Dolan Darling A/k/a Sean Smith, Appellant v. State of Florida, Appellee; Dolan Darling A/k/a Sean Smith…

Summary

The court affirmed the denial of Darling’s successive post-conviction motion, rejecting his challenges to Florida’s lethal-injection protocol and to the confidentiality of executioner identities. It held, however, that capital collateral counsel may pursue a federal civil-rights claim seeking injunctive relief against the State’s intended method of execution because that claim is a narrow quasi-criminal collateral action concerning an integral part of the judgment and sentence. The court therefore partially granted relief on the statutory-authority issue while affirming denial of all other post-conviction relief. Chief Justice Canady, concurring in part and dissenting in part, would have denied all relief and retained the prior limitation on capital collateral counsel’s authority.