Daniel Valdez v. State of Florida

Third District Court of Appeal State of Florida Opinion filed June 4, 2026.

Not final until disposition of timely filed motion for rehearing.

________________ No. 3D25-0881 Lower Tribunal Nos. 22-13258, F23-15301B ________________

Daniel Valdez, Appellant, vs. State of Florida, Appellee.

An Appeal from the Circuit Court for Miami-Dade County, Ariel Rodriguez, Judge.

Carlos J. Martinez, Public Defender, and Shannon Hemmendinger, Assistant Public Defender, for appellant.

James Uthmeier, Attorney General, and Lourdes B. Fernandez, Assistant Attorney General, for appellee.

Before FERNANDEZ, LOGUE and GORDO, JJ.

PER CURIAM.

Affirmed. See A.L.M. v. State, 390 So. 3d 207, 208 (Fla. 3d DCA 2024) (“While it bears reminding that every trial judge ‘owes a duty of neutrality to the parties and may not favor one side or the other,’ M.W. v. State, 263 So. 3d 214 (Fla. 3d DCA 2019), a principle that holds true whether in a proceeding before a jury or before the bench, we find the trial court's actions fell within the broad discretion afforded to the court to manage and regulate the course of the [evidence before it].” (footnote omitted)).