Hooks v. State, 82 So. 3d 905

Defendant Hooks was convicted of second degree murder with a weapon and two counts of attempted second degree murder, with concurrent 30-year sentences.
The crimes involved the beating of three homeless men by Hooks and co-defendants using baseball bats, with the second victim dying from injuries and a third victim surviving after further assaults.
The State charged Hooks by grand jury indictment with one count of first degree murder and two counts of attempted first degree murder; trial proceeded on lesser included offenses due to jury verdicts.
Hooks moved for change of venue alleging extensive pre-trial publicity; the court implemented extensive media restrictions and pre-screening of jurors and prohibited face filming of jurors.
Extensive media coverage included surveillance video of the first attack shown publicly, with jurors and public knowledgeable about the case from articles and video.
After voir dire and multiple renewals of motions, the trial court denied change of venue and sequestration requests; Hooks was ultimately convicted.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether denial of change of venue due to pre-trial publicity violated the fair-trial right	Hooks: publicity infected general venire minds.	State: jurors could be fair and impartial despite publicity.	No abuse; venue denial affirmed.

Straight v. State, 397 So.2d 903 (Fla.1981) (abuse of discretion standard for change of venue)
Rolling v. State, 695 So.2d 278 (Fla. 1997) (two-pronged venue analysis; publicity and voir dire difficulty)
Manning v. State, 378 So.2d 274 (Fla.1979) (burden to show prejudice in change-of-venue inquiry)
McCaskill v. State, 344 So.2d 1276 (Fla.1977) (test for infected community mind due to pretrial publicity)
Kelley v. State, 212 So.2d 27 (Fla. 2d DCA 1968) (early articulation of publicity impact on venire)