Mickens v. State
Docket: No. 2D12-4634
Court: District Court of Appeal of Florida; May 9, 2014; Florida; State Appellate Court
Leonard Ditron Mickens appeals his battery conviction, arguing that a fundamental error occurred due to improper jury instructions regarding his defense of self-defense. He faced two charges: 1) battery against a female victim, and 2) felony battery against her male friend, stemming from an incident on October 16, 2011. The female victim alleged that Mickens attempted to batter her, leading to her returning with her male friend, resulting in a fight where the friend was injured. Mickens denied the battery against the female and admitted to battering the male friend, claiming self-defense. The jury acquitted him of the female battery but convicted him of lesser battery against her male friend. During the jury instruction conference, it was agreed that Mickens was entitled to an instruction on justifiable non-deadly force. However, the court incorrectly applied the forcible felony exception, indicating that self-defense was not available if Mickens was committing felony battery or battery. The court's instructions conflated the charged offense and its lesser offense as the basis for the forcible felony exception, which negated Mickens’ only defense. The standard instruction requires an independent forcible felony for the exception to apply, and since the alleged battery on the female was not contemporaneous with the battery on the male friend, it could not be used as such. The trial court's reliance on this flawed instruction led to a fundamental error that undermined Mickens’ defense. Despite being convicted of a misdemeanor rather than the felony charge, self-defense remained his sole defense. Citing precedents where similar errors were deemed fundamental, the appellate court reversed Mickens' conviction and remanded the case for a new trial.