Florida District Courts of Appeal, 2001

Cole v. State

Cole v. State
Florida District Courts of Appeal · Decided February 28, 2001 · Blue, Davis, Salcines
782 So. 2d 434; 2001 Fla. App. LEXIS 2082; 2001 WL 194030 (Southern Reporter, Second Series)

Cole v. State

Opinion of the Court

DAVIS, Judge.

Christopher Cole appeals his conviction and sentence for three counts of manslaughter and one count of grand theft. Cole argues that the trial court erred in failing to grant a judgment of acquittal as to the manslaughter charges and in failing to sever the grand theft charge from the manslaughter charges. He further alleges that the prosecutor’s remarks in closing argument, while not objected to, constitute fundamental error. Finally, he challenges his sentencing under the 1995 sentencing guidelines. While we are not persuaded by the first two arguments, following a thorough review of the record, we conclude that, given this extremely close case, the prosecutor’s remarks in closing argument rise to the level of fundamental error. Accordingly, we reverse Cole’s manslaughter convictions and remand for a new trial. See Miller v. State, 782 So.2d 426 (Fla. 2d DCA 2001). Because we reverse Cole’s convictions, we decline to address Cole’s sentencing issue as moot.

SALCINES, J., Concurs. BLUE, A.C.J., Concurs in part; dissents in part.

Concurring in Part

BLUE, Acting Chief Judge,

Concurring in part; dissenting in part.

I concur in part and dissent in part based on the reasons set forth in Miller v. State, 782 So.2d 426 (Fla. 2d DCA 2001) (Blue, A.C.J., concurring in part; dissenting in part).

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