WILLIAM JOSEPH MORRA, JR., APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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William Morra was convicted of two counts of sexual activity with a child while in a position of familial or custodial authority and one count of committing a lewd act in the presence of a child. On appeal, he challenged the admission of evidence regarding violent acts toward the victim and victim's mother, arguing such collateral bad acts should have been excluded.
The court affirmed Morra's convictions. The evidence of violence was admissible because it was relevant to explain why the victim had not reported the sexual abuse earlier and why the victim was afraid of Morra. The contention regarding lack of notice was waived because it was not argued below.
[1] Evidence of collateral bad acts is admissible when it is relevant to explain why a victim delayed reporting sexual abuse.
[2] A contention that the state failed to provide notice of intent to use similar fact evidence is waived on appeal if not argued in the trial court.
Previewing 2 of 3 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“We think the evidence that Morra had been violent toward the victim and the victim's mother was relevant in that it tended to show why the victim had not reported the sexual abuse earlier.”
Establishes the court's reasoning for admitting collateral act evidence based on relevance to explain delayed reporting
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceMorra was convicted of sexual abuse of a child victim. During trial, the state introduced evidence that Morra had hit the victim's mother and put the …
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THOMPSON, J.
We affirm William Morra’s convictions for two counts of sexual activity with a child while in a position of familial or custodial authority1, and one count of committing a lewd act in the presence of a child.2
Morra argues that the court should have excluded testimony that he hit the victim’s mother and put the victim’s head through a headboard because collateral bad acts should not be admitted. See Weitz v. State, 510 So. 2d 1060 (Fla. 4th DCA 1987). We think the evidence that Morra had been violent toward the victim and the victim’s mother was relevant in that it tended to show why the victim had not reported the sexual abuse earlier. Cf., Hunter v. State, 660 So. 2d 244 (Fla.1995), cert. denied,. 516 U.S. 1128, 116 S.Ct. 946, 133 L.Ed.2d 871 (1996). Morra’s defense was that the victim was upset because of arguments between his mother and Morra only came forward after his friend’s father was arrested for having sexual activity with a member of the family. The evidence was admissible to explain why the victim was afraid of Morra and why the victim delayed in reporting the crime. Hartley v. State, 686 So. 2d 1316 (Fla.1996), cert. denied, 522 U.S. 825, 118 S.Ct. 86, 139 L.Ed.2d 43 (1997).
Morra’s contention that the evidence was inadmissible because the state did not give notice of intent to use similar fact evidence is waived because it was not argued below. See Archer v. State, 613 So. 2d 446 (Fla.1993) (for an issue to be preserved for appeal, it must be presented to the lower court and the specific legal argument or ground to be argued on appeal must be part of that presentation if it is to be considered preserved).
AFFIRMED.
ANTOON, C.J., and HARRIS, J., concur. . See § 794.01 l(8)(b), Fla. Stat. . See § 800.04(4), Fla. Stal.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Authorities Cited
- Hunter v. State, 660 So. 2d 244 (Fla. 1995)
- Archer v. State, 613 So. 2d 446 (Fla. 1993)
- Hartley v. State, 686 So. 2d 1316 (Fla. 1996)
- Simmons v. Pennsylvania, 516 U.S. 1128 (U.S. 1996)
- Hunter v. Florida, 516 U.S. 1128 (U.S. 1996)
- Walker v. Texas, 522 U.S. 825 (U.S. 1997)
- Baldwin v. United States, 522 U.S. 825 (U.S. 1997)
- Weitz v. State, 510 So. 2d 1060 (Fla. 4th DCA 1987)