Arthur James Martin, Appellant v. State of Florida, Appellee

Summary

The court affirmed Martin’s first-degree murder conviction and death sentence after rejecting his challenges to the consideration and weighing of mitigation, the HAC and CCP aggravators, and the constitutionality of Florida’s death-penalty scheme. It held that the sentencing-order misstatement concerning Martin’s IQ testing was harmless, that the unpresented substance-abuse mitigation claim was not preserved, and that competent substantial evidence supported the aggravating circumstances. The court also independently found sufficient evidence and determined that the death sentence was proportionate. LABARGA, C.J., concurring in part and dissenting in part, would have found the CCP aggravator unsupported but harmless in light of the remaining aggravation.