Gerald Ray Hoffman v. State of Florida

• Court: District Court of Appeal of Florida
• Decided: June 19, 2026
• Docket: 5D2025-2803
• Status: Published

Opinion

FIFTH DISTRICT COURT OF APPEAL STATE OF FLORIDA _____________________________

Case No. 5D2025-2803 LT Case No. 42-2006-CF-1659-A _____________________________

GERALD RAY HOFFMAN,

Appellant,

v.

STATE OF FLORIDA,

Appellee. _____________________________

3.800 Appeal from the Circuit Court for Marion County. Timothy Thomas McCourt, Judge.

Gerald Ray Hoffman, Raiford, pro se.

James Uthmeier, Attorney General, Tallahassee, and Samuel Perrone, Assistant Attorney General, Daytona Beach, for Appellee.

June 19, 2026

PER CURIAM.

AFFIRMED. See Maye v. State, 51 Fla. L. Weekly S116, No. SC2023-1184, 2026 WL 1346031, at *4 (Fla. May 14, 2026) (noting that Erlinger[1] does not apply retroactively to cases that have

1 Erlinger v. United States, 602 U.S. 821 (2024). become final and that arguments related to Apprendi[2] are not cognizable under rule 3.800(a)); see also Galindez v. State, 955 So. 2d 517, 522 (Fla. 2007) (holding that the harmless error analysis to be applied to an Apprendi violation is whether the record demonstrates beyond a reasonable doubt that a rational jury would have found the fact absent the error).

JAY, C.J., and MAKAR and KILBANE, JJ., concur.

_____________________________

Not final until disposition of any timely and authorized motion under Fla. R. App. P. 9.330 or 9.331. _____________________________

2 Apprendi v. New Jersey, 530 U.S. 466 (2000).