Briefing schedule for Joseph Zieler's direct appeal
Zieler's case is the first to reach the Florida Supreme Court on direct appeal from a sentence of death imposed under the Florida's 2023 capital sentencing statute.
Joseph Zieler was sentenced to death earlier this year under Florida’s 2023 capital sentencing statute following the jury’s non-unanimous recommendation for death by a vote of 10-2. His case is the first to reach the Florida Supreme Court on direct appeal from a sentence of death imposed under the new statute. (The other petitions pending at the Court that TFDP has discussed in depth have been filed in a different procedural posture—before a sentence of death has been imposed.)
On October 9, the trial court submitted the record to the Florida Supreme Court. On October 11, the Florida Supreme Court issued an Order setting the briefing schedule for Zieler’s case:
Michael J. Jackson’s direct appeal is also pending for his sentence of death that was imposed after his resentencing, where the jury recommended a sentence of death by a vote of 8-4. (Read more on Jackson’s case here.) The briefing schedule in Jackson’s case has not yet been set.