RONALD WINSTON NORRIS, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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The appellate court reversed an order denying post-conviction relief, finding that trial counsel's failure to object to a social worker's testimony vouching for a child witness's credibility constituted ineffective assistance of counsel, denying the appellant a fair trial.
Yes, trial counsel's failure to object to the social worker's inadmissible testimony, which served as the sole corroboration for the child witness, was ineffective assistance of counsel and denied the appellant a fair trial.
[1] It is error to admit testimony from a witness offered to vouch for the credibility of another witness.
[2] A trial court's denial of post-conviction relief may be reversed where trial counsel's ineffectiveness results in the denial of a fair trial.
Previewing 2 of 5 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“it is error to admit testimony from a witness who is offered to vouch for the credibility of another.”
Establishes the legal principle that testimony vouching for another witness's credibility is inadmissible.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceThe appellant was convicted based on the testimony of a very young child. A social worker testified that she had "validated" the child's account, desp…
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DAUKSCH, Judge.
This is an appeal from an order denying post-conviction relief.
This appellant's appeal from his conviction is found at Norris v. State, 503 So. 2d 911 (Fla. 5th DCA 1987). As we said in that opinion it is error to admit testimony from a witness who is offered to vouch for the credibility of another. That has long been the law of Florida and was most recently announced in Kruse v. State, 483 So. 2d 1383 (Fla. 4th DCA 1986), dismissed, 507 So. 2d 588 (Fla.1987) — some two months before the trial with which we are concerned here. See also Knight v. State, 97 So. 2d 115, 119 (Fla.1957); Goldstein v. State, 447 So. 2d 903, 905 (Fla. 4th DCA 1984); Rodriguez v. State, 413 So. 2d 1303, 1305 (Fla.3d DCA 1982); Holliday v. State, 389 So. 2d 679, 680 (Fla.3d DCA 1980). It is only for a jury to decide which witnesses are believable — not some “expert.”
For our decision now we must determine whether trial counsel was so ineffective in his representation of appellant so as to deny appellant a fair trial. We conclude his failure to object to statements of a “Child Protection Team” social worker who testified she had somehow scientifically “validated” (her word) the child witness’s testimony was so damaging to appellant’s case as to deny him a fair trial. The very young, three or five year old, child was the only witness against appellant. The transcript of the 3.850 hearing indicates that she was diagnosed negative for child abuse in a medical examination and her mother expressed disbelief in her allegations before trial, so the only “evidence” the state had to corroborate her account was the social worker’s statement in which she had somehow determined from interrogation of the child that she told the truth when she said she was abused.
This testimony was clearly inadmissible, should have been objected to, wasn’t, and appellant’s trial was fatally infected thereby.
The order denying a new trial is reversed and this cause remanded for a new trial.
REVERSED and REMANDED.
COBB and COWART, JJ., concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
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Zonald Watson Weatherford v. State, 561 So. 2d 629 (Fla. 1st DCA 1990)…We conclude that [*634] the court erred in admitting this testimony. The law is well-settled that a witness’s testimony offered to vouch for the credibility of another is inadmissible. See Tingle v. State, 536 So. 2d 202 (Fla.1988); Norris v. State, 525 So. 2d 998 (Fla. 5th DCA 1988). It is most important to note that Ms. Cha-dik was not tendered as an expert in determining whether a child exhibited symptoms consistent with those of sexually abused children. Cf., Ward v. State, 519 So. 2d 1082 (Fla. 1st DCA 1…
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Fuller v. State, 540 So. 2d 182 (Fla. 5th DCA 1989)…ial worker to testify they believed the alleged child victim was telling the truth); Davis v. State, 527 So. 2d 962 (Fla. 5th DCA 1988) (reversible error to allow psychologist to testify that alleged child victim was “being frank”); Norris v. State, 525 So. 2d 998 (Fla. 5th DCA 1988) (reversing sexual battery conviction on ineffective assistance of counsel grounds where child protection team worker testified without objection that “she had somehow scientifically ‘validated’ ” child witness’s testimony and thi…
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Rhue v. State, 693 So. 2d 567 (Fla. 2d DCA 1996)…ailing to object to testimony vouching for the credibility of the child victim, we limit our discussion to that point. It is error to admit the testimony of a witness that is offered to vouch for the credibility of another witness. Norris v. State, 525 So. 2d 998 (Fla. 5th DCA 1988); see also Francis v. State, 512 So. 2d 280 (Fla. 2d DCA 1987)(testimony of expert witness cannot be used to vouch for credibility of another witness). The credibility of witnesses is for the jury to decide. 525 So. 2d at 999. In…1 / 2
Previewing 3 of 8 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Kruse v. State, 483 So. 2d 1383 (Fla. 4th DCA 1986)
- Eliceo Rodriguez v. State, 413 So. 2d 1303 (Fla. 3d DCA 1982)
- State v. Kruse, 507 So. 2d 588 (Fla. 1987)
- Lyons v. Metro. Dade Cnty., 507 So. 2d 588 (Fla. 1987)
- Padilla v. State, 447 So. 2d 903 (Fla. 3d DCA 1984)
- Ohio Cas. Grp. v. Parrish, 389 So. 2d 679 (Fla. 3d DCA 1980)
- Holliday v. State, 389 So. 2d 679 (Fla. 3d DCA 1980)
- Norris v. State, 503 So. 2d 911 (Fla. 5th DCA 1987)
- Knight v. State, 97 So. 2d 115 (Fla. 1957)
- N. Miami Assembly OF GOD Church v. Zimmerman, 97 So. 2d 115 (Fla. 1957)