TIMOTHY ADAMS, 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 trial court fundamentally erred by providing the jury with an instruction for resisting arrest without violence instead of resisting arrest with violence. The court also held that testimony regarding the defendant's alleged commission of escape was irrelevant and prejudicial.
Timothy Adams was convicted of resisting arrest with violence. During the trial, the court provided the jury with the wrong jury instruction and allow…
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 Public Defender Fees cases and more on FLexlaw
POLEN, Judge.
Timothy Adams appeals from a final judgment and sentence convicting him of resisting arrest with violence. We reverse, as the trial court fundamentally erred by reading to the jury the instruction for resisting arrest without violence, rather than the instruction for resisting arrest with violence. See Gaines v. State, 652 So. 2d 458 (Fla. 4th DCA 1995) (where instructions read to jury are for a crime different from that which defendant is charged and convicted of, verdict as to that crime is a nullity; error is fundamental requiring reversal even in absence of an objection.)
Although reversal on the above issue might render moot the other issues raised on appeal, we will briefly address them so any error can be avoided on retrial. We agree with Adams that the trial court erred in overruling his objection to Officer Campbell testifying that according to the “law books,” Adams had committed the crime of escape “which is a felony.” Adams was not charged with escape, and it thus was not relevant, and could only have prejudiced the jury. Although the state claims the fact that Adams had committed the crime of escape was relevant to explain why the officer went to Adam’s mother’s house to arrest him, it was actually the misdemeanor of obstructing justice for which the officer claimed he was going to arrest Adams. Accordingly, if Adams is retried the fact that Officer Campbell thought Adams had committed the crime of escape is not relevant, and any such testimony should be avoided.
We further point out that if Adams-is convicted after a new trial, public defender’s fees can be imposed only if Adams is given prior notice of the intent to seek such fees, and an opportunity to be heard and offer objection to the imposition of such fees. Wilkins v. State, 668 So. 2d 305 (Fla. 4th DCA 1996); § 27.56(7), Fla. Stat. (1993). We affirm all other points on appeal.
GUNTHER, C.J., and FARMER, J., concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
-
Viveros v. State, 699 So. 2d 822 (Fla. 4th DCA 1997)…sed on this reasoning, appellant relies upon cases which say that fundamental error is occasioned where the jury is instructed on a crime that is different from the crime with which the defendant was charged and convicted. See, e.g., Adams v. State, 681 So. 2d 917 (Fla. 4th DCA 1996) (conviction was on charge of resisting arrest with violence, but jury was instructed on resisting arrest without violence). Although the problem in the instant ease was not that the judge read the trespass instruction rather than…
-
Jacques Louisgeste v. State, 706 So. 2d 29 (Fla. 4th DCA 1998)…ration. Even where the amount assessed appears reasonable, a trial court must still advise a defendant of his or her right to a hearing to contest the proposed amount. Reese v. State, 678 So. 2d 893, 894 (Fla. 4th DCA 1996); see also Adams v. State, 681 So. 2d 917 (Fla. 4th DCA 1996)(public defender fees can only be imposed if defendant is given prior notice of the intent to seek such fees, and an opportunity to be heard and offer objection to the imposition of such fees.). In this ease, while the trial cour…
Authorities Cited
- Gaines v. State, 652 So. 2d 458 (Fla. 4th DCA 1995)
- Wilkins v. State, 668 So. 2d 305 (Fla. 4th DCA 1996)