College of William & Mary Law School William & Mary Law School Scholarship Repository Supreme Court Preview Conferences, Events, and Lectures 2015 Section 6: Criminal Institute of Bill of Rights Law at the William & Mary Law School Repository Citation Institute of Bill of Rights Law at the William & Mary Law School, "Section 6: Criminal" (2015). Supreme Court Preview. 252. https://scholarship.law.wm.edu/preview/252 Copyright c 2015 by the authors. This article is brought to you by the William & Mary Law School Scholarship Repository. https://scholarship.law.wm.edu/preview VI. Criminal In This Section: New Case: 14-7505 Hurst v. Florida p. 268 Synopsis and Questions Presented p. 268 “SUPREME COURT TO REVIEW FLORIDA’S CAPITAL PUNISHMENT p. 284 SYSTEM ” Jess Bravin “FLORIDA’S DEATH ROW COULD SEE VACANCIES IF SUPREME COURT p. 286 RULES JURIES MUST BE UNANIMOUS” Larry Hannan “TALKING ABOUT THE DEATH PENALTY, COURT TO COURT” p. 292 Linda Greenhouse “DEATH PENALTY IN FAST-FOOD SLAYING” p. 296 Pensacola News Journal New Case: 14-449 Kansas v. Carr p. 297 Synopsis and Questions Presented p. 297 “CARR BROTHERS’ DEATH SENTENCES TO BE REVIEWED BY U.S. p. 320 SUPREME COURT” Roxana Hegeman “HOW THE ‘WICHITA MASSACRE’ BECAME A FACTOR IN THE KANSAS p. 322 GOV’S RACE” Ryan Lovelace “KANSAS COURT OVERTURNS BROTHER’S DEATH SENTENCES” p. 324 CBS New Case: 14-7505 Montgomery v. Louisiana p. 326 Synopsis and Questions Presented p. 326 “THE SUPREME COURT TAKES ONE MORE LOOK AT LIFE SENTENCES p. 328 FOR TEENS” Matt Stroud “U.S. SUPREME COURT TO CONSIDER BATON ROUGE CASE TO RE- p. 329 EVALUATE LIFE SENTENCES FOR MURDERS BY JUVENILES” Joe Gyan Jr. “SUPREME COURT TO WEIGH RETROACTIVITY OF MANDATORY p. 333 JLWOP” Gary Gately “LIVES HANG IN LIMBO: SCOTUS TO HEAR CASE ON WHETHER p. 336 RULING PROHIBITING MANDATORY LIFE SENTENCES FOR JUVENILES APPLIES RETROACTIVELY” Allison B. Kingsmill New Case: 14-419 Luis v. United States p. 339 Synopsis and Questions Presented p. 339 “SUPREME COURT TO DECIDE WHETHER CRIMINAL DEFENDANTS p. 341 HAVE RIGHT TO HIRE LAWYERS WITH FROZEN ASSETS” Samantha Lachman “HIGH COURT TO EYE ‘UNTAINTED’ ASSET FREEZES IN CRIMINAL p. 343 SUITS” Jessica Corso “IF A DEFENDANT MUST FORFEIT ALL ASSETS, IS HER RIGHT TO p. 345 COUNSEL VIOLATED?” Warren Richey 267 Hurst v. Florida 14-7505 Ruling Below: Hurst v. State, 18 So. 3d 975 (Fla. 2009), cert granted Hurst was convicted for the May 2, 1998, first-degree murder of Cynthia Harrison in a robbery at the Popeye’s restaurant where Hurst was employed in Escambia County, Florida. Hurst’s conviction and death sentence were originally affirmed in Hurst v. State, 819 So. 2d 689 (Fla. 2002). The Supreme Court of Florida affirmed the trial court's order denying relief as to the guilt phase claims defendant raised. It reversed the trial court's order denying relief as to Hurst’s penalty phase claim of ineffective assistance of counsel in investigation and presentation of mental mitigation, vacated his sentence of death, and remanded for a new penalty phase proceeding before a jury, which could consider evidence of aggravation and mitigation. Question Presented: Whether Florida’s death sentencing scheme violates the Sixth Amendment or the Eighth Amendment in light of this Court’s decision in Ring v. Arizona Timothy Lee HURST Appellant v. STATE of Florida Appellee Supreme Court of Florida Decided on May 1, 2014 [Excerpt; some footnotes and citations omitted] Per curium Timothy Lee Hurst appeals his sentence of Escambia County, Florida, where death that was imposed for the 1998 first- Hurst was employed. Hurst and the degree murder of Cynthia Harrison. For the victim, assistant manager Cynthia Lee Harrison, were scheduled to work reasons set forth below, we affirm his at 8 a.m. on the day of the murder. A sentence. worker at a nearby restaurant, Carl Hess, testified that he saw Harrison FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY arriving at work between 7 a.m. and 8:30 a.m. Afterwards, Hess said that On the morning of May 2, 1998, a he saw a man, who was about six feet murder and robbery occurred at a tall and weighed between 280 and Popeye’s Fried Chicken restaurant in 300 pounds, arrive at Popeye’s and 268 bang on the glass windows until he missing. The driver discovered the was let inside. The man was dressed victim’s dead body inside the freezer. in a Popeye’s uniform and Hess The victim had her hands bound recognized him as someone he had behind her back with black electrical seen working at Popeye’s. Shortly tape and