Stephen v. State
In a bifurcated trial on attempted murder and possession of a firearm by a prohibited person, the trial court failed to instruct the jury on the standard 'multiple counts, single defendant' instruction and instead told the jury to simply check a verdict-form box finding possession proven based on the Count 1 verdict. The Fourth DCA held this constituted fundamental error, improperly carrying over a finding from one count to another and effectively directing the verdict on Count 2, violating due process and the right to a jury trial.
Key facts
- Stephen was tried in a bifurcated trial on charges of attempted murder and possession of a firearm by a prohibited person.
- The trial court failed to give the standard jury instruction on multiple counts against a single defendant and instead instructed the jury to check a verdict-form box finding possession proven based solely on the attempted murder count verdict.
- +2 more key facts with a free trial
Why it matters
This decision reinforces that bifurcated trials on related firearm charges require careful, independent jury instructions for each count and that the standard multiple-counts instruction cannot be omitted, particularly… — full analysis with a trial
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