ALONSO HICKS, APPELLANT,
v.
THE STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE

Fla. 3d DCA | 1991-12-03
No. 91-230
Before NESBITT, COPE, and GERSTEN, JJ.
590 So. 2d 498 Florida District Court of Appeal, Third District (1991) Positive Treatment
Cited by 8 cases

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Holding

The court held that the improper introduction of evidence concerning the defendant's right to remain silent and prior criminal history required reversal of the battery on an officer conviction, but not the others.


Headnotes

[1] A comment on a defendant's post-arrest silence is impermissible under state constitutional law, regardless of whether Miranda warnings were given.

[2] The right to remain silent after arrest is triggered when state actors, such as police officers, are involved in the apprehension and detention of a suspect.

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Facts & Procedural History

Defendant was observed attempting to burglarize a store, leading to a struggle with security guards and a police officer. At trial, a guard testified …

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Opinion of the Court
PER CURIAM.

PER CURIAM.

Alonso Hicks claims that the improper introduction of evidence concerning his right to remain silent and his prior criminal history require the reversal of his convictions for trespass, battery on an officer, and resisting arrest. We agree in part, and reverse the battery on an officer conviction and remand for new trial on that charge.

The charges in the instant case arose out of defendant’s alleged attempt to burglarize a Jordan Marsh store. A Jordan Marsh security guard, while watching the store’s security televisions, observed that Hicks “ducked on the floor ... crawling, and ... ran up to a stockroom door.” That guard along with a second guard then approached the defendant. After the defendant exited the store, the guards called the police and a struggle between the two security guards, a Miami police officer and the defendant followed.

At trial, during direct examination, one of the store guards testified that as soon as the defendant was subdued, he was arrest ed. The state then elicited the following testimony:

Q: Did Mr. Hicks make any statements to you after he was finally subdued or during the process of being subdued?

A: No. Defendant’s counsel objected and moved for mistrial claiming improper comment on defendant’s right to remain silent after arrest. The objection was overruled and the motion denied.

As a matter of state constitutional law, it is impermissible to comment on defendant’s post-arrest silence whether or not that silence is induced by Miranda warnings. Lee v. State, 422 So. 2d 928 (Fla. 3d DCA 1982), review denied, 431 So. 2d 989 (Fla.1983); see Webb v. State, 347 So. 2d 1054 (Fla. 3d DCA), cert. denied, 354 So. 2d 986 (Fla.1977); see also Hosper v. State, 513 So. 2d 234 (Fla. 3d DCA 1987); Weiss v. State, 341 So. 2d 528 (Fla. 3d DCA 1977). The participation of the uniformed Miami police officer constituted state action in Hick’s apprehension and detention; thus, triggering his right to keep his silence after arrest from the jury. This distinguishes the instant case from State v. Jones, 461 So. 2d 97 (Fla.1984), where only store guards were involved in a similar apprehension and the court determined no violation following a parallel courtroom exchange.

At trial, defendant claimed he had been looking for a washroom in a department store when the guards knocked him to the ground, provoking an unintentional battery. Thus, the crucial issue the jury had to decide in the battery count was whether defendant had intentionally or accidentally kicked the police officer. In making this determination, the jury may well have considered the fact that at arrest defendant did not make a statement to the effect that he did not intend to kick the officer. Under these facts, as to the battery count, we cannot consider the above comment harmless error. See State v. DiGuilio, 491 So. 2d 1129 (Fla.1986) (comments on defendant’s silence are subject to harmless error analysis).

As to the charge of resisting arrest without violence, this count alleged that the defendant would not allow himself to be handcuffed after a fight with the officer in a flower bed outside the store had ended, thus causing more struggle. Defense counsel argued to the jury that defendant may have been guilty of resisting arrest, but that the state had overcharged this case, that the battery on a law enforcement officer was at most simple battery. Considering defense counsel's own comments, we conclude any error by the admission of the above comment and response, as to defendant’s conviction for resisting arrest without violence, was harmless.

Finally, we disagree with Hick’s claim that error requiring reversal occurred when one of the store security guards testified he originally began observing the defendant because he “looked like somebody that had been arrested before there.” The videotape of the defendant’s conduct was introduced at trial. According to the state, the tape confirmed defendant crawled on the floor and then ran up to the stockroom and kicked the door. More significantly, the defense argument to the jury on Hicks’ attempted burglary count was that defendant might have been guilty of trespassing (the lesser included offense of attempted burglary) but not attempted burglary. Thus, we conclude that any error in the admission of the security guard’s statement was harmless. See State v. Lee, 531 So. 2d 133 (Fla.1988); Hardie v. State, 513 So. 2d 791 (Fla. 4th DCA 1987), review denied, 520 So. 2d 586 (Fla.1988); Harris v. State, 427 So. 2d 234 (Fla. 3d DCA 1983).

Accordingly, the lower court’s judgment is reversed in part and the case remanded for new trial on the charge of battery on a police officer.


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Citator

Cited By

  • State v. Hoggins, 718 So. 2d 761 (Fla. 1998)
    …er on not the silence was induced by Miranda warnings. See Smith v. State, 681 So. 2d 894, 895-(Fla. 4th DCA 1996); Fundora v. State, 634 So. 2d 255, 256 (Fla. 3d DCA 1994); Thompson v. State, 634 So. 2d 169, 170 (Fla. 1st DCA 1994); Hicks v. State, 590 So. 2d 498, 500 (Fla. 3d DCA 1991); Lee v. State, 422 So. 2d 928 (Fla. 3d DCA 1982), review denied, 431 So. 2d 989 (Fla.1983). Unlike prior decisions though, the cases that followed Jenkins and Fletcher clearly were based on state constitutional law rather tha…
  • Cowan v. State, 3 So. 3d 446 (Fla. 4th DCA 2009)
    …al matter to be a witness against himself’); see also Clark v. State, 363 So. 2d 331, 333 (Fla.1978) (“Indisputably, evidence of post-arrest silence is improper because it violates the defendant’s right against self-incrimination.”); Hicks v. State, 590 So. 2d 498 (Fla. 3d DCA 1991) (holding that as matter of state constitutional law, it is impermissible to comment on defendant’s post-arrest silence whether silence is induced by Miranda warnings or not). Therefore, defendant’s right against self incrimination…
  • Welch v. State, 639 So. 2d 1068 (Fla. 4th DCA 1994)
    …’s testimony amounted to an impermissible comment on the defendant’s silence and his constitutional right to remain silent. State v. DiGuilio, 491 So. 2d 1129, 1139 (Fla.1986). See Graham v. State, 573 So. 2d 166 (Fla. 4th DCA 1991); Hicks v. State, 590 So. 2d 498 (Fla. 3d DCA 1991). The remarks by the police officer were unwarranted and improper. A law enforcement official, by virtue of his training, should know better. Such comments potentially undermine a defendant’s constitutional right to a fair trial. O…

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