HENRY LEE BELL, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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Bell appeals the revocation of his probation based on an alleged violation of the condition to remain at liberty without violating the law. The trial court admitted testimony from a witness who initially testified to Bell's non-involvement but later implicated Bell after being cautioned by the judge about perjury. The appellate court affirmed the revocation, finding that while the judge should have followed proper procedures regarding the witness, no prejudicial error occurred under the circumstances.
Although the trial judge should have followed the proper procedure outlined in Reese v. State and Pollard v. State, there was no prejudicial error under the particular facts of this case because the pressure on the witness was minimal, the judge did not threaten perjury charges, the witness was given time to confer with counsel, and the probationer's minimal due process rights were not violated.
[1] A trial judge's remarks to a witness concerning perjury, even if not strictly following established procedural admonitions, do not constitute prejudicial error if the pre…
[2] A trial court may caution a witness about potential perjury without committing prejudicial error, provided the judge does not threaten the witness and allows the witness…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“if a witness is threatened with perjury charges in light of a prior inconsistent statement, he might give the same testimony as that in his prior statement not because it is the truth but because of pressure from the threat of perjury charges”
States the rationale behind the prohibition on threatening witnesses with perjury charges, which is central to the legal issue in the case
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceBell was on probation with a condition to remain at liberty without violating the law. An affidavit alleged a probation violation based on Bell's arre…
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LEHAN, Judge.
Defendant appeals from the revocation of his probation based upon his violation of the probation condition that he live and remain at liberty without violating the law. The affidavit of probation violation alleged that defendant had been arrested and charged with attempted robbery. We affirm.
Defendant contends that there was error in the remarks of the trial judge to a witness for the state concerning perjury. The remarks were made after the state asked the court to declare the witness a hostile witness following his testimony to the effect that defendant was not involved in the attempted robbery. The state’s basis was that that testimony was contrary to a prior, sworn statement of the witness. The trial judge then cautioned the witness about committing perjury, asked if he was represented by counsel, ordered the witness taken into custody (the witness was on bond awaiting sentencing, and the trial court stated that his possible perjury made him a greater risk), advised the witness of his right to speak with his counsel, and recessed the proceedings for several days. Upon the recommencement of the proceedings, the witness gave testimony implicating defendant in the crime.
Defendant’s contention is that those remarks of the trial judge were erroneous and prejudicial in not following the requirements of Reese v. State, 382 So. 2d 141 (Fla. 4th DCA 1980). See also Pollard v. State, 444 So. 2d 561 (Fla. 2d DCA 1984). Those cases outline a procedure to be followed in situations similar to that which occurred here and in effect constitute an admonition against a trial judge threatening a witness with perjury. The rationale is that if a witness is threatened with perjury charges in light of a prior inconsistent statement, he might give the same testimony as that in his prior statement not because it is the truth but because of pressure from the threat of perjury charges.
Although we believe the trial judge in the case at hand should have followed the above-referenced procedure, we do not conclude that there was prejudicial error under the particular facts of this case. Here the “pressure” was substantially less than that in Reese. The trial judge did not threaten the witness with perjury charges. Although he did caution the witness about committing perjury, he specifically said that he was not taking the position that the witness either had or had not committed perjury, and he gave the witness the opportunity to confer with counsel in that regard. Also, the witness was given two days to consider the matter before the reconvened proceeding where the witness implicated defendant. Accordingly, we do not conclude that the minimal due process rights of probationer were violated in this case. Compare Midulla v. State, 410 So. 2d 687 (Fla. 2d DCA 1982).
We find no merit in defendant’s remaining contentions on appeal. We find no violation of Fla.R.Crim.P. 3.220(a)(1) concerning discovery because the record discloses no written demand to the state for discovery. We also find that there was sufficient evidence to sustain the trial court’s revocation of probation.
Affirmed.
GRIMES, A.C.J., and SCHEB, J., concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
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Akeem Muhammad v. State, 782 So. 2d 343 (Fla. 2001)…or may occur when a trial judge threatens a witness with perjury charges during his or her testimony when the witness indicates he or she is changing previous testimony. See Reese v. State, 382 So. 2d 141, 144 (Fla. 4th DCA 1980); cf. Bell v. State, 479 So. 2d 147 (Fla. 2d DCA 1985). The Fourth District in Reese concluded that while the trial judge’s remarks were not as “forceful” as in Webb, the remarks, when considered together with the immediate change in testimony by the witness, constituted prejudicial e…
Authorities Cited
- Herschel N. Pollard, Jr. v. State, 444 So. 2d 561 (Fla. 2d DCA 1984)
- Reese v. State, 382 So. 2d 141 (Fla. 4th DCA 1980)