Whitton v. Dixon · ¶4

The Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit affirmed, but on different reasoning.The court agreed with Whitton that Ozio's criminal-history testimony was false, and that the State knew it to be false. Moreover, the court disagreed with the District Court's conclusion that any Giglio violation was harmless because of Florida evidence rules about juvenile records. That conclusion, the Court of Appeals explained, was “erroneous” because Florida courts admit such records when a witness opens the door to prior convictions— including by stating that he has none. 2025 WL 1305158, *16. And “impeachment concerning Ozio's juvenile record,” the Court of Appeals concluded, “would have undermined [Ozio's] credibility.” Ibid. So the court “[could not] affirm the district court's decision on its finding of harmless error.” Ibid.

preliminary print (page proof)
Source edition
Passage preview. Read in context for the complete text, notes and references.