Supreme Court of Florida
In Re: Standard Jury Instructions in Criminal Cases - Report 2016-05
February 9, 2017210 So. 3d 626
Summary
The Court authorized amended standard jury instruction 20.6 and adopted new instruction 20.6(a) concerning welfare fraud involving public-assistance benefits and EBT cards. The amendments incorporate statutory definitions and elements, including the distinct offense of possessing and selling or attempting to sell multiple EBT cards issued to others, and require a bifurcated proceeding for determining an alleged prior conviction enhancement. The Court stated that authorization does not resolve the instructions’ legal correctness or foreclose challenges to them.