City of Miami Beach v. Cosme
A Miami Beach municipal court sua sponte dismissed an open-container charge against Cosme by handwritten note during an afternoon calendar the prosecutor was not noticed to attend. The Third DCA held that the trial court violated the City's due process rights by dismissing the case without notice or an opportunity to be heard, and separately exceeded its authority because no motion to dismiss was filed and none of the Rule 3.190(c) grounds applied, since the prosecution alone controls the charging/dismissal decision absent a proper motion.
Key facts
- City of Miami Beach prosecuted Cosme for an open-container violation in municipal court.
- The trial court sua sponte dismissed the charge by handwritten note during a calendar call that the prosecutor was not noticed to attend.
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Why it matters
This decision is useful to practitioners on both sides because it recognizes that due process notice-and-hearing protections run to the State/prosecuting authority, not just criminal defendants, when a court acts sua… — full analysis with a trial
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