Jackson v. State

In Jackson v. State, 575 So. 2d 181, 189 (Fla. 1991), the Court determined that the trial court had committed multiple errors, including the admission of a portion of a state witness's testimony explaining that members of the defendant's family had threatened him, permitting the State to tell the jury to draw inferences from the failure of the defendant's mother to testify, and instructing the jury that they could infer consciousness of guilt from flight. See 575 So. 2d at 187-88. The Court determined that the cumulative effect of those errors did not warrant reversal of the defendant's conviction because (1) none of the errors were fundamental; (2) none went to the heart of the state's case; and (3) the jury would have still heard substantial evidence in support of the defendant's guilt. See 575 So. 2d at 189. Thus the Court concluded, "Considering the weight of the errors and the magnitude of the totality of the evidence against Jackson, we find there is no reasonable possibility that these three errors contributed to the conviction." Id.