Supreme Court of Florida ____________
No. SC2023-1683 ____________
KAYLE B. BATES, Appellant,
vs.
STATE OF FLORIDA, Appellee.
October 24, 2024
COURIEL, J.
Kayle Barrington Bates appeals an order of the postconviction
court denying his motion, made under Florida Rule of Criminal
Procedure 3.575, to interview a juror who served at his trial in
1983. Bates claims to have learned at some unspecified time (but
years after his conviction) that the juror is the second cousin of a
person who was married to the victim’s sister. We have jurisdiction. 1 See art. V, § 3(b)(1), (9), Fla. Const. Bates’s motion is
time-barred, so we affirm.
I
In 1983, a jury found Bates guilty of the kidnapping,
attempted sexual battery, armed robbery, and first-degree murder
of Janet White. See Bates v. State, 465 So. 2d 490 (Fla. 1985).
Bates attacked White in her State Farm Insurance office. Bates v.
State, 3 So. 3d 1091, 1097 (Fla. 2009). He forced her into the
woods behind the building; there he beat, tried to rape, and
eventually murdered her. Id. Bates was found at the scene of the
crime with the victim’s blood on his clothing. Id. Police found other
physical evidence connecting Bates to the victim’s corpse, including
clothing fibers consistent with Bates’s pants, Bates’s knife case and
hat, a watch pin consistent with his watch, and semen on the
1. Although Bates did not style his motion as having been made pursuant to Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.851, that is how we review it. See Fla. R. Crim. P. 3.851(a) (“This rule shall apply to all postconviction proceedings that commence upon issuance of the appellate mandate affirming the death sentence to include all motions and petitions for any type of postconviction or collateral relief brought by a defendant in state custody who has been sentenced to death and whose conviction and death sentence have been affirmed on direct appeal.”).
-2- victim and on Bates’s underwear. Id. Bates gave inconsistent
confessions that further implicated him in the murder. Id. After he
was convicted, the jury recommended the death penalty. The court
sentenced Bates to death.
This case has a long history of appeals. In the original direct
appeal, this Court affirmed Bates’s first-degree murder conviction
but remanded to the trial court for reconsideration of the death
sentence and a reweighing of the aggravating and mitigating factors.
Bates v. State, 465 So. 2d at 493. At resentencing, Bates was once
again sentenced to death. See Bates v. State, 506 So. 2d 1033 (Fla.
1987). This Court affirmed. Id. at 1035. In 1989, in between
appeals, the Governor signed Bates’s death warrant. See Bates v.
Dugger, 604 So. 2d 457, 458 (Fla. 1992). The trial court stayed his
execution and ordered a new sentencing hearing; this Court,
affirming that order, found that Bates’s counsel had been ineffective
and ordered a new resentencing before a jury. Id. at 459. After that
proceeding, the jury recommended a death sentence by a vote of
nine to three, and the circuit court again imposed a death sentence.
Bates v. State, 750 So. 2d 6, 9 (Fla. 1999). This Court affirmed. Id.
at 18. Years later, Bates petitioned this Court for a writ of habeas
-3- corpus and raised several issues about how his jury had been
selected, among other claims. See Bates v. State, 3 So. 3d at 1097.
This Court denied relief on all claims. Id. at 1107.
II
Bates’s effort to interview one of his jurors is 40 years late.
Without a showing of good cause for the delay, his claim is time-
barred. Rule 3.575 requires that a motion seeking to interview a
juror “be filed within 10 days after the rendition of the verdict,
unless good cause is shown for the failure to make the motion
within that time.” Fla. R. Crim. P. 3.575 (emphasis added). We
have addressed rule 3.575 denials on direct appeal and in
postconviction proceedings. Compare Foster v. State, 132 So. 3d
40, 65-66 (Fla. 2013) (affirming postconviction appeal of 3.575
denial), and Johnston v. State, 63 So. 3d 730, 739-40 (Fla. 2011)
(same), with Hampton v. State, 103 So. 3d 98, 107, 122 (Fla. 2012)
(affirming in a direct appeal the denial of a rule 3.575 motion). But
the timing contemplated by the rule suggests that the best time for
a rule 3.575 motion is on the heels of trial, and thus in connection
with a direct appeal, when memories are fresh and facts more
readily ascertained.
-4- Bates does not say when he discovered the alleged family
relationship between the juror and the victim. That is the end of
the matter, for it is Bates’s burden to establish good cause to
excuse the long delay—which he is hard-pressed to do without
explaining the timing of all this. 2 Cf. Ramirez v. State, 922 So. 2d
386, 390 (Fla. 1st DCA 2006) (stating that, after juror interviews are
granted, “the initial burden will be on the defense ‘either to show
that prejudice resulted or that the [premature deliberations or
conversations] were of such character as to raise a presumption of
prejudice’ ” (alteration in original) (quoting Russ v. State, 95 So. 2d
594, 600-01 (Fla. 1957))); Gray v. State, 72 So. 3d 336, 338 (Fla.
