posted 2015 | B.H. v. State
The client, along with two other boys, were arrested and charged with second degree murder and attempted second degree murder. All three defendants were convicted and sentenced to prison. The client was sentenced to 30 years in prison. The client filed an appeal seeking a new trial based upon defective jury instructions. The appellate court denied the appeal. No motion for rehearing was filed.
However, the co-defendant, whose appeal was completed after the client’s appeal, did receive the benefit of the erroneous jury instruction. His case is pending before the Florida Supreme Court. Mr. Forman was hired by the Client’s family to handle the case even though the appellate process had already been exhausted.
Mr. Forman filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus in order to correct a manifest injustice in the appellate court. Even though the attorney general’s office vigorously opposed the petition, the Fourth District Court of Appeals granted the petition and ordered that the client be given a new trial for the attempted second degree murder charges. This will allow the client to be re-sentenced or retried before another jury on the vacated charge. The case is currently before the Florida Supreme Court.
