Boatwright v. State
In the high-profile XXXTentacion murder prosecution, the Fourth DCA affirmed the defendant's convictions and life sentence, rejecting his argument that the trial court erred in denying severance and admitting a co-defendant's girlfriend's hearsay testimony about statements implicating unnamed accomplices. The court held the redacted statement did not facially incriminate the defendant under Bruton, was independently admissible as a party-opponent admission, and any error was harmless given other overwhelming evidence including a cooperating co-defendant's direct testimony.
Key facts
- Boatwright was charged with murder in connection with the XXXTentacion killing and tried jointly with a co-defendant.
- At trial, the court denied Boatwright's motion to sever and admitted redacted hearsay statements from the co-defendant's girlfriend regarding the co-defendant's involvement in the crime.
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Why it matters
This opinion provides a clear, well-organized application of the Bruton/Richardson/Samia framework alongside Florida's Rule 3.152(b)(2) severance procedure, useful for practitioners litigating joint-trial confrontation… — full analysis with a trial
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