she also had tape over her after the crime, Hess picked Hurst mouth. Similar tape was later found in from a photographic lineup as the the trunk of Hurst’s car. The scene man he had seen banging on the was covered with a significant windows. Hess was also able to amount of the victim’s blood, and it identify Hurst at trial. was apparent from water on the floor that someone had attempted to clean On the morning of the murder, a up the area. The victim suffered a Popeye’s delivery truck was making minimum of sixty incised slash and the rounds at Popeye’s restaurants in stab wounds, including severe the area. Janet Pugh, who worked at wounds to the face, neck, back, torso, another Popeye’s, testified she and arms. The victim also had blood telephoned Harrison at 7:55 a.m. to stains on the knees of her pants, tell her that the delivery truck had just indicating that she had been kneeling left and Harrison should expect the in her blood. A forensic pathologist, truck soon. Pugh spoke to the victim Dr. Michael Berkland, testified that for four to five minutes and did not some of the wounds cut through the detect that there was anything wrong tissue into the underlying bone, and or hear anyone in the background. while several wounds had the Pugh was certain of the time because potential to be fatal, the victim she looked at the clock while on the probably would not have survived phone. more than fifteen minutes after the wounds were inflicted. Dr. Berkland Popeye’s was scheduled to open at also testified that the victim’s wounds 10:30 a.m. but Harrison and Hurst were consistent with the use of a box were the only employees scheduled to cutter. A box cutter was found on a work at 8 a.m. However, at some baker’s rack close to the victim’s point before opening, two other body. Later testing showed that the Popeye’s employees arrived, in box cutter had the victim’s blood on addition to the driver of the supply it. It was not the type of box cutter that truck. None of them saw Hurst or his was used at Popeye’s, but was similar car. At 10:30 a.m., another Popeye’s to a box cutter that Hurst had been assistant manager, Tonya Crenshaw, seen with several days before the arrived and found the two Popeye’s crime. employees and the truck driver waiting outside the locked restaurant. Hurst’s friend, Michael Williams, testified that Hurst admitted to him When Crenshaw unlocked the door, that he had killed Harrison. Hurst told and she and the delivery driver him that he had an argument with the entered, they discovered that the safe victim, she “retaliated,” and that was unlocked and open, and the Hurst hit the victim and cut her with a previous day’s receipts, as well as box cutter. Hurst said he had killed $375 in small bills and change, were the victim because, “he didn’t want 269 the woman to see his face.” Williams victim’s name, a bank deposit slip, a stated that Hurst had talked about sock with blood stains on it, and a robbing Popeye’s on previous sheet of notebook paper marked “Lee occasions. Smith, language lab.” On the back of the notebook paper someone had Another of Hurst’s friends, “Lee- added several numbers, and one Lee” Smith, testified that the night number was the same as the amount before the murder, Hurst said he was on the deposit slip. Smith’s father also going to rob Popeye’s. On the gave the police a pair of size fourteen morning of the murder, Hurst came to shoes that appeared to have blood Smith’s house with a plastic container stains on them and that he had full of money from the Popeye’s safe. retrieved from the same trash can. Hurst instructed Smith to keep the Jack Remus, a Florida Department of money for him. Hurst said he had Law Enforcement (FDLE) crime lab killed the victim and put her in the analyst, testified that the shoes were freezer. Smith washed Hurst’s pants, tested with phenolpthalein to detect which had blood on them, and threw blood, and while the test results away Hurst’s socks and shoes. Later exhibited some of the chemical that morning, Smith and Hurst went indications associated with blood, to Wal-Mart to purchase a new pair of attempts at DNA testing were not shoes. They also went to a pawn shop successful. Remus also tested the where Hurst saw some rings he liked, blood-stained sock and determined and after returning to Smith’s house that the DNA typing was consistent for the stolen money, Hurst returned with the victim. Hurst’s pants were to the shop and purchased the three also tested, but no blood evidence was rings for $300.