Renaldo Devon McGirth, Appellant v. State of Florida, Appellee; Renaldo Devon McGirth, Petitioner, v. Julie L…

Summary

The court affirmed the denial of McGirth's rule 3.851 postconviction claims, concluding that the postconviction court adequately addressed his requests to discharge counsel, represent himself, waive the evidentiary hearing, and disqualify the judge. It nevertheless granted habeas relief because McGirth's death sentence was imposed after a nonunanimous jury recommendation, and the State could not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the resulting Hurst error was harmless. The court vacated the death sentence and remanded for a new penalty phase. POLSTON, J., concurring in part and dissenting in part, would have affirmed the denial of postconviction relief but would not have granted a new penalty phase.