Jenkins v. State, 942 So. 2d 910 (Fla. 2d DCA 2006)
Oct 11, 2006OUTCOME: Reversed and remanded for discharge.
At the trial level, I represented Mr. Jenkins who was charged with manslaughter with a weapon in the stabbing death of Bryan Cerezo. See Hillsborough County 04-CF-005494-A. The State’s case was entirel ... y circumstantial. At trial, the State presented evidence of an attack by Cerezo on the defendant. The attack occurred entirely on the defendant’s property. The defense at trial was self-defense. At the close of the evidence, the defense moved for a judgment of acquittal and renewed that motion at the close of all the evidence. The motions were denied. The argument was simple: in an entirely circumstantial evidence case when the defendant presents the “reasonable hypothesis of innocence” that he was acting in self-defense and the State does little or nothing to rebut the assertion, the trial court must grant a judgment of acquittal. In this case, the trial court rejected the idea and the jury came back with a lessor of manslaughter. On appeal, 2D05-1780 (handled by J. L. Ray Legrande, S.A.P.D.), the Second District reversed the trial court, granted the acquittal, and discharged the Defendant.
