This week’s Florida appellate decisions, covered case by case: two vehicular homicide convictions reversed because a detective’s speed calculation, built on internet vehicle weights and angles measured on Google Maps with a protractor, came in as “investigation” instead of expert testimony. Plus polygraph-prompted admissions in a sex offender probation case, a probation revocation that rested only on an arrest affidavit, a misdemeanor information that stayed a misdemeanor, the Leon County grand jury presentment expunged under the rule that a grand jury indicts or exonerates, and a stand your ground prohibition petition. On the injury side, sovereign immunity for DCF and a State contractor decided as a matter of law, a signed waiver that ended a premises claim, and the 2027 change to initial damages disclosures. Then a deep dive on the officer’s opinion: when a police witness’s conclusion is lay testimony, when it becomes expert testimony, and why the difference decides crash cases.

PRACTICE AREAS THIS WEEK: six criminal decisions, three injury decisions, and one Florida Supreme Court rule change.

CHAPTERS
0:00 The side door
1:40 Faustin: a detective’s speed formula, admitted as investigation
4:49 Velazquez: polygraph results out, the admissions in
7:12 Marshall: a probation violation proved only by hearsay
9:16 Noel: a misdemeanor information stays a misdemeanor
10:36 The Leon County grand jury presentment, expunged
13:12 Smith: stand your ground and the prohibition standard
14:10 Gainey: sovereign immunity for DCF and its contractor
17:20 Linares: the waiver, and the rule 1.280 change
18:31 Deep dive: when an officer’s opinion becomes expert testimony
23:04 The working playbook: lay or expert
25:19 The week in one line

Cases covered:
Faustin v. State, 4D2024-2667 and 4D2024-2669 (Fla. 4th DCA Oct. 7, 2026)
Velazquez v. State, 1D2025-0550 (Fla. 1st DCA Oct. 7, 2026)
Marshall v. State, 5D2025-3795 (Fla. 5th DCA Oct. 5, 2026)
Noel v. State, 3D25-0056 (Fla. 3d DCA Oct. 7, 2026)
In re Leon County Grand Jury Presentment, Fall of 2025, 1D2026-2435 (Fla. 1st DCA Oct. 7, 2026) (Bilbrey, J., concurring in part and in result)
Smith v. State, 1D2025-1130 (Fla. 1st DCA Oct. 7, 2026) (Winokur, J., concurring)
Florida Department of Children and Families v. Gainey, 1D2025-2106 (Fla. 1st DCA Oct. 7, 2026)
Crandall Medical Consulting, LLC v. Gainey, 1D2025-2124 (Fla. 1st DCA Oct. 7, 2026)
Linares v. Dezerland Park, LLC, 3D25-1650 (Fla. 3d DCA Oct. 8, 2026)
In re Amendments to Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.280, SC2025-1497 (Fla. Oct. 8, 2026)

Also discussed: Kian v. Florida, No. 25-6623 (U.S. cert. granted June 15, 2026); State ex rel. Brautigam v. Interim Report of Grand Jury, 93 So. 2d 99 (Fla. 1957); Sanislo v. Give Kids the World, Inc., 157 So. 3d 256 (Fla. 2015); Urban Air Jacksonville, LLC v. Hinton, 415 So. 3d 1212 (Fla. 5th DCA 2025).

Discussed in the deep dive: Fla. Stat. §§ 90.701 and 90.702; In re Amendments to the Florida Evidence Code, 278 So. 3d 551 (Fla. 2019); Fino v. Nodine, 646 So. 2d 746 (Fla. 4th DCA 1994); Kemp v. State, 280 So. 3d 81 (Fla. 4th DCA 2019); Stukins v. State, 418 So. 3d 168 (Fla. 4th DCA 2025); Martinez v. State, 761 So. 2d 1074 (Fla. 2000); Olano Sanchez v. State, 3D24-0231 (Fla. 3d DCA Sept. 10, 2025); State v. DiGuilio, 491 So. 2d 1129 (Fla. 1986); Faustin v. State, 4D2024-2667 (Fla. 4th DCA Oct. 7, 2026).

Most of these decisions are not final until the time for rehearing expires. Want the opinions, or the one-page lay-or-expert objection worksheet? Email rory@thesafirlawyer.com and I will send them over, no charge.

Safir Injury and Criminal Defense Law handles criminal, DUI, and personal injury matters across Florida, and we gladly accept referrals from fellow attorneys. Call or text 727-472-8096, or find us at thesafirlawyer.com.

This podcast is for informational purposes only and is not legal advice. Always read the full opinion before relying on anything discussed here. Attorney Rory Safir is responsible for the content of this advertisement.

Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome in any other case.

