OLGA RAMOS AND OLGA NERIS, APPELLANTS,
v.
THE STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.
Court affirmed convictions for perjury in a deposition regarding a hit-and-run accident but reversed the restitution order for funeral expenses as not causally related to the criminal conduct.
False statements about the identity of a hit-and-run driver in a deposition are material to an obstruction of justice charge, but funeral expenses resulting from the death are not causally related to the perjury and cannot be imposed as restitution.
[1] Materiality of false statements in a deposition is a question of law for the trial court to determine, and false statements regarding the identity of a hit-and-run driver…
[2] Restitution of funeral expenses resulting from a death cannot be imposed as punishment for perjury unless there is a causal relationship between the criminal conduct and…
Previewing 2 of 2 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAppellants made false statements under oath in a deposition regarding who was driving a vehicle involved in a hit-and-run accident that killed a minor…
The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence© FLexlaw, Inc. — AI-generated enrichments are proprietary. All rights reserved.
Explore caselaw by topic → Browse Vehicular Homicide cases and more on FLexlaw
PER CURIAM.
The appellants were charged and convicted of making false statements under oath in an official proceeding, to wit: a deposition taken in a Dade County court case involving an obstruction of justice charge regarding the identity of the driver of a car involved in an accident resulting in the death of a minor. The false statements made by the appellants were material inasmuch as the traffic accident became a hit-and-run matter with a pedestrian fatality. The issue of who was driving was important and material since the owner and presumptive driver of the vehicle could have been charged with vehicular homicide.
Therefore, it was material to the obstruction of justice charge pending against the owner to determine who was the driver of the hit-and-run vehicle. The determination of materiality is a question of law, to be decided by the trial court, see Wells v. State, 270 So. 2d 399 (Fla. 3d DCA 1972) cert. denied, 414 U.S. 1024, 94 S.Ct. 449, 38 L.Ed.2d 316 (1973); therefore, we find no error in the adjudications. We do reverse the orders of restitution1 of the funeral expenses as a result of the death because they were not causally related to the criminal activities for which appellants were convicted. See Fresneda v. State, 347 So. 2d 1021 (Fla.1977); Purvis v. State, 442 So. 2d 1085 (Fla. 2d DCA 1983); W.N. v. State, 426 So. 2d 1206 (Fla. 4th DCA 1983); DiOrio v. State, 359 So. 2d 45 (Fla. 2d DCA 1978).
We affirm in part and reverse in part.
. The sentences were probation with one of the conditions being restitution of the funeral expenses to the father of the deceased.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Authorities Cited
- Fresneda v. State, 347 So. 2d 1021 (Fla. 1977)
- Wells v. State, 270 So. 2d 399 (Fla. 3d DCA 1972)
- Donlon et ux. v. Internal Revenue Serv., 414 U.S. 1024 (U.S. 1973)
- DiORIO v. State, 359 So. 2d 45 (Fla. 2d DCA 1978)
- Jones et ux. v. Credit Bureau of Nashville, 414 U.S. 1024 (U.S. 1973)
- Meinstein v. Travel ETC., Inc., 442 So. 2d 1085 (Fla. 3d DCA 1983)
- W.N. v. State, 426 So. 2d 1206 (Fla. 4th DCA 1983)