VANCE VAUGHN, APPELLANT,
v.
THE STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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Vance Vaughn appeals his conviction for robbery and displaying a firearm during a robbery. The Florida Third District Court of Appeal affirmed his conviction, holding that the trial court's failure to explicitly instruct the jury on the specific intent element of robbery (intent to permanently deprive) did not constitute fundamental error where the jury instructions adequately guided the jury to determine the elements actually proved.
The court held that the trial court's failure to explicitly instruct on the intent to permanently deprive element did not constitute fundamental error. Once the jury found that defendant took money from the victim against his will by force, violence, assault, or putting in fear, it is inconceivable that the jury would not infer the intent to permanently deprive, making the omission harmless.
[1] The intent to permanently deprive another of property is an element of robbery.
[2] A trial court's failure to instruct the jury on the specific intent element of robbery does not constitute fundamental error if the jury's finding of guilt on the robbery…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“There is no doubt that the intent to permanently deprive another of property is an element of robbery.”
Establishes that intent to permanently deprive is an essential element of robbery under Florida law
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceThe victim testified that defendant Vaughn approached him, pointed a gun at him, demanded his money, and the victim surrendered his money. The defenda…
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NESBITT, Judge.
The defendant appeals his conviction of robbery and displaying a firearm during the course of a robbery. We affirm.
The victim’s testimony established that •the defendant approached the victim, pointed a gun at the victim, demanded his money, and that the victim turned over his money to the defendant. Although the defense put on no evidence, through argument the defense attempted to convince the jury that what had actually occurred on the street was a drug transaction, whereby the victim, Mr. Crabbe, had given money to the defendant for the purpose of buying marijuana for him. The jury obviously rejected the defense’s argument when it found the defendant guilty of robbery and possession of a firearm during the course of a felony.
The sole issue presented is whether fundamental error occurred because of the trial court’s failure to instruct the jury on the specific intent element of robbery.1 There is no doubt that the intent to permanently deprive another of property is an element of robbery. See Stewart v. State, 420 So. 2d 862 (Fla.1982), cert. denied, 460 U.S. 1103, 103 S.Ct. 1802, 76 L.Ed.2d 366 (1983); Bell v. State, 394 So. 2d 979 (Fla. 1981). We find, however, that the court’s failure to specifically instruct the jury on this element did not amount to fundamental-error requiring reversal in this case.
In pertinent part, the trial court instructed the jury:
It is the crime of robbery for any person to take money or other property of any value whatsoever from the person or custody of another by force, violence, or assault, or putting in fear. The essential elements of this offense which must be proved beyond a reasonable doubt before there can be a conviction in this case are that: the defendant did take from the person or immediate custody of Geoffrey Crabbe the money as described. The property was taken against the will of Mr. Crabbe. The taking was by means of force, violence, or assault, or by putting Mr. Crabbe in fear. The taking must be by the use of force, or violence, or by assault so as to overcome the resistance of the victim, or by putting the victim in fear so he does not resist.
What is important is that sufficient instructions be given so as to provide adequate guidance to enable a jury to arrive at a verdict based upon the law as applied to the evidence before it. State v. Bryan, 287 So. 2d 73 (Fla.1973), cert. denied, 417 U.S. 912, 94 S.Ct. 2611, 41 L.Ed.2d 216 (1974). We find that once the jury concluded, as it obviously did under the instructions given, that the defendant had taken money from the person or custody of Mr. Crabbe against his will, by force, violence, assault or putting in fear, it is totally inconceivable and beyond all comprehension that the jury could have failed to find from the evidence that the defendant had every intent to permanently deprive the victim of the possession, use and enjoyment of the property. See Gains v. State, 417 So. 2d 719, 725 (Fla. 1st DCA 1982), review denied, 426 So. 2d 26 (Fla.1983). Therefore, it cannot be said that the defendant’s right to due process— that is, an essentially fair trial — was compromised in any way by the trial court’s failure to instruct the jury on intent to permanently deprive the victim of property.2 See Williams v. State, 400 So. 2d 54(Fla. 3d DCA 1981), cert. denied, 459 U.S. 1149, 103 S.Ct. 793, 74 L.Ed.2d 998 (1983).
Accordingly, finding that no fundamental error occurred, the judgment of conviction is affirmed.
