State of Florida v. Ricardo Fernandez
CourtDistrict Court of Appeal of Florida
Date FiledJanuary 6, 2021
Docket2D19-1184
StatusPublished
📰 News Coverage: Read the LAWS.com news report on this case
Full Opinion
NOT FINAL UNTIL TIME EXPIRES TO FILE REHEARING
MOTION AND, IF FILED, DETERMINED
IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF APPEAL
OF FLORIDA
SECOND DISTRICT
STATE OF FLORIDA, )
)
Appellant, )
)
v. ) Case No. 2D19-1184
)
RICARDO L. FERNANDEZ, )
)
Appellee. )
)
Opinion filed January 6, 2021.
Appeal from the Circuit Court for Polk
County; J. Kevin Abdoney, Judge.
Ashley Moody, Attorney General,
Tallahassee, and Elba Caridad Martin-
Schomaker, Assistant Attorney General,
Tampa, for Appellant.
Howard L. Dimmig, II, Public Defender,
and Daniel Muller, Assistant Public
Defender, Bartow, for Appellee.
PER CURIAM.
The State appeals the trial court's order granting Ricardo Fernandez's
motion to suppress after the trial court found the affidavit used to obtain the anticipatory
search warrant was deficient and the good faith exception to the warrant requirement
did not apply. We affirm the trial court's order to the extent it provides the search and
seizure was illegal based upon the deficient warrant without comment. However,
because the issue of Mr. Fernandez's standing to challenge the invalid warrant was not
addressed below,1 we reverse and remand for a new suppression hearing at which the
trial court shall address the sole issue of standing. If the trial court finds Mr. Fernandez
establishes his standing to challenge the invalid warrant, then the motion to suppress
should be granted. See McCauley v. State, 842 So. 2d 897, 900 (Fla. 2d DCA 2003).
Reversed and remanded.
KELLY, MORRIS, and SMITH, JJ., Concur.
1We note that the State did not raise any argument related to Mr.
Fernandez's standing to challenge the invalid warrant below; however, this court has
held that the State is permitted to raise a lack of standing, in the Fourth Amendment
context, for the first time on appeal. See State v. Pettis, 266 So. 3d 238, 239 (Fla. 2d
DCA 2019); Hendley v. State, 58 So. 3d 296, 299 (Fla. 2d DCA 2011); State v.
Fernandez, 36 So. 3d 120, 123 (Fla. 2d DCA 2010); Murphy v. State, 32 So. 3d 122,
125 (Fla. 2d DCA 2009); McCauley v. State, 842 So. 2d 897, 900 (Fla. 2d DCA 2003).
We are bound by these decisions. See Lee v. Estate of Payne, 148 So. 3d 776, 781
(Fla. 2d DCA 2013) ("We are constrained by precedent unless changed by the supreme
court."); Gulf Am. Fire & Cas. Co. v. Singleton, 265 So. 2d 720, 721 (Fla. 2d DCA 1972)
(acknowledging "stare decisis demands that we adhere to our ruling on identical facts"
in prior cases).
-2-