SAMUEL ROMAN, APPELLANT,
v.
THE STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE

Fla. 3d DCA | 1983-09-27
No. 82-290
Per Curiam
438 So. 2d 487 Florida District Court of Appeal, Third District (1983) Positive Treatment
Cited by 2 cases

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Synopsis

The Florida appellate court reversed Roman's attempted armed robbery conviction because the trial court erred in denying his mistrial motion after the arresting officer testified about an uncharged robbery, constituting a Williams violation that was not harmless error.


Holding

A trial court's denial of a mistrial motion after an arresting officer testifies about an uncharged robbery constitutes reversible Williams error when the defendant is substantially prejudiced.


Headnotes

[1] Testimony by an arresting officer regarding an uncharged robbery in which the defendant was allegedly involved constitutes a Williams violation requiring reversal when th…

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Facts & Procedural History

Samuel Roman was convicted of attempted armed robbery. During trial, the arresting officer gave testimony indicating that Roman was involved in a robb…

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Opinion of the Court
PER CURIAM.

PER CURIAM.

The defendant Samuel Roman appeals his conviction and sentence for attempted armed robbery. The central contention urged on appeal is that the trial court erred in denying the defendant’s timely motion for a mistrial after the arresting officer gave testimony at trial indicating that the defend ant was involved in a robbery for which he was not charged. It would serve no purpose to detail the precise testimony nor elaborate further on the facts of the case. Suffice it to say that we are persuaded that a Williams violation occurred below, that the defendant was substantially prejudiced thereby, and that a reversal is necessarily mandated herein. See e.g., Williams v. State, 110 So. 2d 654 (Fla.), cert. denied, 361 U.S. 847, 80 S.Ct. 102, 4 L.Ed.2d 86 (1959), and cases collected therein; Mann v. State, 22 Fla. 600 (1886); Selph v. State, 22 Fla. 537 (1886); Green v. State, 190 So. 2d 42 (Fla. 2d DCA 1966).

Moreover, we specifically reject the state’s central contention in’ reply that the error was harmless. Harris v. State, 427 So. 2d 234 (Fla. 3d DCA 1983); Vazquez v. State, 405 So. 2d 177 (Fla. 3d DCA 1981), approved in part, quashed in part, 419 So. 2d 1088 (Fla.1982).

The judgment of conviction and sentence is reversed and the cause is remanded to the trial court for a new trial.


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Citator

Cited By

  • Wright v. State, 446 So. 2d 208 (Fla. 3d DCA 1984)
    …rida Statutes on a vital issue like this. Chapman v. State, 442 So. 2d 1024, 1026 (Fla. 5th DCA 1983), and cases cited; Hopkins v. State, supra. Furthermore, considering (a) the extremely prejudicial nature of this type of evidence, Roman v. State, 438 So. 2d 487 (Fla. 3d DCA 1983); Cummings v. State, supra; Vazquez v. State, 405 So. 2d 177 (Fla. 3d DCA 1981), approved in part, quashed in part, 419 So. 2d 1088 (Fla.1982); (b) the strong and effective emphasis placed upon it by the state attorney in attacking…

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