Peter Avsenew v. State of Florida

Summary

The court held that the State improperly introduced the perpetuated testimony of Avsenew's mother because the remote setup prevented her from seeing Avsenew during the examination, violating the governing criminal-procedure rule. The error was not harmless because her materially incriminating testimony created a reasonable possibility of contributing to the guilty verdicts. The court therefore reversed the convictions and death sentences and remanded for a new trial.