John Sexton v. Florida

During John Sexton’s capital penalty phase trial, after he presented his mitgation and rested, the trial court called the defense team’s mitigation specialist as a court witness to elicit information that Sexton intentionally chose to omit from his presentation of mitigating evidence. The Florida Supreme Court found that the trial court violated Sexton’s Sixth Amendment right by commandeering his mitigation specialist and compelling her to testify to facts that he had intentionally omitted from his case, but it affirmed the death sentence on the basis that the constitutional violation was harmless error. The question presented is: Did the state trial court commit structural error by violating the Defendant's Sixth Amendment-secured right to autonomy in his capital penalty proceeding?