Forbes v. State (consolidated with Delancy v. State and Ingraham v. State)
Three co-defendants convicted of murdering a Broward Sheriff's deputy and attempted murder of another challenged the trial court's denial of their motions to sever their joint trial, along with other rulings. The Fourth DCA affirmed, holding that other-crimes evidence offered to shift blame to a co-defendant must meet the 'fingerprint' similarity standard from Savino, that antagonistic defenses among co-defendants do not by themselves require severance, and that DNA 'cannot exclude' testimony is admissible with weight (not admissibility) concerns going to the jury.
Key facts
- Three co-defendants were jointly tried for the murder of a Broward Sheriff's deputy and attempted murder of another deputy.
- The trial court denied the co-defendants' motions to sever their joint trial and admitted various evidence, including other-crimes evidence and DNA evidence that could not exclude defendants.
- +2 more key facts with a free trial
Why it matters
This opinion provides a useful multi-defendant severance roadmap for practitioners handling joint criminal trials, reaffirming the Savino 'fingerprint' similarity test for other-crimes evidence offered to shift blame… — full analysis with a trial
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