IN THE SUPREME COURT OF FLORIDA. Appellant, CASE NO. SC v. Lower Tribunal No CFAWS RESPONSE TO ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE

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1 IN THE SUPREME COURT OF FLORIDA NATHAN RAMIREZ, Appellant, CASE NO. SC v. Lower Tribunal No CFAWS STATE OF FLORIDA, Appellee. / RESPONSE TO ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE COMES NOW Appellee, the State of Florida, by and through undersigned counsel, and responds to this Court s April 25, 2005 Order to Show Cause, as follows: 1. In this Court s April 25, 2005 Order to Show Cause, the State was asked to respond to the following question: In light of the United States Supreme Court decision in Roper v. Simmons, 125 S. Ct (2005), the Court hereby orders the State to show cause why the death sentence imposed in this case should not be vacated and the case remanded for imposition of a sentence of life imprisonment without eligibility for parole for twenty-five years. 2. On March 26, 2005, the State of Florida filed a motion in this case requesting this Court to relinquish jurisdiction to the circuit court for proceedings consistent with the Roper opinion and Florida Statute (2). (Attached as Exhibit A, Motion to Relinquish at pg 1)

2 3. As stated in the Motion to Relinquish, the State agrees that Roper is applicable to Ramirez case as he was seventeen at the time of the crime. 4. Accordingly, the State agrees that Ramirez death sentence for the first-degree murder of Mildred Boroski should be vacated and the case remanded to the circuit court for imposition of a sentence of life imprisonment without eligibility for parole for twenty-five years. Respectfully submitted, CHARLES J. CRIST, JR. ATTORNEY GENERAL CANDANCE M. SABELLA Assistant Attorney General Chief of Capital Appeals Florida Bar No Concourse Center East Frontage Road, Suite 200 Tampa, Florida Telephone: (813) Facsimile: (813)

3 CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I HEREBY CERTIFY that a true and correct copy of the foregoing Response to Order to Show Cause has been furnished by U.S. Regular Mail to Cynthia J. Dodge, Assistant Public Defender, P.O. Box 9000-Drawer PD, Bartow, Florida , this day of May, CERTIFICATE OF FONT COMPLIANCE I HEREBY CERTIFY that the size and style of type used in this response is 12-point Courier New, in compliance with Fla. R. App. P (a)(2). 3

4 IN THE SUPREME COURT OF FLORIDA NATHAN RAMIREZ, Appellant, CASE NO. SC v. Lower Tribunal No CFAWS STATE OF FLORIDA, Appellee. / MOTION TO RELINQUISH JURISDICTION COMES NOW the Appellee, State of Florida, by and through the undersigned assistant attorney general and would submit: 1) On December 11, 2003 appellant Ramirez was again sentenced to death. In the sentencing order, the Circuit Court made a specific factual finding that defendant Ramirez was 17 years of age at the time of the murder. A notice of appeal was filed in this Court on January 9, 2004, thus, divesting the Circuit Court of jurisdiction. 2) On March 1, 2005 in Roper v. Simmons, -- S. Ct. --, 2005 WL (Mar. 1, 2005), the United States Supreme Court determined that the imposition of the death penalty on juvenile offenders under 18 was unconstitutional. 3) Florida Statute (2), provides, that if the death penalty in a capital felony is held to be unconstitutional, the defendant shall be sentenced to life imprisonment.

5 4) Accordingly, the State requests that this Court relinquish jurisdiction to the Circuit Court for proceedings consistent with the Roper opinion and Florida Statute (2). CONCLUSION Accordingly, appellee requests that this Court relinquish jurisdiction to the Circuit Court to consider the sentence in light of Roper. Respectfully submitted, CHARLES J. CRIST, JR. ATTORNEY GENERAL CANDANCE M. SABELLA Assistant Attorney General Chief of Capital Appeals Florida Bar No Concourse Center East Frontage Road, Suite 200 Tampa, Florida Telephone: (813) Facsimile: (813)

6 CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I HEREBY CERTIFY that a true and correct copy of the foregoing has been furnished by U.S. Regular Mail to the Honorable James Marion Moorman, Public Defender, Tenth Judicial Circuit, P.O. Box 9000, Drawer PD, Bartow, Florida , this day of March, CERTIFICATE OF TYPE SIZE AND STYLE I HEREBY CERTIFY that the size and style of type used in this motion is 12-point Courier New, in compliance with Fla. R. App. P (a)(2). 3