This week’s Florida appellate decisions, covered case by case: a man walking his two snakes, convicted of resisting a stop the deputies never had grounds to make, acquitted by the Fifth District because a matching description is all they had. Plus a hot-car felony murder conviction reversed because the State never had to prove the defendant knew, the First District openly rejecting the Second District’s rule on explaining a refusal to depart, a sentence built on withdrawn violation affidavits, a resentencing held without the defendant, a contempt finding that rested on the spirit of an order, and the new sworn-motion requirement for rule 3.190(d)(2). On the civil side, a punitive damages proffer measured one defendant at a time, a personal jurisdiction appeal dismissed, and the new signature rule for discovery. Then a deep dive on the 911 call: when a caller’s report is enough to stop someone, and what that means for the DUI stop that starts with a dispatch.

PRACTICE AREAS THIS WEEK: eight criminal decisions, two civil decisions, and two Florida Supreme Court rule changes.

CHAPTERS
0:00 The missing element
1:55 Holliday: the snakes, the 911 call, and the resisting charge
3:59 Jewell: the hot car, knowledge, and felony murder
8:14 Weber: the First District rejects the Second on departures
10:26 Mc Taw: withdrawn affidavits at sentencing
11:50 Ganga: resentencing without the defendant
13:05 Rule 3.190(d)(2): sworn again
13:46 The rest of the criminal week
15:54 Benedetto: a punitive proffer, one defendant at a time
17:31 Holms, and the new discovery signature rule
18:43 Deep dive: when a 911 call justifies a stop
23:09 The working playbook for a 911 stop
25:06 The week in one line

Cases covered:
Holliday v. State, 5D2024-1865 (Fla. 5th DCA Oct. 2, 2026)
Jewell v. State, 1D2024-3279 (Fla. 1st DCA Sept. 30, 2026) (Osterhaus, C.J., concurring in part and dissenting in part)
Weber v. State, 1D2025-1427 (Fla. 1st DCA Sept. 30, 2026)
Mc Taw v. State, 3D24-0843 (Fla. 3d DCA Sept. 30, 2026)
Ganga v. State, 5D2024-2695 (Fla. 5th DCA Oct. 2, 2026)
In re Amendments to Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.190, SC2024-0839 (Fla. Oct. 1, 2026)
A.C. v. State, 5D2026-0508 (Fla. 5th DCA Oct. 2, 2026)
Johnson v. State, 3D25-0403 (Fla. 3d DCA Sept. 30, 2026)
State v. Hernandez, 3D24-1122 (Fla. 3d DCA Sept. 30, 2026)
Benedetto v. Cuatt, 4D2024-2388 and 4D2025-0265 (Fla. 4th DCA Sept. 30, 2026)
Progressive Michigan Insurance Co. v. Holms, 6D2025-2413 (Fla. 6th DCA Oct. 2, 2026)
In re Amendments to Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.280(k), SC2025-1053 (Fla. Oct. 1, 2026)

Also discussed: R.E. v. State, 536 So. 2d 1125 (Fla. 1st DCA 1988); Mahaun v. State, 377 So. 2d 1158 (Fla. 1979); Kian v. Florida, No. 25-6623 (U.S. cert. granted June 15, 2026); Banks v. State, 732 So. 2d 1065 (Fla. 1999); Gazoombi v. State, 406 So. 3d 371 (Fla. 1st DCA 2025); Williams v. State, 286 So. 3d 892 (Fla. 2d DCA 2019); Manyak v. State, 414 So. 3d 263 (Fla. 2d DCA 2025); Kezal v. State, 42 So. 3d 252 (Fla. 2d DCA 2010); Jordan v. State, 143 So. 3d 335 (Fla. 2014); Brown v. State, 719 So. 2d 882 (Fla. 1998); State v. Korson, 413 So. 3d 207 (Fla. 2d DCA 2025); Perlmutter v. Federal Insurance Co., 434 So. 3d 681 (Fla. 2026).

Discussed in the deep dive: Alabama v. White, 496 U.S. 325 (1990); Florida v. J.L., 529 U.S. 266 (2000); Baptiste v. State, 995 So. 2d 285 (Fla. 2008); Navarette v. California, 572 U.S. 393 (2014); Peterson v. State, 264 So. 3d 1183 (Fla. 2d DCA 2019); Holliday v. State, 5D2024-1865 (Fla. 5th DCA Oct. 2, 2026).

Most of these decisions are not final until the time for rehearing expires. Want the opinions, or the one-page worksheet for taking apart a 911 stop? Email rory@thesafirlawyer.com and I will send them over, no charge.

Safir Injury and Criminal Defense Law handles criminal, DUI, and personal injury matters across Florida, and we gladly accept referrals from fellow attorneys. Call or text 727-472-8096, or find us at thesafirlawyer.com.

