Tuesday, November 2, 1999
Joaquin J. Martinez v. State of Florida

No. 90,952

Hillsborough County
Spanish connection


Facts
Martinez, a citizen of Spain, was tried and convicted for the October 1995 murders of Douglas Lawson and Sherrie McCoy-Ward. The judge imposed the death penalty based on the jury's 9-to-3 vote in favor of it. Martinez appeals. Meanwhile, the Ilustre Colegio de Abogados de Madrid, Spain's largest bar association, has filed a friend of the court brief alleging that Martinez' trial fell below internationally recognized standards of due process.