JOHN DAWSON, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE

Fla. 4th DCA | 1991-09-04
No. 90-2166
DOWNEY and GUNTHER, JJ., concur.
585 So. 2d 443 Florida District Court of Appeal, Fourth District (1991) Positive Treatment
Cited by 9 cases

AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.

Synopsis

John Dawson appealed his conviction for robbery, raising four trial errors. The Fourth District Court of Appeal reversed and remanded for a new trial, finding that admission of plea negotiation testimony constituted reversible error, along with additional evidentiary errors regarding prior consistent statements and collateral crime evidence.


Holding

The court reversed the conviction and remanded for a new trial, finding that admission of plea negotiation testimony was reversible error. The court also found that the trial court erred in admitting the victim's prior consistent statements because the witness had a motive to falsify prior to the alleged crime, and erred in admitting testimony regarding collateral crimes involving crack cocaine users.


Headnotes

[1] Evidence of prior plea negotiations is inadmissible and its admission constitutes reversible error.

[2] A witness' prior consistent statement is generally inadmissible to corroborate testimony unless it rebuts a charge of improper influence, motive, or recent fabrication, a…

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Key Quotes

“Guilty pleas are an essential part of our criminal justice system, and candor in plea discussions aids greatly in the reaching of agreements between the defendant and the state.”

Establishes the public policy rationale for protecting plea negotiations under section 90.410

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Facts & Procedural History

Appellant Dawson was charged with robbery with a firearm and aggravated battery. He testified at trial and was acquitted of aggravated battery but fou…

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Opinion of the Court
POLEN, Judge.

POLEN, Judge.

This is an appeal from a conviction of robbery in violation of section 812.13(2)(c), Florida Statutes (1989). Four points are raised on appeal. Appellant maintains that the trial court erred in: (1) denying his motion for a mistrial when the prosecutor questioned him about prior plea negotiations; (2) permitting the introduction of prior consistent statements; (3) admitting collateral crime evidence; and (4) allowing the prosecutor to make prejudicial and improper comments during closing argument. For the reasons that follow, we reverse appellant’s conviction and remand for a new trial.

The appellant was charged with robbery with a firearm and aggravated battery. He was acquitted of aggravated battery and was found guilty of robbery.

At trial, appellant testified on his own behalf. The prosecutor questioned appellant regarding a plea offer he had made prior to trial.

We find that the admission of testimony regarding appellant’s plea offer constituted reversible error.

Section 90.410 aids in promoting both the efficiency and fairness of our system of justice. “Guilty pleas are an essential part of our criminal justice system, and candor in plea discussions aids greatly in the reaching of agreements between the defendant and the state.” Landrum v. State, 430 So. 2d 549, 559 (Fla. 2d DCA 1983) (quoting State v. Trujillo, 93 N.M. 724, 727, 605 P. 2d 232, 235 (1980)).

Additionally, allowing admission of evidence of prior plea negotiations leaves an “indelible impression of guilt on the jurors’ minds.” Clark v. State, 452 So. 2d 1002, 1004 (Fla. 2d DCA 1984).

We agree that “the purpose of § 90.410 is of such importance that ... violation of that section cannot be deemed harmless.” Landrum, 430 So. 2d at 550.

Next, appellant contends that it was error for the court to admit the prior consistent statements of the victim, a key state witness in this case. On re-direct, the victim testified as to statements he made to the police after the alleged crime. These statements were elicited to show the consistency between the victim’s in-court testimony and his prior statements, after the victim’s testimony had been impeached. It is well settled that a witness’ prior consistent statement is generally inadmissable to corroborate that witness’ testimony. Jackson v. State, 498 So. 2d 906 (Fla.1986).

The exception to this rule applies when such statements are “introduced to rebut an express or implied charge against the witness of improper influence, motive or recent fabrication.” Gardner v. State, 480 So. 2d 91, 93 (Fla.1985).

However, this exception applies only when the prior consistent statement was originally made prior to the existence of a fact said to indicate bias, interest, corruption, or other motive to falsify. Id.

The record shows that the witness whose prior consistent statement is at issue here, had a motive to falsify even before the alleged crime took place.

Therefore, it was error for the trial court to admit these statements over appellant’s objection.

Appellant contends that the admission of testimony concerning past crimes that did not involve him was prejudicial and should not have been permitted. The arresting officer testified that appellant admitted smoking crack cocaine on the night of the crime and also testified that people on crack generally rob and steal to get money to buy more crack. The officer then testified that he knew of cases where people on crack have robbed their own grandmothers. Evidence of this sort should not have been admitted. Nowitzke v. State, 572 So. 2d 1346 (Fla.1990). “The only purpose of such testimony is to place prejudicial and misleading inferences in front of the jury.” Id. at 1356.

As to appellant’s last point, one of the prosecutor’s comments that appellant objects to was an invited response to defense counsel’s earlier remarks. See Dufour v. State, 495 So. 2d 154 (Fla.1986). Appellate review of other comments made by the prosecutor has been waived due to the lack of a timely objection. State v. Cumbie, 380 So. 2d 1031 (Fla.1980).

We reverse and remand for a new trial.

DOWNEY and GUNTHER, JJ., concur.


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Citator

Cited By

  • Taylor v. State, 855 So. 2d 1 (Fla. 2003)
    …e as Anderson); Quiles v. State, 523 So. 2d 1261, 1263 (Fla. 2d DCA 1988) (holding that police testimony about victim's prior consistent statements improperly bolstered victim’s version of events where victim had motive to falsify); Dawson v. State, 585 So. 2d 443, 445 (Fla. 4th DCA 1991) (holding victim had motive to falsify before crime was even committed and therefore it was error to admit victim’s prior consistent statements to police). . Taylor disputed the fact that he was wearing boxer shorts at the t…
  • Lowder v. State, 589 So. 2d 933 (Fla. 3d DCA 1991)
    …om their families and committed homicides to support their drug habits. The only purpose of testimony regarding criminal behavior patterns “is to place prejudicial and misleading inferences in front of the jury.” Id. at 1356. Accord Dawson v. State, 585 So. 2d 443 (Fla. 4th DCA 1991) (rejecting, as prejudicial, police officer’s statement that people on crack generally rob and steal to get money). Similarly, in Hargrove v. State, 431 So. 2d 732 (Fla. 4th DCA 1983), the court condemned, as irrelevant, the test…
  • Dean v. State, 690 So. 2d 720 (Fla. 4th DCA 1997)

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