DAVID J. RATH, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE

Fla. 5th DCA | 1993-10-22
No. 92-1963
COBB and THOMPSON, JJ., concur.
627 So. 2d 24 Florida District Court of Appeal, Fifth District (1993) Positive Treatment
Cited by 14 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

David Rath appeals his DUI manslaughter and vehicular homicide convictions, contending the trial court erred by admitting expert testimony on retrograde extrapolation without first conducting a Richardson inquiry into the state's discovery violation. The appellate court agreed, finding the trial court had a duty to conduct such an inquiry once notified of the discovery violation.


Holding

The trial court erred because once notified of a discovery violation, it has a mandatory duty to conduct a Richardson inquiry to determine whether the violation was willful or inadvertent and whether the accused suffered undue prejudice. The trial court's failure to conduct such an inquiry before admitting the expert testimony was reversible error.


Headnotes

[1] A trial court must conduct a Richardson inquiry when notified of an alleged discovery violation concerning undisclosed witnesses or testimony.

[2] A Richardson inquiry requires the trial court to determine whether a discovery violation was willful or inadvertent and if it caused undue prejudice to the accused.

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

Key Quotes

“When the court is given notice of an alleged failure to disclose witnesses, the trial court has a duty to conduct a Richardson inquiry as to the nature of the violation to determine whether the violation was willful or inadvertent and whether there was undue prejudice to the accused.”

Establishes the mandatory nature of the Richardson inquiry once a discovery violation is brought to the court's attention.

Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.

Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence

Facts & Procedural History

Rath was involved in a head-on automobile collision with Lunsford that resulted in Lunsford's death from blunt trauma to the chest. Blood tests showed…

The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.

Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence

© FLexlaw, Inc. — AI-generated enrichments are proprietary. All rights reserved.


Opinion of the Court
DAUKSCH, Judge.

DAUKSCH, Judge.

Appellant, David Rath appeals his conviction of DUI manslaughter and vehicular homicide. Appellant contends that the trial court erred in admitting testimony of two expert witnesses relating to retrograde extrapolation without first conducting a Richardson inquiry. We agree.

Appellant was involved in an automobile accident with Mr. Lunsford. Appellant’s jeep went over the four-inch median strip and collided head on with Lunsford’s Buick. Lunsford died immediately as a result of the accident.

An autopsy revealed that Lunsford died of blunt trauma to the chest which caused multiple internal injuries. No alcohol or other drugs were found in Lunsford’s blood.

About one hour after the accident blood was taken from appellant for medical reasons and revealed a .08 Blood Alcohol Content (BAC). Three hours after the accident, blood was withdrawn from appellant to determine if he was legally intoxicated. The test revealed a .03 BAC. The state stipulated that this evidence was insufficient to establish an unlawful BAC at the time of the accident.

Over appellant’s objection the state offered two expert witnesses who gave opinions based upon the theory of “retrograde extrapolation,” a theory used by experts to predict a person’s BAC at a point in time earlier than when the blood was originally taken and used to determine that person’s BAC. Appellant objected to this testimony because the state did not furnish appellant with the names of which witnesses would testify or information pertaining to their testimony.

The names of the doctors who testified on the subject of retrograde extrapolation were provided to appellant but the reports and deposition that were provided to him dealt with the autopsy and made no mention of retrograde extrapolation. Approximately thirty days before trial appellant sought discovery as to any expert witness regarding retrograde extrapolation. The state answered that it was possible that they would decide to call such an expert, but at that time they were not planning to call one. Appellant notified the court that he would need time to prepare if the state later decided that they would present such testimony.

When the court is given notice of an alleged failure to disclose witnesses, the trial court has a duty to conduct a Richardson inquiry as to the nature of the violation to determine whether the violation was willful or inadvertent and whether there was undue prejudice to the accused. Richardson v. State, 246 So. 2d 771, 775 (Fla.1971); Webber v. State, 510 So. 2d 1210, 1211 (Fla. 2d DCA 1987). Because appellant was not provided with the information required under Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.220(b)(1)(J), the state violated a discovery rule which was properly objected to at trial by appellant requiring the trial court to conduct a Richardson inquiry.

The state contends that because Rath did not specifically request a Richardson inquiry, he waived this right. Taylor v. State, 589 So. 2d 918, 919 (Fla. 4th DCA 1991). Taylor can be distinguished from the present case. The defendant in Taylor did not object when an unlisted witness was offered by the state, but appellant, in the present ease, did object to the evidence. Once the trial court is put on notice of a discovery violation the trial court is obligated to conduct a Richardson inquiry to determine the prejudicial effect, if any, of the violation. Richardson v. State, 246 So. 2d 771, 775 (Fla.1971); Thompson v. State, 615 So. 2d 737, 745 (Fla. 1st DCA 1993). Finally, it is obvious that this testimony was highly persuasive of the state’s contentions and appellant should have been given an opportunity to rebut or diminish the impact of the testimony, if he can. As to the dual convictions, see State v. Chapman, 625 So. 2d 838 (Fla.1993).

REVERSED; REMANDED for new trial.

COBB and THOMPSON, JJ., concur.


Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus


Citator

Cited By

  • Brown v. State, 640 So. 2d 106 (Fla. 4th DCA 1994)
    …; Taylor v. State, 589 So. 2d 918, 919 (Fla. 4th DCA 1991). Once put on notice of a violation, the trial court has an affirmative obligation to conduct a hearing without the defendant specifically requesting a hearing. See Richardson; Rath v. State, 627 So. 2d 24 (Fla. 5th DCA 1993); Thompson v. State, 615 So. 2d 737 (Fla. 1st DCA 1993); In the Interest of F.R., 539 So. 2d 588 (Fla. 1st DCA 1989). Here, the defendant objected on the basis that the state did not disclose the statement in discovery. The objec…
  • Sears v. State, 656 So. 2d 595 (Fla. 1st DCA 1995)
    …cifically requesting one. Id. In Brown, a defense objection on the basis that the state did not disclose a statement in discovery was held to be adequate to place the court on notice of the necessity for a Richardson hearing. See also Rath v. State, 627 So. 2d 24 (Fla. 5th DCA 1993) (once trial court is put on notice of a discovery violation it is obligated to conduct a Richardson hearing); In the Interest of F.R., 539 So. 2d 588 (Fla. 1st DCA 1989) (.Richardson inquiry is required when it is brought to atte…
  • Kendal Major, Jr. v. State, 979 So. 2d 243 (Fla. 3d DCA 2007)
    …to conduct a Richardson hearing when defense counsel notified the trial court of a purported discovery violation by moving for a mistrial on the basis of the witness’ changed testimony from her deposition and her direct examination); Rath v. State, 627 So. 2d 24 (Fla. 5th DCA 1993)(finding that the trial court erred in failing to conduct a Richardson hearing when the defendant notified the trial court of a discovery violation by objecting to the state’s introduction of two undisclosed expert witnesses). Thu…

Previewing 3 of 7 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.

Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence

Authorities Cited

Full citator, related cases, and AI research tools

Open in FLexlaw