Retroactively Applying An Established Rule of Law to a New or Different Factual Situation

In Smith v. State, 598 So. 2d 1063, 1066 (Fla. 1992), the court held that "any decision of this Court announcing a new rule of law, or merely applying an established rule of law to a new or different factual situation, must be given retrospective application by the courts of this state in every case pending on direct review or not yet final." The court concluded that this result was mandated by "the principles of fairness and equal treatment . . . which are embodied in the due process and equal protection provisions of article I, sections 9 and 16 of the Florida Constitution." Id.