Humphreys vs. Florida

Decision

This unanimous decision overturned Humphreys' conviction of aggravated battery. The charge was sent back to the lower courts for a new trial. The ruling reads:

"Whether Humphreys’s flare gun was a deadly weapon therefore depended on how he used it, and this was a jury question. ... The issued jury instruction affected the verdict because it was incorrect and incomplete based on the facts of this case."

This Court found the jury instructions were "incorrect and incomplete". The standard jury instructions for aggravated battery were edited by the trial judge. For example, the phrase "deadly weapon" was replaced with "firearm". Neither the Defense or Prosecution objected to these changes at trial.

In order to be convicted of aggravated battery, the weapon used must be considered a "deadly weapon". The changes made to the jury instruction may have fundamentally changed the verdict. This Court ruled that leaving out the term "deadly weapon" is considered a serious error.

During the trial, the Defense argued that the flare gun was not a "deadly weapon". This makes the jury instructions even more important. The jury should have been instructed to decide if the flare gun was a "deadly weapon" based on how Humphreys used it. To do this, they should have been provided a definition of "deadly weapon".