Clarence Percy Weaver Sr. v. State of Florida
CourtDistrict Court of Appeal of Florida
Date FiledJanuary 23, 2020
Docket1D18-2199
StatusPublished
📰 News Coverage: Read the LAWS.com news report on this case
Full Opinion
FIRST DISTRICT COURT OF APPEAL
STATE OF FLORIDA
_____________________________
No. 1D18-2199
_____________________________
CLARENCE PERCY WEAVER SR.,
Appellant,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA,
Appellee.
_____________________________
On appeal from the Circuit Court for Nassau County.
Robert M. Foster, Judge.
January 23, 2020
M.K. THOMAS, J.
Appellant raises numerous issues on appeal regarding his
conviction for five counts of sexual battery upon a person less than
twelve years of age. The second and third issues we affirm without
comment. * In Appellant’s first issue he claims the trial court
committed per se reversible error when it failed to instruct the jury
on the lesser included offense of lewd or lascivious battery.
However, in Knight v. State, 44 Fla. L. Weekly S310 (Fla. Dec. 19,
* The second and third issues raised on appeal are whether
the trial court erred in admitting collateral crime evidence and
denying his motion for mistrial due to prosecutor comments in
closing argument.
2019), the Florida Supreme Court recently receded from prior
precedent and now rejects recognition of a fundamental right to
jury instructions that facilitate partial jury nullification. Thus,
instruction error is no longer considered per se reversible. Rather,
where there is no error in the jury instruction on the offense of
conviction, and the evidence supports that conviction, the
defendant’s judgment must be affirmed. Id. Here, there was no
error in the sexual battery jury instruction, and sufficient evidence
was presented to support Appellant’s conviction. Accordingly, we
AFFIRM appellant’s judgment and sentence.
ROWE and JAY, JJ., concur.
_____________________________
Not final until disposition of any timely and
authorized motion under Fla. R. App. P. 9.330 or
9.331.
_____________________________
Andy Thomas, Public Defender, and Megan Long, Assistant Public
Defender, Tallahassee, for Appellant.
Ashley Moody, Attorney General, and Steven E. Woods, Assistant
Attorney General, Tallahassee, for Appellee.
2