JUAN JOSE DELGADO, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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Appellant Delgado was convicted by jury of attempted second-degree murder of a law enforcement officer, possession of cocaine while armed, and two counts of aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer. The appellate court reversed and remanded for a new trial because the trial court failed to conduct a Richardson hearing after the state introduced previously undisclosed statements allegedly made by appellant to police officers, violating the discovery rules.
The trial court's failure to conduct a Richardson hearing was reversible error. The state was obligated to disclose the alleged statements to the defense, and its failure to do so constituted a discovery violation. The reviewing court was unable to conclude to the exclusion of all reasonable doubt that the violation did not procedurally prejudice the defense, and the burden rested upon the state to establish that the failure to hold the hearing was harmless.
[1] A trial court must conduct a Richardson hearing when aware of a discovery violation to determine if the violation was inadvertent or willful, trivial or substantial, and,…
[2] A discovery violation is considered harmless error only if the appellate court can determine beyond a reasonable doubt that the defense was not procedurally prejudiced.
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“Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.220(b)(1)(C) requires the state to disclose to the defendant "any written or recorded statements and the substance of any oral statements made by the defendant, including a copy of any statements contained in police reports or report summaries, together with the name and address of each witness to the statements."”
Establishes the applicable discovery rule requiring disclosure of defendant statements
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceFollowing a jury trial, Delgado was convicted of attempted second-degree murder of a law enforcement officer, possession of cocaine while armed, and t…
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WEBSTER, Judge.
Folio-wing a jury trial, appellant was convicted of attempted second-degree murder of a law enforcement officer, possession of cocaine while armed and two counts of ággra-vated assault on a law enforcement officer. In this direct appeal, appellant challenges his convictions on multiple grounds. He also challenges his sentence for attempted second-degree murder of a law enforcement officer. Because the trial court failed to conduct a Richardson hearing after defense counsel objected to the introduction at trial of previously undisclosed statements allegedly made by appellant to two police officers, we reverse and remand for a new trial.
Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.220(b)(1)(C) requires the state to disclose to the defendant “any written or recorded statements and the substance of any oral statements made by the defendant, including a copy of any statements contained in police reports or report summaries, together with the name and address of each witness to the statements.” It is undisputed that, at trial, the state was permitted to present, over the objection of defense • counsel, evidence regarding statements allegedly made by appellant to two police officers which had not been disclosed as required by this rule. It is also undisputed that the trial court failed to conduct a Richardson hearing.
The state was obligated to disclose those alleged statements to the defense. Its failure to do so constituted a discovery violation. The fact that the witnesses who testified about the alleged statements were on the state’s witness list has no bearing on this conclusion. Mason v. State, 654 So. 2d 1225 (Fla. 2d DCA 1995).
Having been put on notice that a discovery violation had occurred, the trial court was obliged to conduct a hearing to determine whether the violation was willful or inadvertent, whether it was substantial or trivial, and Whether it had a prejudicial effect on appellant’s trial preparation. Richardson v. State, 246 So. 2d 771 (Fla.1971).
The failure to conduct such a hearing is reversible error unless the reviewing court is able to conclude to the exclusion of all reasonable doubt that the violation did not “proeedurally prejudice[] the defense”— i.e., that there is no “reasonable possibility that the defendant’s trial preparation or strategy would have been materially different had the violation not occurred.” State v. Schopp, 653 So. 2d 1016, 1020 (Fla.1995).
Moreover, the burden rests upon the state to establish that the failure to hold a hearing was harmless in any given case. Id. Having carefully reviewed the record in this case, we are unable to conclude that the failure to hold the required Richardson hearing was clearly harmless.
Accordingly, we reverse appellant’s convictions, and remand for a new trial.
In light of this conclusion, we find it unnecessary to address the other issues raised by appellant.
REVERSED and REMANDED, with directions.
ALLEN and DAVIS, JJ., concur.
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State v. Evans, 770 So. 2d 1174 (Fla. 2000)…a defendant, and the courts issuing those decisions have uniformly stressed the State’s continuing duty to disclose the substance of oral statements made by the defendant. See, e.g., Reese v. State, 694 So. 2d 678, 682 (Fla.1997); Delgado v. State, 706 So. 2d 328, 329 (Fla. 1st DCA 1998); Mason v. State, 654 So. 2d 1225, 1226-27 (Fla. 2d DCA 1995); Brown v. State, 640 So. 2d 106, 106-07 (Fla. 4th DCA 1994); McCray v. State, 640 So. 2d 1215, 1217 (Fla. 5th DCA 1994); cf. Collins v. State, 671 So. 2d 827, 828…1 / 2
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Sackett v. State, 764 So. 2d 719 (Fla. 2d DCA 2000)…een hit by Sackett. In light of the fact that a different trial preparation or strategy reasonably could have benefitted Sackett, we cannot consider the failure to conduct an adequate Richardson hearing harmless error. Id. See also Delgado v. State, 706 So. 2d 328 (Fla. 1st DCA 1998). QUESTION REGARDING PRIOR FELONY Sackett testified on direct that he had pleaded guilty to a felony and he even revealed the nature of that felony. Consequently, it was error for the State to further question Sackett about that…
Authorities Cited
- Richardson v. State, 246 So. 2d 771 (Fla. 1971)
- State v. Schopp, 653 So. 2d 1016 (Fla. 1995)
- Mason v. State, 654 So. 2d 1225 (Fla. 2d DCA 1995)