May Oral Arguments

The Florida Supreme Court will hear oral argument on May 8 in three cases, one of which is a capital case. Cox v. State is Allen Ward Cox’s direct appeal from his 2022 resentencing.

The Florida Supreme Court will hold one day of oral arguments this month on Wednesday, May 8, 2024. The Court will hear three cases, one of which is a capital case.

Cox v. State

Cox v. State is the last case on the Court’s schedule for Wednesday, and the argument is scheduled to begin around 10:30 a.m. This is Allen Ward Cox’s direct appeal from his resentencing.

Cox was originally convicted and sentenced to death “following an incident in December of 1998 at the Lake Correctional Institute” that “resulted in the death of a fellow inmate . . . .”¹ The Court affirmed his sentence on direct appeal in 2002. Cox received a new penalty phase in 2017 due to Hurst.²

Cox’s new penalty phase proceeded in April 2022. The jury unanimously found that the State proved beyond a reasonable doubt two of the four aggravating factors and unanimously recommended a sentence of death, which was required under Florida’s capital sentencing scheme at the time. In October 2022, Cox was resentenced to death. This is his direct appeal, in which he presents eight issues to the Court:

You can view the docket and case-related documents here.

Information on how to watch oral arguments live can be found on the Court’s website here.

1. Initial Brief, at 1.

2. For a full explanation of Hurst, see the five-part TFDP series available here.