Steve Lawrence Griffin v. State of Florida, 160 So. 3d 63

Griffin was charged with second-degree murder for the January 15, 2011 shotgun killing of Thomas J. Mills; Griffin admitted being near the victim but denied shooting him.
Eyewitness (Deneus) testified Griffin said words to Mills, a shot was fired, she saw Griffin pull what appeared to be a long gun back into his truck, and Griffin then fled.
Griffin testified he was near Mills but claimed a different individual wearing a black jacket walked between the vehicles and shot Mills (sole defense: misidentification).
Trial court instructed jury on second-degree murder correctly but gave an erroneous manslaughter-by-act instruction requiring intent to cause death (contrary to this Court’s 2010 Montgomery decision).
No contemporaneous objection was made to the manslaughter instruction; Griffin was convicted of second-degree murder and appealed arguing the erroneous manslaughter instruction was fundamental error.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument (Griffin)	Defendant's Argument (State)	Held
Whether an erroneous manslaughter-by-act instruction that adds as an element intent to cause death constitutes fundamental error when defendant’s sole defense is misidentification	The erroneous instruction was fundamental error because intent remained contested (degree of homicide depends on intent) and Griffin did not concede intent by contesting identity	Because Griffin’s only defense was misidentification, he effectively conceded the manner and intent of the killing; thus the erroneous instruction was not fundamental error and required objection to preserve	The Florida Supreme Court held the error was fundamental. A sole defense of misidentification does not concede intent (or other elements) except identity; the erroneous manslaughter instruction materially affected what the jury had to consider and requires a new trial

State v. Montgomery, 39 So. 3d 252 (Fla. 2010) (failure to correctly instruct on manslaughter may be fundamental error)
State v. Delva, 575 So. 2d 643 (Fla. 1991) (fundamental error occurs when omission is material to what jury must consider to convict)
Battle v. State, 911 So. 2d 85 (Fla. 2005) (misidentification defense did not render undisputed an element that was conceded at trial)
Haygood v. State, 109 So. 3d 735 (Fla. 2013) (fundamental-error standard regarding disputed elements in jury instructions)
Williams v. State, 123 So. 3d 23 (Fla. 2013) (defendant entitled to correct instructions on charged and lesser included offenses)
Licata v. State, 88 So. 621 (Fla. 1921) (plea of not guilty places every material element in issue)