. Defense counsel did not object to the instructions as given. Therefore, we need only consider whether the instructions given amounted to fundamental error or, in other words, amounted to a denial of due process. See Castor v. State, 365 So. 2d 701 (Fla.1978); Williams v. State, 400 So. 2d 542 (Fla. 3d DCA 1981), cert. denied, 459 U.S. 1149, 103 S.Ct. 793, 74 L.Ed,2d 998 (1983).
. We note that the court instructed the jury that the charge of robbery included the lesser offense of larceny. Concerning the lesser-included offense of larceny, the court instructed the jury that an essential element of larceny was the intent to permanently deprive the owner of possession, use, and enjoyment of his property. See Waters v. State, 298 So. 2d 208 (Fla. 2d DCA 1974) (a challenged instruction, or portion thereof, must be considered with the whole instruction or other instructions bearing on the same subject in determining whether the law was fairly presented or whether the instruction might have misled the jury).
DANIEL S. PEARSON, Judge,
concurring.
The defense that the money was given to the defendant as part of a drug transaction implicitly concedes the ‘’intent to permanently deprive” element and asks the jury to determine only whether the victim parted with his property voluntarily or was relieved of it through the defendant’s assaultive conduct. Therefore, I agree that the unobjected-to failure to instruct the jury on the intent to permanently deprive element is no more fundamental error here than it is when the defense is mistaken identity. See, e.g., Morton v. State, 459 So. 2d 322 (Fla. 3d DCA 1984) (on rehearing).
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Thomas v. State, 526 So. 2d 183 (Fla. 3d DCA 1988)…), and cases cited, and because the demonstration of a theft is indispensable to a robbery conviction, Arnold v. State, 83 So. 2d 105, 108 (Fla.1955), to a robbery case as well. State v. Steele, 150 Wash. 466, 273 P. 742 (1929); see Vaughn v. State, 460 So. 2d 505, 505 (Fla. 3d DCA 1984) (“There is no doubt that the intent to permanently deprive another of property is an element of robbery.”); see also State v. Parker, 102 Wash.2d 161, 683 P. 2d 189 (1984). Nor is there any question that the trial court is ob…
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Hall v. State, 505 So. 2d 657 (Fla. 2d DCA 1987)…(Fla.1983) at 168 n.*. Whereas when a person is charged with violation of section 812.13, the robbery statute, the state is required to prove that the accused had the specific intent to permanently deprive the owner of property. See Vaughn v. State, 460 So. 2d 505 (Fla. 3d DCA 1984). This is presently the law until changed by the legislature. In Dunmann the supreme court pointed out that the passing of the omnibus theft, statute by the legislature had no effect on section 812.13, the robbery statute. As we r…
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Daniels v. State, 570 So. 2d 319 (Fla. 2d DCA 1990)…See State v. Dunmann, 427 So. 2d 166 (Fla.1983); Bell v. State, 394 So. 2d 979 (Fla.1981); State v. Allen, 362 So. 2d 10 (Fla.1978); Hall; Hilty v. State, 386 So. 2d 1236 (Fla. 2d DCA 1980), rev. denied, 392 So. 2d 1379 (Fla.1981); Vaughn v. State, 460 So. 2d 505 (Fla. 3d DCA 1984); Green v. State, 414 So. 2d 1171 (Fla. 5th DCA), rev. denied, 422 So. 2d 842 (Fla.1982); Baxley v. State, 411 So. 2d 194 (Fla. 5th DCA 1981), rev’d, State v. Dunmann, 427 So. 2d 166 (Fla.1983); State v. McNeill, 407 So. 2d 1021 (F…
Authorities Cited (13 total)
- Castor v. State, 365 So. 2d 701 (Fla. 1978)
- Stewart v. State, 420 So. 2d 862 (Fla. 1982)
- State v. Bryan, 287 So. 2d 73 (Fla. 1973)
- Williams v. State, 400 So. 2d 542 (Fla. 3d DCA 1981)
- Bell v. State, 394 So. 2d 979 (Fla. 1981)
- Stewart v. Florida, 460 U.S. 1103 (U.S. 1983)
- Gains v. State, 417 So. 2d 719 (Fla. 1st DCA 1982)
- Morton v. State, 459 So. 2d 322 (Fla. 3d DCA 1984)
- Rogers v. Trigg, 459 U.S. 1149 (U.S. 1983)
- Hoover v. Mississippi, 459 U.S. 1149 (U.S. 1983)