PAUL KUCHER, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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Paul Kucher appeals his drug convictions following jury trial. The court reverses due to a discovery violation: the prosecution failed to disclose oral admissions made by Kucher to the arresting officer before trial, denying the defense opportunity to challenge the statements' admissibility.
The prosecution violated Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.220(b)(1)(C) by failing to disclose the substance of the oral admissions made by the defendant to Officer Johnson. The trial court erred in denying the continuance. Reversal is required because the defendant was prejudiced—he could have filed a motion to suppress the statements had he received adequate notice, as the statements appeared to be obtained through improper threats.
[1] A prosecutor commits a discovery violation by failing to disclose the substance of oral statements made by the defendant, along with the name and address of each witness…
[2] A defendant's attorney's failure to depose a witness does not excuse the prosecution's failure to disclose a defendant's statement to that witness.
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) provides that the prosecution shall disclose any written or recorded statements and the substance of any oral statements made by the defendant, together with the name and address of each witness to the statements. Failure to give all of the required information is a discovery violation.”
Establishes the prosecution's statutory obligation to disclose oral statements and the consequences of non-compliance
Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceOfficer Johnson arrested Kucher during execution of a search warrant. Immediately before jury selection, the assistant state attorney informed the cou…
The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.
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THREADGILL, Acting Chief Judge.
The appellant, Paul Kucher, challenges his convictions following jury trial of possession of cocaine with intent to sell or deliver and possession of drug paraphernalia. We reverse because of a discovery violation.
Immediately before jury selection, the assistant state attorney informed the trial court that Officer Johnson, the arresting officer, recently advised him that the appellant had made some oral admissions to Officer Johnson during the execution of the search warrant that Officer Johnson had failed to mention in his report. According to the attorneys on both sides, Officer Johnson’s information was a “surprise.” Defense counsel requested a continuance. The trial court denied the request for a continuance, finding that there was no discovery violation because the State’s discovery notice indicated that there were statements made by the appellant but it was defense counsel’s “job to find them.”
Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.220(b)(1)(C) provides that the prosecution shall disclose any written or recorded statements and the substance of any oral statements made by the defendant, together with the name and address of each witness to the statements. Failure to give all of the required information is a discovery violation. See Lavigne v. State, 349 So. 2d 178 (Fla. 1st DCA 1977). The fact that defense counsel has been provided the witness’s name and fails to depose the witness does not excuse prosecution’s failure to inform the defense of a statement made by the defendant to which the witness will testify. See Rainey v. State, 596 So. 2d 1295 (Fla. 2d DCA 1992). Thus, the trial court erred in finding that there was no discovery violation.
The record shows that the appellant was prejudiced. Officer Johnson’s trial testimony indicates that the admissions obtained from the appellant were elicited after Officer Johnson suggested or, as the appellant argues, threatened he could have the appellant’s fiancé arrested. We agree with the appellant’s argument that, had there been adequate notice of the statements, he could have filed a motion to suppress the statements on the basis that they were improperly obtained as a result of the threat.
We reverse and remand for a new trial. We need not reach the appellant’s other point on appeal.
Reversed.
BLUE and STRINGER, JJ„ Concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
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Brown v. State, 165 So. 3d 726 (Fla. 4th DCA 2015)…nformation disclosed by the prosecution pursuant to a discovery request under rule 3.200.” McArthur v. State, 671 So. 2d 867, 870 (Fla. 4th DCA 1996). The “[fjailure to give all of the required information is a discovery violation.” Kucher v. State, 758 So. 2d 1165, 1166 (Fla. 2d DCA 2000). Moreover, “[t]he fact that the existence of the statement was previously revealed to the defendant does not mean that the state complied with the discovery rules.” D.R. v. State, 588 So. 2d 327, 328 (Fla. 4th DCA 1991) (fin…
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Powell v. State, 912 So. 2d 698 (Fla. 2d DCA 2005)…depose a known witness “is insufficient to overcome the state’s failure to inform the defense of a statement made by the defendant to which the witness testifies.” Rainey v. State, 596 So. 2d 1295, 1296 (Fla. 2d DCA 1992); see also Kucher v. State, 758 So. 2d 1165, 1166 (Fla. 2d DCA 2000) (stating that failure to inform the defendant of oral admissions the defendant made during execution of a search warrant was a discovery violation); Mason v. State, 654 So. 2d 1225, 1226-27 (Fla. 2d DCA 1995) (determining th…
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Ferrari v. State, 260 So. 3d 295 (Fla. 4th DCA 2018)…349 So. 2d 178 (Fla. 1st DCA 1977). The law requires the disclosure of the substance of any statements made and known by the state to exist as well as the identity of the person to whom it was made. Id. (emphasis added); see also Kucher v. State , 758 So. 2d 1165, 1166 (Fla. 2d DCA 2000) (finding the State committed a discovery violation by failing to provide defense with oral statement of defendant, even though the State's discovery notice had stated that there were statements by the defendant; "[t]he fact…
Authorities Cited
- Lavigne v. State, 349 So. 2d 178 (Fla. 1st DCA 1977)
- Rainey v. State, 596 So. 2d 1295 (Fla. 2d DCA 1992)