JOSEPH CARTER, APPELLANT,
v.
THE STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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The court held that while the trial court erred in refusing to enforce a witness subpoena, the error was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt due to overwhelming evidence of guilt. The court also held that the trial court did not err in refusing to admit the deposition of an absent witness because her unavailability was due to lack of service and her testimony was not proffered.
[1] A trial court's refusal to enforce a witness subpoena, while a constitutional error, may be deemed harmless beyond a reasonable doubt when overwhelming evidence supports…
[2] A defendant's constitutional right to present material, relevant, and admissible evidence may not be thwarted by a trial court.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceThe defendant was convicted of burglary and sexual battery. The victim identified the defendant as her assailant. The defense sought to call the victi…
The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.
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BASKIN, Judge.
Defendant Joseph Carter appeals burglary and sexual battery convictions for which he received sentences of 15 years and 137 years imprisonment. He presents as issues the trial court’s refusal to enforce a witness subpoena and the court’s denial of his request to admit into evidence the deposition of an absent witness. We affirm.
Ninety-two-year-old Betty Porath accused Joseph Carter, age sixteen, of entering her home through the kitchen door and sexually assaulting her. Afterward he demanded money but left her home when she told him that she had none. When police arrived, she described her assailant as a black man, a little taller than she, of medium build, wearing a dark brown sweater and white undershirt. As she was led to an ambulance, she pointed to Joseph Carter, who was standing forty or fifty feet away in the crowd, and identified him as her assailant. She stated that she had based her initial identification on his clothing but had recognized his face when he came closer to her. During her testimony at trial, she indicated that she did not see her assailant in the courtroom, but when he was brought closer to her, she recognized him as the man who had attacked her. Ms. Porath testified that she needed glasses only for reading or sewing. Defense counsel indicated to the court that he wished to call Ms. Porath’s doctor as a witness but that the doctor had refused to come to court. Upon the court’s denial of a writ of bodily attachment, defense counsel proffered that the doctor would testify that he had recommended glasses for her vision.
While we strongly disapprove of the trial court’s refusal to enforce the witness subpoena served upon the doctor and reiterate that a defendant’s constitutional right to present material, relevant, admissible evidence may not be thwarted by a trial court, Green v. State, 377 So. 2d 193 (Fla. 3d DCA 1979), cert. granted on other grounds, 395 So. 2d 532 (Fla.1981); see also Krantz v. State, 405 So. 2d 211 (Fla. 3d DCA 1981), under the circumstances of this case, we hold that a new trial is not required. An examination of the other evidence presented to the jury compels our conclusion that overwhelming evidence supports defendant Carter’s conviction.
Joseph Carter and his victim struggled face-to-face for approximately fifteen minutes. Ms. Porath identified Carter shortly after the incident when she observed him wearing a white T-shirt with a brown stain similar to the one her attacker had worn. She also identified Carter in the courtroom. Defendant Carter’s underwear contained human blood, although he testified he had not been bleeding. Caucasian pubic hair, with characteristics similar to the victim’s hair, was found on his underwear, and Carter’s thumb print was recovered from the victim’s doorknob as well as near a latch at the top of her door. Hairs similar to those of Ms. Porath’s dog were found on defendant Carter’s sweater. Defense counsel’s proffer that the doctor would have testified that he had merely “recommended” glasses for Ms. Porath without actually prescribing them is insufficient to mandate a new trial in light of the overwhelming evidence against Carter. In our opinion, the constitutional error committed by the court in refusing to enforce its subpoena was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. Chapman v. California, 386 U.S. 18, 87 S.Ct. 824, 17 L.Ed.2d 705 (1967); Jones v. State, 332 So. 2d 615 (Fla.1976); accord, Harrell v. State, 405 So. 2d 480 (Fla. 3d DCA 1981).
Next, defendant maintains the court erred in refusing to admit the prosecutor’s deposition of Debbie Kemp when she could not be located in time to secure her attendance at trial. He advised the court:
They served the mother at home from the Sheriff’s Office and they found out about this yesterday. They have tried to locate her. Her mother doesn’t know where she’s living at this time and I just would like permission from the Court to read the deposition.
The record indicates that defense counsel’s efforts to obtain the witness occurred the day before trial. This case is distinguishable from the situation in State v. Barnes, 280 So. 2d 46 (Fla. 2d DCA), cert. denied, 285 So. 2d 25 (Fla.1973), in which the court permitted the use of a deposition “where the state has the right to cross-examine” if the witness is “unavailable for good cause or has died.” In the case before us, there is no evidence the witness had died or was unavailable for good cause. Her absence appears to have been attributable to the lack of service of process. Although defense counsel argues that her testimony would have corroborated defendant’s testimony that he was not at the Porath residence at the time of the assault, her testimony was not proffered or appended to the record. It is therefore impossible for us to determine what effect, if any, the excluded evidence might have had. See Mitchell v. State, 321 So. 2d 108 (Fla. 1st DCA 1975), cert. dismissed, 345 So. 2d 425 (Fla.1977); Powers v. State, 224 So. 2d 411 (Fla. 3d DCA), cert. denied without opinion, 232 So. 2d 180 (Fla.1969). Other witnesses testified that defendant was with Debbie Kemp at approximately 7:30 p. m., the hour of the alleged offense.
Finding no reversible error, we affirm the convictions and sentences.
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Sims v. State, 867 So. 2d 1208 (Fla. 3d DCA 2004)…incident. The second officer had no recollection, and there were several persons in the direct vicinity of the incident. Thus, we cannot conclude that refusing to enforce the subpoena was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. Compare Carter v. State, 410 So. 2d 552 (Fla. 3d DCA 1982). We are not persuaded that defense counsel waived the right to have the subpoena enforced. The trial transcript demonstrates that the court would not grant any further continuance to secure the presence of the witness, and the de…
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Carter v. State, 215 So. 3d 125 (Fla. 3d DCA 2017)…Florida Statutes. Reversed and remanded with instructions. . The defendant was sentenced to 137 years for the burglary count and 15 years for the sexual battery count. The conviction and sentence were affirmed on direct appeal in Carter v. State, 410 So. 2d 552 (Fla. 3d DCA 1982).…
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Carter v. State, 1 So. 3d 253 (Fla. 3d DCA 2008)…AM. Joseph Carter (“Carter”) was convicted of burglary and sexual battery. The trial court subsequently sentenced him to 15 years and 137 years, respectively. Carter appealed, and this Court affirmed the convictions and sentences. Carter v. State, 410 So. 2d 552 (Fla. 3d DCA 1982). Since then, Carter has filed numerous pro se motions in the trial court. The trial court denied all of these motions, and this Court subsequently affirmed most of them on appeal. See, e.g., Carter v. State, 3D08-317, 2008 WL 20…
Previewing 3 of 5 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited (14 total)
- Chapman v. California, 386 U.S. 18 (U.S. 1967)
- Jones v. State, 332 So. 2d 615 (Fla. 1976)
- State v. Adelita Quejado Green, 395 So. 2d 532 (Fla. 1981)
- Adelita Quejado Green v. State, 377 So. 2d 193 (Fla. 3d DCA 1979)
- Powers v. State, 224 So. 2d 411 (Fla. 3d DCA 1969)
- Mitchell v. State, 321 So. 2d 108 (Fla. 1st DCA 1975)
- Causey Harrell v. State, 405 So. 2d 480 (Fla. 3d DCA 1981)
- Puro v. Puro, 232 So. 2d 180 (Fla. 1969)
- Powers v. State, 232 So. 2d 180 (Fla. 1969)
- Krantz v. State, 405 So. 2d 211 (Fla. 3d DCA 1981)