on Gonzalez
Dismissal confusion in Gonzalez
Florida Supreme Court grants Petitioner’s motion to amend and strikes State’s motion to dismiss in Gonzalez
Litigation update as of September 4
Cases pending at the Florida Supreme Court as of December 11