299 So.3d 1
Fla. Dist. Ct. App.2020Background
- Jerome Sparks was charged with two counts of attempted first-degree murder; a separate aggravated-assault count was nolle prossed.
- The circuit court held a pretrial Stand Your Ground immunity hearing before June 9, 2017, and denied Sparks’s motion to dismiss.
- At that hearing the court applied Bretherick’s rule requiring the defendant to prove entitlement to immunity by a preponderance of the evidence.
- After the hearing, the Legislature amended section 776.032(4) to place the burden on the party opposing immunity to overcome it by clear and convincing evidence (effective June 9, 2017).
- This appeal was remanded to the Fourth District after the Florida Supreme Court decided Love v. State, which held the 2017 amendment is procedural and applies to hearings conducted on or after the statute’s effective date.
- The Fourth District affirmed Sparks’s conviction, holding Love does not change the result because Sparks’s immunity hearing occurred before the amendment’s effective date and, under Bretherick, he failed to carry his burden.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether the 2017 amendment to §776.032(4) applies to Sparks’s immunity hearing | Love requires application of the amended burden | Love applies only to hearings on/after the statute’s effective date; not to hearings already completed | The amended burden does not apply because the hearing occurred before the statute’s effective date |
| Whether Sparks proved Stand Your Ground immunity at the pretrial hearing under Bretherick | Sparks met his preponderance burden and is immune | Sparks failed to prove entitlement by a preponderance | Court affirmed denial: Sparks did not meet his burden under Bretherick |
Key Cases Cited
- Love v. State, 286 So. 3d 177 (Fla. 2019) (held the 2017 amendment is procedural and applies to immunity hearings conducted on or after the statute’s effective date)
- Bretherick v. State, 170 So. 3d 766 (Fla. 2015) (placed burden on defendant to prove Stand Your Ground immunity by a preponderance at pretrial evidentiary hearing)
- Hight v. State, 253 So. 3d 1137 (Fla. 4th DCA 2018) (concluded the 2017 amendment was substantive and not retroactive)
- Sparks v. State (Sparks I), 266 So. 3d 1187 (Fla. 4th DCA 2019) (prior panel decision affirming conviction based on Hight)