Adam Lloyd Shepard, Petitioner v. State of Florida, Respondent.

Summary

The Court held that an automobile may qualify as a weapon under Florida's felony-reclassification statute when it is used to inflict harm, and that whether the object was used as a weapon is ordinarily a question for the jury. It approved the First District's conclusion, disapproved the contrary decision to the extent inconsistent, and receded from prior precedent requiring that an object be commonly understood as an instrument for combat. Justice Pariente, dissenting, would have retained the narrower rule or required an explicit finding that the defendant intended to use the object to inflict harm.