The Daily Business Review published article titled "Florida Judge Warns Against Using Case Law, Not Statutes, to Support Hearsay Exceptions" analyzing arguments that overlook Florida Statutes governing hearsay in favor of focusing on broader case-law analysis.

The article reads "This issue crops up often, according to Kendall Coffey of Coffey Burlington, who teaches Florida constitutional law at the University of Miami. He said that’s because the many exceptions to the hearsay rule mean case law can develop a life of its own."

One of the cases cited in the Fourth DCA’s opinion, Moscatiello v. State, is pending before the Florida Supreme Court, as are others involving similar issues. That means things could get interesting, as Coffey sees it, because there are three new justices on the bench.

“In times past, Florida’s Supreme Court has, in significant respects, been more sensitive to the rights of the accused than the U.S. Supreme Court, because we have our own state Constitution,” Coffey said. “The Supreme Court of Florida has its own traditions with respect to the rights of the accused, and the new Supreme Court will be closely watched to see if it maintains those traditions or rolls back some of the rights of the accused.”

A copy of the full Daily Business Review article can be found here.