Francisco Rodriguez, Petitioner v. State of Florida, Respondent.

Summary

The court quashed the district court's decision because it applied a miscarriage-of-justice or overwhelming-evidence approach rather than the required harmless-error standard. The State bears the burden of proving beyond a reasonable doubt that an error did not affect the verdict, and the case was remanded for reconsideration under that standard. Justice Polston, joined by Chief Justice Canady and Justice Lawson, dissented because the sparse district court decision did not provide sufficient facts or analysis to support review.