No. 24-6942

John Sexton v. Florida

Lower Court: Florida
Docketed: 2025-04-08
Status: Denied
Type: IFP
IFP
Tags: capital-punishment court-witness harmless-error mitigation-specialist sixth-amendment structural-error
Key Terms:
DueProcess Punishment
Latest Conference: 2025-09-29
Question Presented (AI Summary)

Did the state trial court commit structural error by violating the Defendant's Sixth Amendment-secured right to autonomy in his capital penalty proceeding?

Question Presented (OCR Extract)

During John Sexton ’s capital penalty phase trial , after he presented his mitgation and rested, the trial court called the defense team’s mitigation specialist as a court witness to elicit information that Sexton intentionally chose to omit from his presentation of mitigating evidence . The Florida Supreme Court found that the trial court violated Sexton’s Sixth Amendment right by commande ering his mitigation specialist and compelling her to testify to facts that he had intentionally omitted from his case , but it affirmed the death sentence on the basis that the constitutional violation was harmless error . The question presented is: Did the state trial court commit structural error by violating the Defendant's Sixth Amendment -secured right to autonomy in his capital penalty proceeding ?

Docket Entries

2025-10-06
Petition DENIED.
2025-06-26
DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 9/29/2025.
2025-06-09
Brief of Florida in opposition submitted.
2025-06-09
Brief of respondent Florida in opposition filed.
2025-04-30
Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is extended to and including June 9, 2025.
2025-04-29
Motion of Florida for an extension of time submitted.
2025-04-29
Motion to extend the time to file a response from May 8, 2025 to June 9, 2025, submitted to The Clerk.
2025-04-04
Petition for a writ of certiorari and motion for leave to proceed in forma pauperis filed. (Response due May 8, 2025)

Attorneys

Florida
Carla Suzanne BechardOffice of the Attorney General, State of Florida, Respondent
Carla Suzanne BechardOffice of the Attorney General, State of Florida, Respondent
Karen Kinney Office of the Public Defender
Karen Mary KinneyPublic Defender, Tenth Judicial Circuit, Petitioner
Karen Mary KinneyPublic Defender, Tenth Judicial Circuit, Petitioner