Keschener Destin v. the State of Florida

• Court: District Court of Appeal of Florida
• Decided: January 22, 2025
• Docket: 3D2023-1403
• Status: Published

Opinion

Third District Court of Appeal State of Florida

Opinion filed January 22, 2025. Not final until disposition of timely filed motion for rehearing.

________________

No. 3D23-1403 Lower Tribunal No. F19-8825 ________________

Keschener Destin, Appellant,

vs.

The State of Florida, Appellee.

An Appeal from the Circuit Court for Miami-Dade County, William Altfield, Judge.

Carlos J. Martinez, Public Defender, and Susan S. Lerner, Assistant Public Defender, for appellant.

Ashley Moody, Attorney General, and Christina L. Dominguez, Assistant Attorney General, for appellee.

Before EMAS, MILLER and BOKOR, JJ.

PER CURIAM. Affirmed. See Alvarez v. State, 792 So. 2d 1255, 1257 (Fla. 3d DCA

2001) (finding no abuse of discretion by the trial court in allowing the State

to reopen its case after it rested and defense moved for acquittal); M.W. v.

State, 263 So. 3d 214, 214–15 (Fla. 3d DCA 2019) (affirming order on appeal

and explaining that trial court did not “enter[] the fray” and “sacrifice[] trial

court neutrality” by directing the State to establish a basis for a line of

questioning after objection and noting the trial court’s “latitude to regulate the

course of a trial in his courtroom”); see also Guzman v. State, 350 So. 3d 72,

73 (Fla. 4th DCA 2022) (affirming use of six-person jury and noting that a

state appellate court has “no authority to overrule the precedent from the

United States Supreme Court that endorsed the use of a jury with only six

members as constitutional” (citing Gonzalez v. State, 982 So. 2d 77, 78 (Fla.

2d DCA 2008))).