DERRICK HARRELL, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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.
The court held that the admission of hearsay identification testimony, a prosecutor's comment on the defendant's right to remain silent, and an erroneous jury instruction on stealthy entry each warranted a new trial.
[1] Hearsay testimony regarding a witness's identification of a suspect is inadmissible when the witness does not testify at trial and is therefore not subject to cross-exami…
[2] The admission of inadmissible hearsay identification testimony is not harmless error when it creates an illusion of consistency among inconsistent descriptions, thereby b…
Previewing 2 of 4 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceThe defendant was convicted of burglary and robbery. During the trial, a police officer testified to a description of the suspect given by a witness w…
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.
Explore caselaw by topic → Browse Strong Arm Robbery cases and more on FLexlaw
KLEIN, Judge.
Appellant appeals his convictions for burglary with assault or battery and strong-arm robbery, arguing that he is entitled to a new trial because a police officer was allowed to give hearsay testimony as to a description of the suspect given by a witness who did not testify. He also argues that the court erred in instructing the jury on stealthy entry and in not granting a mistrial when the prosecutor commented on his right to remain silent. We reverse on all three grounds.
The victim, was stopped at a red light when a man who had tried unsuccessfully to open her locked car door threw a rock through a window and dove in through the shattered window. He grabbed the chain around her neck while she was screaming and blowing the horn, and after she drove her ear into a fence, he ran off, taking her wallet with him.
Eyewitness Clemons was stopped behind the victim’s car and observed the incident. He followed the victim’s car and waited until the police arrived. He identified appellant at trial, testifying that he was positive that the robber was wearing yellow shorts and no shirt. He also testified at trial that the robber had a mustache, which contradicted his deposition testimony that the robber did not have a mustache. The victim identified appellant as the man who robbed her, describing him as wearing a red shirt at the time of the incident.
The officer who was called to the scene testified that eyewitness Clemons had described the robber as wearing an orange shirt and brown pants. The officer also testified that the victim gave a similar description. In addition, the officer was permitted to testify that a Mr. Robinson, who was not called to testify at trial, gave him a description of the robber which was similar to that given by the victim and Clemons. Defendant objected to all of the officer’s testimony about identification as hearsay.
Section 90.801(2), Florida Statutes (1993), provides:
(2) A statement is not hearsay if the declarant testifies at the trial or hearing and is subject to cross-examination concerning the statement and the statement is:
(a) Inconsistent with his testimony and was given under oath subject to the penalty of perjury at a trial, hearing, or other proceeding or in a deposition;
(b) Consistent with his testimony and is offered to rebut an express or implied charge against him of improper influence, motive, or recent fabrication; or (c) One of identification of a person made after perceiving him. (Emphasis added).
The identification statements of the victim and witness Clemons to the officer were not inadmissible as hearsay, since they testified at trial. However, the identification testimony of witness Robinson was inadmissible because Robinson did not testify at trial. Cullimore v. Barnett Bank of Jacksonville, 386 So. 2d 894 (Fla. 1st DCA 1980).
We cannot agree with the State that the admission of this hearsay was harmless error, since there were inconsistencies in the identification testimony. The victim testified that the robber wore a red shirt. Clemons was positive that the robber was shirtless and had on yellow shorts. The officer testified that Clemons described the robber as wearing an orange shirt and brown pants, and that he had received a similar description from the victim. Allowing the officer to testify that Robinson, who was not being called as a witness and thus not subject to cross-examination, had given him a description similar to that which he had received from the others, was not harmless. Rather, the officer’s testimony made it appear that the identification testimony regarding the robber was consistent, when in fact it was inconsistent.
Another error occurred during voir dire, when the prosecutor stated:
The Defendant has a constitutional protection in the Florida Constitution and the United States Constitution not to testify if he does not want to or his attorney chooses for him not to.
Defendant objected and moved for a mistrial. The court' denied a mistrial and instructed the prosecutor not to do it again. This type of comment on defendant’s right to remain silent is impermissible. Andrews v. State, 443 So. 2d 78 (Fla.1983).
' We don’t know what possessed the prosecutor to make the comment about defendant’s attorney choosing for defendant not to testify, however, we doubt that it was intended to protect defendant’s rights. And the fact that defendant did subsequently testify does not render this comment harmless, since it may have had a coercive effect on defendant’s decision to take the stand. Id. at 84.
The court also erred in instructing the jury that:
Proof of the entering of a conveyance stealthily and without the consent of the owner or occupant may justify a finding that the entering was with the intent to commit a crime if, from the surrounding facts and circumstances, you are convinced beyond a reasonable doubt that the intent existed.
This instruction should only be given where there is a stealthy entry. Vinson v. State, 575 So. 2d 1371 (Fla. 4th DCA 1991). In the present case the entry was anything but stealthy, since the robber, in full view of the victim, first tried to open her locked car door, and then smashed the window.
Reversed and remanded for a new trial.
HERSEY and WARNER, JJ., concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By (11 total)
-
Varona v. State, 674 So. 2d 823 (Fla. 4th DCA 1996)…tor’s voir dire comment was impermissible: The Defendant has a constitutional protection in the Florida Constitution and the United States Constitution not to testify if he does not want to or his attorney chooses for him not to. Harrell v. State, 647 So. 2d 1016, 1018 (Fla. 4th DCA 1994). Similarly, in Jackson v. State, 453 So. 2d 456, 458 (Fla. 4th DCA 1984), we found error in the prosecutor’s television analogy during jury selection: You understand that in Perry Mason somebody is going to stand up at som…
-
Daughtry v. State, 804 So. 2d 426 (Fla. 4th DCA 2001)…State, 664 So. 2d 985, 986 (Fla. 4th DCA 1995), once more with all but identical facts, we held that the trial court could not give the stealth instruction because the entry into the residence was “anything but stealthy.” So too in Harrell v. State, 647 So. 2d 1016 (Fla. 4th DCA 1994), we held that the stealth instruction may not be given where the evidence does not show stealth. Clearly it was error to give the instruction. The state argues that the error is harmless. In reply defendant does not argue that t…
-
J.A.S. v. State, 952 So. 2d 638 (Fla. 2d DCA 2007)…ntering); Frazier v. State, 664 So. 2d 985, 986 (Fla. 4th DCA 1995) (reasoning the stealth instruction was improper because defendant smashed through the glass door of the home in broad daylight and in the presence of the victims); Harrell v. State, 647 So. 2d 1016, 1018 (Fla. 4th DCA 1994) (stating “entry was anything but stealthy, since the robber, in full view of the victim, first tried to open her locked car door, and then smashed the window”). In this case, the two boys did not sneak up to or run away fr…
Previewing 3 of 11 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Lucious Andrews, Jr. v. State, 443 So. 2d 78 (Fla. 1983)
- Cullimore v. Barnett Bank OF Jacksonville, 386 So. 2d 894 (Fla. 1st DCA 1980)
- Vinson v. State, 575 So. 2d 1371 (Fla. 4th DCA 1991)