ELIASSAINT MATHIEU, APPELLANT,
v.
THE STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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Eliassaint Mathieu appealed his conviction for armed robbery, arguing that the trial court erred in denying his motion for mistrial after testimony inadvertently revealed that non-testifying eyewitnesses had identified him by name, violating his Sixth Amendment right of confrontation. The court agreed and reversed, finding the error devastating and not harmless.
Yes. The trial court committed reversible error by denying the mistrial motion. The testimony was clearly inadmissible and violated the defendant's Sixth Amendment right of confrontation because it allowed the jury to infer that non-testifying witnesses had identified the defendant, depriving him of the opportunity to cross-examine those witnesses.
[1] A defendant's Sixth Amendment right of confrontation is violated when the jury becomes aware that non-testifying witnesses identified the defendant by name as the perpetr…
[2] Testimony that the victim identified the defendant by name to police, coupled with testimony that the victim's companions knew the perpetrator and that the victim did not…
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“the jury clearly became aware that two non-testifying eye witnesses to the charged robbery had identified the defendant by name as the perpetrator of the robbery”
Establishes the core evidentiary problem that violated the defendant's confrontation rights
Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceMathieu was charged with armed robbery. The victim was robbed at gunpoint while in his car with two friends. At trial, the state presented testimony t…
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PER CURIAM.
This is an appeal by the defendant Elias-saint Mathieu from. a final judgment of conviction and sentence for armed robbery. The defendant raises three points on appeal, one of which we conclude has merit.
The defendant contends, and we agree, that the trial court committed reversible error in denying the defendant’s motion for a mistrial because, in our view, the jury clearly became aware that two non-testifying eye witnesses to the charged robbery had identified the defendant by name as the perpetrator of the robbery. The state established at trial that the victim was robbed at gunpoint while in his car with two friends. The state then placed before the jury, over objection, that (a) the victim’s two friends, who had witnessed the robbery, personally knew the man who committed the robbery, and (b) the victim (who admittedly did not know the man who committed the robbery) gave the police, on the day of the robbery, the defendant’s name as the perpetrator of the robbery. The inescapable inference from this testimony was that the two friends, who never testified below, identified the defendant by name to the victim as the perpetrator of the robbery — and that the victim conveyed this information to the investigating police detective immediately after the robbery. This being so, the above testimony was clearly inadmissible, the defendant’s Sixth Amendment right of confrontation was violated, and the trial court should have declared a mistrial. Postell v. State, 398 So. 2d 851 (Fla. 3d DCA), rev. denied, 411 So. 2d 384 (Fla.1981); see Jimenez v. State, 535 So. 2d 343 (Fla. 2d DCA 1988); Davis v. State, 493 So. 2d 11 (Fla. 3d DCA 1986); Beatty v. State, 486 So. 2d 59 (Fla. 4th DCA 1986); Molina v. State, 406 So. 2d 57 (Fla. 3d DCA 1981).
We recognize that the trial court did its best to keep the offending testimony from the jury and sustained the defendant’s objections to it. Unfortunately, the testimony was blurted out before an objection and ruling thereon could be made — and, accordingly, the trial court thereafter had no alternative but to declare a mistrial under Postell. The error here was devastating to the defendant under the circumstances of this case and was certainly not harmless; moreover, the error asserted was clearly preserved for appellate review by proper objection.
In view of the above, we need not reach the remaining two points on appeal. The final judgment of conviction and sentence under review is reversed, and the cause is remanded to the trial court for a new trial.
Reversed and remanded.
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Citator
Authorities Cited
- Postell v. State, 398 So. 2d 851 (Fla. 3d DCA 1981)
- Molina v. State, 406 So. 2d 57 (Fla. 3d DCA 1981)
- Emilio Jimenez v. State, 535 So. 2d 343 (Fla. 2d DCA 1988)
- Davis v. State, 493 So. 2d 11 (Fla. 3d DCA 1986)
- Beatty v. State, 486 So. 2d 59 (Fla. 4th DCA 1986)