This podcast is for informational purposes only and is not legal advice. Always read the full opinion before relying on anything discussed here. Attorney Rory Safir is responsible for the content of this advertisement.

Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome in any other case.

This week’s Florida appellate decisions, covered case by case: a Sarasota sexual battery conviction reversed because the jury heard that the complainant accused her stepfather of abuse but never heard that the abuse was sexual, the one word the Second District said carried the defense. Plus PTSD evidence that needed an expert after Oquendo, the First District openly disagreeing with the Fourth on the abnormal mental condition instruction, a medical examiner allowed to relay an absent analyst’s toxicology, two traffic-stop decisions on exit orders and burned cannabis, a surcharge the State tried to concede away, two punitive damages proffers against commercial drivers, and a Pasco slip and fall that ended on summary judgment. Then a deep dive on the substitute analyst: who has to take the stand for a lab result, and what that means for the blood report in a DUI file.

PRACTICE AREAS THIS WEEK: ten criminal decisions and three injury decisions, with two Sarasota cases, a Duval trucking case, and a Pasco premises case.

CHAPTERS
0:00 What the jury hears
1:56 Johnson: the one word the jury never heard
4:27 Bedward: PTSD after Oquendo
6:06 Gabriel: the First District disagrees with the Fourth
7:52 Fonte: the medical examiner and someone else’s toxicology
9:16 Parish and Smith: exit orders and burned cannabis
10:51 Adderley: the State concedes, and the court does the math
11:38 The rest of the week
12:31 Limousines and Gresham: when a jury hears punitive damages
16:08 Ausburn: the slip and fall nobody could describe
18:07 Deep dive: the substitute analyst and the DUI blood report
22:34 The working playbook for a lab result
25:15 The week in one line

Cases covered:
Johnson v. State, 2D2024-0982 (Fla. 2d DCA Sept. 25, 2026)
Bedward v. State, 4D2024-0072 (Fla. 4th DCA Sept. 23, 2026)
Gabriel v. State, 1D2023-3107 (Fla. 1st DCA Sept. 23, 2026)
Fonte v. State, 3D25-0850 (Fla. 3d DCA Sept. 23, 2026)
Parish v. State, 1D2025-3040 (Fla. 1st DCA Sept. 23, 2026)
Smith v. State, 1D2025-0497 (Fla. 1st DCA Sept. 23, 2026)
Adderley v. State, 1D2025-0188 (Fla. 1st DCA Sept. 23, 2026)
Brown v. State, 2D2025-2204 (Fla. 2d DCA Sept. 25, 2026)
Jenkins v. State, 5D2026-0151 (Fla. 5th DCA Sept. 25, 2026)
Beasley v. State, SC2026-1399 (Fla. Sept. 22, 2026)
Limousines of South Florida, Inc. v. Levit, 3D26-0024 (Fla. 3d DCA Sept. 23, 2026)
Gresham v. FEC Highway Services, LLC, 5D2024-2555 (Fla. 5th DCA Sept. 25, 2026) (Jay, C.J., dissenting)
Ausburn v. Wesley Chapel-T, LLC, 2D2025-0516 (Fla. 2d DCA Sept. 25, 2026)

Also discussed: Oquendo v. State, 420 So. 3d 466 (Fla. 2025); Perry v. State, 256 So. 3d 888 (Fla. 4th DCA 2018); State v. Creller, 386 So. 3d 487 (Fla. 2024); Perlmutter v. Federal Insurance Co., 434 So. 3d 681 (Fla. 2026).

Discussed in the deep dive: Crawford v. Washington, 541 U.S. 36 (2004); State v. Belvin, 986 So. 2d 516 (Fla. 2008); State v. Johnson, 982 So. 2d 672 (Fla. 2008); Baber v. State, 775 So. 2d 258 (Fla. 2000); Sobota v. State, 933 So. 2d 1277 (Fla. 2d DCA 2006); Bullcoming v. New Mexico, 564 U.S. 647 (2011); Smith v. Arizona, 602 U.S. 779 (2024); Robinson v. State, 3D23-1254 (Fla. 3d DCA Oct. 8, 2025).

Most of these decisions are not final until the time for rehearing expires. Want the opinions, or the one-page lab witness checklist? Email rory@thesafirlawyer.com and I will send them over, no charge.

Safir Injury and Criminal Defense Law handles criminal, DUI, and personal injury matters across Florida, and we gladly accept referrals from fellow attorneys. Call or text 727-472-8096, or find us at thesafirlawyer.com.

This podcast is for informational purposes only and is not legal advice. Always read the full opinion before relying on anything discussed here. Attorney Rory Safir is responsible for the content of this advertisement.

Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome in any other case.