JOSE HERNANDEZ RAMOS, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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Jose Hernandez Ramos was convicted of manslaughter after being charged with second-degree murder for shooting a victim in a bar. The appellate court reversed his conviction, holding that the state failed to present sufficient evidence to rebut his self-defense claim and therefore failed to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
The court reversed Ramos's conviction, holding that the state failed to present legally sufficient evidence to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt because it failed to rebut Ramos's direct testimony of self-defense, and some state evidence actually corroborated Ramos's self-defense account.
[1] A criminal defendant is entitled to a judgment of acquittal if the state fails to present legally sufficient evidence to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
[2] The state bears the burden of proving beyond a reasonable doubt that a defendant did not act in self-defense.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“The state has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, which includes proving beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant did not act in self-defense.”
Establishes the prosecution's burden to affirmatively disprove self-defense, not merely present conflicting evidence.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceDuring a fight in a crowded bar, Ramos shot and killed the victim. Ramos testified that the victim initiated the fight by hitting him, Ramos tried to …
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PER CURIAM.
Defendant appeals the denial of his motion for judgment of acquittal in his trial for second-degree murder. We reverse.
Defendant was charged with second-degree murder and was tried by a jury. Following the close of the state’s case, the defense moved for a judgment of acquittal, which was denied. At the end of all the trial testimony, the motion was renewed and again denied. Defendant was found guilty of manslaughter. On appeal defendant argues that the trial court erred in not granting his motion for judgment of acquittal because the state presented no evidence rebutting defendant’s case of self-defense and, therefore, failed to establish a prima facie case of nonjustifiable homicide. We agree with defendant’s argument.
The charge against defendant arose out of an incident in a bar during which defendant shot the victim, resulting in the victim’s death. Defendant’s testimony, briefly stated, was that the victim began the fight by hitting him, that defendant did not want to fight and tried to leave but was prevented from doing so by the victim’s friends, and that defendant shot the victim only after the victim pulled a knife from his pocket during the struggle between the two men.
The incident occurred in a crowded and busy bar. Most of the state’s witnesses had their attention drawn to the fight by the sound of the gunshots fired by defendant. Thus, those witnesses were not able to testify about anything leading up to the fight or the beginning of the fight.
The testimony of one of the state’s witnesses, a former girlfriend of the defendant who had been sitting at a table with defendant immediately prior to the fight, corroborated defendant’s account of the incident, i.e., that the victim initiated the fight by hitting defendant and that defendant was prevented from leaving by friends of the victim.
None of the state’s witnesses could testify whether the victim had a knife, only that the witnesses did not see a knife. The witnesses were apparently not in close proximity to the fight. At least one of the state’s witnesses did see the victim reach into his pocket during the fight, but did not see what, if anything, the victim withdrew from his pocket.
The state has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, which includes proving beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant did not act in self-defense. See Brown v. State, 454 So. 2d 596, 598 (Fla. 5th DCA 1984). As in Brown, in this case the state’s evidence was legally insufficient to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, because the state failed to rebut the defendant’s direct testimony that he acted in self-defense and, in fact, some of the state’s evidence corroborated defendant’s testimony of self-defense. See also Diaz v. State, 387 So. 2d 978 (Fla. 3d DCA 1980). Accordingly, defendant’s motion for judgment of acquittal should have been granted.
Defendant’s judgment of conviction is reversed with directions to discharge defendant from custody.
RYDER, A.C.J., SANDERLIN, J., and BOARDMAN, EDWARD F., (Ret.) J., concur.
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Citator
Cited By (15 total)
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Fowler v. State, 921 So. 2d 708 (Fla. 2d DCA 2006)…ents a prima facie case of self-defense, the State’s burden includes “ ‘proving beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant did not act in self-defense.’ ” Thompson v. State, 552 So. 2d 264, 266 (Fla. 2d DCA 1989) (quoting Hernandez Ramos v. State, 496 So. 2d 837, 838 (Fla. 2d DCA 1986)). In Brown v. State, 454 So. 2d 596, 598 (Fla. 5th DCA 1984), superseded by statute on other grounds as stated in Thomas v. State, 918 So. 2d 327 (Fla. 1st DCA 2005), the court explained as follows: While the defendant may h…
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Baker v. State, 506 So. 2d 1056 (Fla. 2d DCA 1987)…he defense ... must have used all reasonable means in his power, consistent with his own safety, to avoid the danger and to avert the necessity of taking human life_” Linsley v. State, 88 Fla. 135,101 So. 273 (1924). Defendant cites Ramos v. State, 496 So. 2d 837 (Fla. 2d DCA 1986), to support his argument that the defense of self-defense was established. The state argues that Ramos was decided wrongly. We conclude that the facts of Ramos were significantly different. In that case this court, in determining…
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Thompson v. State, 552 So. 2d 264 (Fla. 2d DCA 1989)…nder certain circumstances. Section 782.02, Florida Statutes (1987), provides: “The use of deadly force is justifiable when a person is resisting any attempt to murder such [*266] person or to commit any felony upon him....” See also Ramos v. State, 496 So. 2d 837 (Fla. 2d DCA 1986); Fla.Std.Jury Instr. (Crim.) 3.04(d). There is a duty to retreat in the face of a felonious attack before using deadly force on the attacker, Baker v. State, 506 So. 2d 1056, 1058 (Fla. 2d DCA), review denied, 515 So. 2d 229 (1987…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Emory Jack Brown, Jr. v. State, 454 So. 2d 596 (Fla. 5th DCA 1984)
- Rigoberto Diaz v. State, 387 So. 2d 978 (Fla. 3d DCA 1980)