Legal Question in Criminal Law in Florida

Re: motion to dimiss

The case you mentioned in your question is State vs. Shorette, 404 So.2d 816 (Fla. 2d 1981). In Shorette the Defendant had been drinking, drove his car around a curve, swerved, lost control and struck an oncoming vehicle injuring two passengers. The State claimed that the Defendant's reckless disregard satisfied the intent element of the aggravated assault charges. This brought on a legal question as the facts of the case were undisputed.

The facts in a criminal case must be undisputed to warrant the filing of a motion to dismiss. Generally, proof of intent is a disputed factual issue which turns on the evaluation by the trier of fact of conflicting evidence and the credibility of witnesses.

The proper motion to be made at trial in regard to the sufficiency of the evidence regarding the intent element is a motion for judgment of acquittal. However, where there is no showing that a motion for judgment of acquittal had a likelihood of success, there is no facially sufficient claim for ineffective assistance of counsel.