STEPHEN CHRISTOPHER BATTON II
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA
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Stephen Christopher Batton II appealed his convictions for Criminal Mischief and Battery (Domestic). The appellate court held that Battery (Domestic) is not a recognized crime under Florida law and remanded to correct the judgment to reflect a conviction for Battery only, while affirming all other aspects of the sentence.
The trial court erred in convicting Batton of Battery (Domestic) because no such crime exists under Florida law. The claim regarding exclusion of prior violent acts evidence was not properly preserved for appeal because no proffer was made to establish the admissibility issue on the record.
[1] A conviction for a crime that does not exist in the state's statutes is erroneous.
[2] A proffer of excluded testimony is necessary to preserve an issue regarding its admissibility for appellate review.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“we hold that the trial court erred in convicting Appellant of Battery (Domestic), as there is no such crime in the State of Florida”
Establishes that Battery (Domestic) is not a valid criminal charge under Florida law
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceBatton was convicted of one count of Criminal Mischief (under $200) and one count of Battery (Domestic) in the County Court for Palm Beach County. Bat…
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IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE FIFTEENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT IN AND FOR PALM BEACH COUNTY, FLORIDA
APPELLATE DIVISION (CRIMINAL): AC
CASE NO.: 502018AP000155AXXXMB
L.T. NO.: 502018MM007692AXXXMB
STEPHEN CHRISTOPHER BATTON II,
Appellant,
v. STATE OF FLORIDA,
Appellee.
___________________________________/
Opinion filed: May 15, 2020
Appeal from the County Court in and for Palm Beach County; Judge Debra Moses Stephens.
For Appellant: Virginia Murphy, Esq.
Office of the Public Defender
421 Third Street, 6th Floor
West Palm Beach, FL 33401 [email protected] [email protected]
For Appellee: Joseph R. Kadis, Esq. Office of the State Attorney
401 North Dixie Highway
West Palm Beach, FL 33401
PER CURIAM.
Appellant, Stephen Christopher Batton II, appeals his judgment and sentence for one count of Criminal Mischief (under $200) and one count of Battery (Domestic). Appellant asserts that the trial court erred by convicting him of Battery (Domestic), and that the trial court abused its discretion in precluding him from testifying about alleged prior violent acts involving his father. We hold that the trial court erred in convicting Appellant of Battery (Domestic), as there is no such crime in the State of Florida. Crockett v. State, 91 So. 3d 872, 872 (Fla. 2d DCA 2012); Narinesingh v. State, 27 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 230a (Fla. 15th Cir. Ct. Apr. 22, 2019). However, we hold that Appellant’s argument concerning prior violent acts was not properly preserved for appeal. See Lucas v. State, 568 So. 2d 18, 22 (Fla. 1990) (“A proffer is necessary to preserve a claim . . . because an appellate court will not otherwise speculate about the admissibility of such evidence.”); Jacobs v. Wainwright, 450 So. 2d 200, 201 (Fla. 1984) (“The purpose of a proffer is to put into the record testimony which is excluded from the jury so that an appellate court can consider the admissibility of the excluded testimony. Reversible error cannot be predicated on conjecture.”). Accordingly, we REMAND to the trial court to correct Appellant’s judgment and sentence to properly reflect that he was convicted and sentenced to Battery on Count 2, and not Battery (Domestic). We otherwise AFFIRM in all other aspects.
SCHER, WEISS, and ARTAU, JJ., concur. IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE FIFTEENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT IN AND FOR PALM BEACH COUNTY, FLORIDA
APPELLATE DIVISION (CRIMINAL): AC
CASE NO.: 502018AP000155AXXXMB
L.T. NO.: 502018MM007692AXXXMB
STEPHEN CHRISTOPHER BATTON II,
Appellant,
Opinion/Decision filed: May 15, 2020
v. Appeal from the County Court in and for
Palm Beach County, Florida; STATE OF FLORIDA,
Judge Debra Moses Stephens
Appellee.
Appealed: December 10, 2018 _____________________________________/
DATE OF PANEL: MAY 12, 2020
PANEL JUDGES: SCHER, WEISS, ARTAU
AFFIRMED/REVERSED/OTHER: AFFIRM AND REMAND W/ INSTRUCTIONS
DECISION BY: PER CURIAM
CONCURRING: ) DISSENTING: ) CONCURRING SPECIALLY: )
) With/Without Opinion ) With/Without Opinion )
) ) ) /s/ Rosemarie Scher_ ) _____________________ ) _________________________ ) DATE: 5/15/20 J. ) J. ) J. )
)
)
) /s/ Daliah H. Weiss_ ) _____________________ ) _________________________ ) DATE: 5/15/20 J. ) J. ) J. )
)
)
) /s/ Edward L. Artau__ ) _____________________ ) _________________________ ) DATE: 5/15/20 J. ) J. ) J. )
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Authorities Cited
- Lucas v. State, 568 So. 2d 18 (Fla. 1990)
- Eligaah Ardalle Jacobs v. Louie L. Wainwright, 450 So. 2d 200 (Fla. 1984)
- Crockett v. State, 91 So. 3d 872 (Fla. 2d DCA 2012)