4th DCA 2011) (same). That is, if he cannot establish when he
learned of the alleged relationship between the juror and the victim,
it is hard to assess why—or, obviously, for how long—the relevant
information was unknown. The courts of our state regularly hold
appellants to this burden. See Rivet v. State, 307 So. 3d 801, 807
2. The order below indicates that the motion was filed within one year of Bates’s counsel discovering the familial connection. However, Bates does not say when he learned the relevant information or shared it with his lawyer.
-5- (Fla. 1st DCA 2018) (finding motion filed 14 days after trial was
“untimely without good cause” because defense counsel discovered
the issue during trial); Belcher v. State, 9 So. 3d 665, 666 (Fla. 1st
DCA 2009) (finding motion time-barred where defense counsel
raised the issue in court more than a month after learning of
potential misconduct); cf. Maiya v. Kennedy, 743 So. 2d 1183, 1184
(Fla. 4th DCA 1999) (“The record does not demonstrate good cause
to avoid the time limits of the rule; . . . there was no reason offered,
by proffer or otherwise, why the search could not have been
conducted within the time limits of the rule.”); Beyel Bros., Inc. v.
Lemenze, 720 So. 2d 556, 558 (Fla. 4th DCA 1998) (finding motion
untimely where defendants did not file until about three months
after the final verdict). 3
3. Maiya and Beyel Bros.
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Supreme Court of Florida ____________
No. SC2023-1683 ____________
KAYLE B. BATES, Appellant,
vs.
STATE OF FLORIDA, Appellee.
October 24, 2024
COURIEL, J.
Kayle Barrington Bates appeals an order of the postconviction
court denying his motion, made under Florida Rule of Criminal
Procedure 3.575, to interview a juror who served at his trial in
1983. Bates claims to have learned at some unspecified time (but
years after his conviction) that the juror is the second cousin of a
person who was married to the victim’s sister. We have jurisdiction. 1 See art. V, § 3(b)(1), (9), Fla. Const. Bates’s motion is
time-barred, so we affirm.
I
In 1983, a jury found Bates guilty of the kidnapping,
attempted sexual battery, armed robbery, and first-degree murder
of Janet White. See Bates v. State, 465 So. 2d 490 (Fla. 1985).
Bates attacked White in her State Farm Insurance office. Bates v.
State, 3 So. 3d 1091, 1097 (Fla. 2009). He forced her into the
woods behind the building; there he beat, tried to rape, and
eventually murdered her. Id. Bates was found at the scene of the
crime with the victim’s blood on his clothing. Id. Police found other
physical evidence connecting Bates to the victim’s corpse, including
clothing fibers consistent with Bates’s pants, Bates’s knife case and
hat, a watch pin consistent with his watch, and semen on the
1. Although Bates did not style his motion as having been made pursuant to Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.851, that is how we review it. See Fla. R. Crim. P. 3.851(a) (“This rule shall apply to all postconviction proceedings that commence upon issuance of the appellate mandate affirming the death sentence to include all motions and petitions for any type of postconviction or collateral relief brought by a defendant in state custody who has been sentenced to death and whose conviction and death sentence have been affirmed on direct appeal.”).
-2- victim and on Bates’s underwear. Id. Bates gave inconsistent
confessions that further implicated him in the murder. Id. After he
was convicted, the jury recommended the death penalty. The court
sentenced Bates to death.
This case has a long history of appeals. In the original direct
appeal, this Court affirmed Bates’s first-degree murder conviction
but remanded to the trial court for reconsideration of the death
sentence and a reweighing of the aggravating and mitigating factors.
Bates v. State, 465 So. 2d at 493. At resentencing, Bates was once
again sentenced to death. See Bates v. State, 506 So. 2d 1033 (Fla.
1987). This Court affirmed. Id. at 1035. In 1989, in between
appeals, the Governor signed Bates’s death warrant. See Bates v.
Dugger, 604 So. 2d 457, 458 (Fla. 1992). The trial court stayed his
execution and ordered a new sentencing hearing; this Court,
affirming that order, found that Bates’s counsel had been ineffective
and ordered a new resentencing before a jury. Id. at 459. After that
proceeding, the jury recommended a death sentence by a vote of
nine to three, and the circuit court again imposed a death sentence.
Bates v. State, 750 So. 2d 6, 9 (Fla. 1999). This Court affirmed. Id.
at 18. Years later, Bates petitioned this Court for a writ of habeas
-3- corpus and raised several issues about how his jury had been
selected, among other claims. See Bates v. State, 3 So. 3d at 1097.
