SHARON WARD, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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Florida appellate court affirmed second-degree murder conviction where defendant failed to proffer expert testimony on battered wife syndrome, holding that the trial court's exclusion of one expert's examination results did not preclude the defendant's own counsel from presenting the syndrome testimony.
A defendant cannot challenge the exclusion of battered wife syndrome expert testimony when her own counsel declines to proffer it to the trial court, rather than the court excluding it.
[1] Battered wife syndrome is an appropriate subject for expert testimony if the trial court determines the expert is sufficiently qualified, as established in Hawthorne v. …
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceWard was convicted of second-degree murder. She intended to present two experts: one to describe her psychological traits from a post-murder examinati…
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MILLS, Judge.
Ward appeals from her conviction for second-degree murder, alleging that the trial court erred in rejecting expert testimony on the “battered wife syndrome.” We affirm.
Ward intended to present the testimony of two expert witnesses at trial. The first was to describe Ward’s psychological traits as gleaned from an examination made after the murder. The second would then discuss the syndrome. The court refused to allow the first expert to testify regarding his examination, holding that the results were irrelevant to Ward’s plea of self-defense. Defense counsel then decided, independently of any ruling by the court, not to present the second expert. Her testimony was not proffered, nor was it excluded by the court.
Hawthorne v. State, 408 So. 2d 801 (Fla. 1st DCA 1982) rev. den. 415 So. 2d 1361 (Fla.1982), held that the “battered wife syndrome” would be an appropriate topic for expert testimony, provided the trial court determined that the expert was sufficiently qualified. Hawthorne at 806. In this case, counsel never gave the court an opportunity to determine the admissibility of the expert’s testimony, as he declined to proffer it. The presentation of the testimony was therefore not precluded by any action of the court, erroneous or otherwise, but by counsel himself.
AFFIRMED.
L. SMITH and THOMPSON, JJ., concur.
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Ward v. Dugger, 508 So. 2d 778 (Fla. 1st DCA 1987)…PER CURIAM. On August 1, 1984, Sharon Ward was convicted of second-degree murder in connection with the shooting death of her husband. Her appeal of that conviction was affirmed by this court by opinion dated June 7, 1985, see Ward v. State, 470 So. 2d 100 (Fla. 1st DCA 1985) and mandate issued on June 27, 1985. On April 20, 1987, correspondence from Ms. Ward was received by the clerk of this court. The letter stated, among other things, that Ms. Ward had hoped to file a motion for post-conviction re…
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Ferguson v. Ferguson, 504 So. 2d 541 (Fla. 1st DCA 1987)…we find this does not excuse counsel’s failure to promptly respond to the order of October 3. .See The Florida Bar; In re W. Paul Thompson, 328 So. 2d 196 (Fla.1976). See also Hightower v. Berry, 490 So. 2d 1029 (Fla. 1st DCA 1986); Ward v. State, 470 So. 2d 100 (Fla. 1st DCA), review denied, 480 So. 2d 1296 (Fla.1985); Harrison v. Griffin, 443 So. 2d 499 (Fla. 1st DCA 1984); Taylor v. Taylor, 325 So. 2d 63 (Fla. 1st DCA 1976); Burrell Drilling Co. v. Meredith Corp., 306 So. 2d 139 (Fla. 4th DCA), cert. den…
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Nedge Nora Turnier v. Stockman, 139 So. 3d 397 (Fla. 3d DCA 2014)…mpano Beach. Her entire case consisted of her and her mother’s testimony. She cannot now complain that the trial court committed reversible error by not hearing expert testimony when she did not present any such testimony herself. See Ward v. State, 470 So. 2d 100, 101 (Fla. 1st DCA 1985) (finding that where defendant did not proffer expert testimony, it was "not precluded by any action of the court, erroneous or otherwise, but by counsel himself”); cf. Behar v. Southeast Banks Trust Co., N.A., 374 So. 2d 572…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Hawthorne v. State, 408 So. 2d 801 (Fla. 1st DCA 1982)