Jean Gerome v. State of Florida

• Court: District Court of Appeal of Florida
• Decided: September 10, 2025
• Docket: 3D2025-1207
• Status: Published

Opinion

Third District Court of Appeal State of Florida

Opinion filed September 10, 2025. Not final until disposition of timely filed motion for rehearing.

________________

No. 3D25-1207 Lower Tribunal No. F15-16272 ________________

Jean Gerome, Appellant,

vs.

State of Florida, Appellee.

An Appeal under Florida Rule of Appellate Procedure 9.141(b)(2) from the Circuit Court for Miami-Dade County, Ariel Rodriguez, Judge.

Jean Gerome, in proper person.

James Uthmeier, Attorney General, for appellee.

Before EMAS, LOBREE and BOKOR, JJ.

PER CURIAM. Defendant appeals the trial court’s order denying his motion for

postconviction DNA testing pursuant to Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure

3.853. We affirm, as the State’s response to the motion, and the exhibits

attached thereto, established that DNA testing had been conducted on all of

the items and material which were the subject of Defendant’s motion, and

the conclusive results of that testing provided to his counsel prior to his 2017

trial. See Hitchcock v. State, 866 So. 2d 23, 27-28 (Fla. 2004) (“Rule 3.853

is not intended to be a fishing expedition. Rather, it is intended to provide a

defendant with an opportunity for DNA testing of material not previously

tested or of previously tested material when the results of previous DNA

testing were inconclusive and subsequent developments in DNA testing

techniques would likely provide a definitive result. . . .”).