This Court denied relief on all claims. Id. at 1107.
II
Bates’s effort to interview one of his jurors is 40 years late.
Without a showing of good cause for the delay, his claim is time-
barred. Rule 3.575 requires that a motion seeking to interview a
juror “be filed within 10 days after the rendition of the verdict,
unless good cause is shown for the failure to make the motion
within that time.” Fla. R. Crim. P. 3.575 (emphasis added). We
have addressed rule 3.575 denials on direct appeal and in
postconviction proceedings. Compare Foster v. State, 132 So. 3d
40, 65-66 (Fla. 2013) (affirming postconviction appeal of 3.575
denial), and Johnston v. State, 63 So. 3d 730, 739-40 (Fla. 2011)
(same), with Hampton v. State, 103 So. 3d 98, 107, 122 (Fla. 2012)
(affirming in a direct appeal the denial of a rule 3.575 motion). But
the timing contemplated by the rule suggests that the best time for
a rule 3.575 motion is on the heels of trial, and thus in connection
with a direct appeal, when memories are fresh and facts more
readily ascertained.
-4- Bates does not say when he discovered the alleged family
relationship between the juror and the victim. That is the end of
the matter, for it is Bates’s burden to establish good cause to
excuse the long delay—which he is hard-pressed to do without
explaining the timing of all this. 2 Cf. Ramirez v. State, 922 So. 2d
386, 390 (Fla. 1st DCA 2006) (stating that, after juror interviews are
granted, “the initial burden will be on the defense ‘either to show
that prejudice resulted or that the [premature deliberations or
conversations] were of such character as to raise a presumption of
prejudice’ ” (alteration in original) (quoting Russ v. State, 95 So. 2d
594, 600-01 (Fla. 1957))); Gray v. State, 72 So. 3d 336, 338 (Fla.
4th DCA 2011) (same). That is, if he cannot establish when he
learned of the alleged relationship between the juror and the victim,
it is hard to assess why—or, obviously, for how long—the relevant
information was unknown. The courts of our state regularly hold
appellants to this burden. See Rivet v. State, 307 So. 3d 801, 807
2. The order below indicates that the motion was filed within one year of Bates’s counsel discovering the familial connection. However, Bates does not say when he learned the relevant information or shared it with his lawyer.
-5- (Fla. 1st DCA 2018) (finding motion filed 14 days after trial was
“untimely without good cause” because defense counsel discovered
the issue during trial); Belcher v. State, 9 So. 3d 665, 666 (Fla. 1st
DCA 2009) (finding motion time-barred where defense counsel
raised the issue in court more than a month after learning of
potential misconduct); cf. Maiya v. Kennedy, 743 So. 2d 1183, 1184
(Fla. 4th DCA 1999) (“The record does not demonstrate good cause
to avoid the time limits of the rule; . . . there was no reason offered,
by proffer or otherwise, why the search could not have been
conducted within the time limits of the rule.”); Beyel Bros., Inc. v.
Lemenze, 720 So. 2d 556, 558 (Fla. 4th DCA 1998) (finding motion
untimely where defendants did not file until about three months
after the final verdict). 3
3. Maiya and Beyel Bros. consider the civil counterpart to rule 3.575, Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.431(h). Rule 3.575 is a newer rule with limited precedent discussing the “good cause” requirement. See Amends. to Fla. Rules of Crim. Proc., 886 So. 2d 197 (Fla. 2004) (adopting rule 3.575 for juror interviews in criminal cases, effective 2005). Cases applying the nearly identical civil rule are informative.
-6- III
Because Bates has failed to carry his burden of showing good
cause for the 40-year delay at issue, we affirm the postconviction
court’s denial of Bates’s motion.
It is so ordered.
MUÑIZ, C.J., and CANADY, LABARGA, GROSSHANS, FRANCIS, and SASSO, JJ., concur.
NOT FINAL UNTIL TIME EXPIRES TO FILE REHEARING MOTION AND, IF FILED, DETERMINED.
An Appeal from the Circuit Court in and for Bay County, Dustin Stephenson, Judge Case No. 031982CF000661XXAXMX
Suzanne Keffer, Capital Collateral Regional Counsel, James L. Driscoll, Jr., Assistant Capital Collateral Regional Counsel, and Jeanine Cohen, Staff Attorney, Office of Capital Collateral Regional Counsel, Southern Region, Fort Lauderdale, Florida,
for Appellant
Ashley Moody, Attorney General, and Charmaine M. Millsaps, Senior Assistant Attorney General, Tallahassee, Florida,
for Appellee
-7-