Around the state

Death row inmate wins new trial in Polk case

TALLAHASSEE -- A death row inmate condemned for the murder of a man in a Polk County citrus grove deserves a new trial, the Florida Supreme Court ruled Thursday, reversing his sentence and conviction.

Darryl Moody, 41, was convicted and sentenced to death for the 1994 murder of Scott Mitchell.

In Thursday's unsigned 5-2 decision, the high court agreed with Moody's appeal attorney that the evidence against him was found after an illegal traffic stop.

An undercover police officer stopped Moody, suspecting he was driving with a suspended license because the officer had known him to do so a few years earlier. During the stop, police found a gun that ultimately led them to the gun used to kill Mitchell.

But the officer didn't have a valid reason for stopping Moody, the majority wrote, saying the length of time since the officer had last known Moody to be driving with a suspended license was too long to justify stopping him.

Chief Justice Harry Lee Anstead and Justices Barbara Pariente, R. Fred Lewis, Peggy Quince and Leander Shaw were in the majority. Justices Major Harding and Charles Well dissented.

"They've basically said the bulk of the evidence is inadmissible," said Bartow attorney Robert Norgard, representing Moody. He was hopeful that Moody will not be tried again.

Robert Landry, an assistant attorney general in Tampa, said the state was still reviewing the opinion.

Woman not allowed to veil face in ID photo sues state

ORLANDO -- A Muslim woman has sued the state of Florida for a second time for refusing to issue her an identification card because she won't lift her veil for the photo.

A lawyer for Sultaana Freeman, 35, filed a civil lawsuit in Orange County claiming First Amendment violations after the state's Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles refused to issue her the ID card.

She first sued when her driver's license was revoked in 2001 because she would not uncover her face for a new license photo, in accordance with tighter rules imposed after Sept. 11, 2001.

Her attorney, Howard Marks, has argued that Florida statutes don't require a photograph on an ID card and that the government's stand is unconstitutional.

State officials say agency rules prevent them from issuing cards with photographs of covered faces.

A trial is scheduled for April.

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