KENTON JONES, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE

Fla. 4th DCA | 2000-06-21
No. 4D99-0428
SCOLA, ROBERT N., Jr., Associate Judge, and TAYLOR, J., concurs.
760 So. 2d 1057 Florida District Court of Appeal, Fourth District (2000) Positive Treatment
Cited by 10 cases

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.

Synopsis

Appellant Jones was convicted of throwing a deadly missile after striking a vehicle with his motorcycle helmet. Jones argued that the prosecutor's personal attack on defense counsel during closing argument—suggesting the attorney was a "hired gun" being paid to testify—required reversal, but the appellate court affirmed because defense counsel opened the door by making similar personal arguments about his own fears.


Holding

The court affirmed the conviction, finding no reversible error because defense counsel opened the door by making similar personal arguments about his own fears, and because counsel's objection to the prosecutor's remarks lacked sufficient specificity to put the trial court on notice of the precise impropriety.


Headnotes

[1] A prosecutor's personal attack on defense counsel in closing argument is improper and may constitute reversible error.

[2] Defense counsel's argument that he personally would or would not have been afraid under certain circumstances is improper.

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 intelligence

Key Quotes

“Counsel testified that he wouldn't be afraid. I submit to you that attorneys testify the way they're paid to testify.”

The prosecutor's improper remark suggesting defense counsel was a hired gun being paid to testify in a certain way

Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.

Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence

Facts & Procedural History

Jones was separated from his wife and encountered his mother-in-law and her eleven-year-old granddaughter in a car. When he asked for his wife's addre…

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.


Opinion of the Court
KLEIN, J.

KLEIN, J.

Appellant was convicted of throwing a deadly missile and argues that the prosecutor’s personal attack on his counsel in closing argument requires reversal. We affirm.

Appellant was separated from his wife. When he saw his mother-in-law and her eleven year old granddaughter in an automobile, he tapped on the window and asked his mother-in-law for his estranged wife’s address. The mother-in-law locked the doors. Appellant then threatened to kill her and her whole family, hit the top of the car and the driver’s side window with his motorcycle helmet, and then threw his helmet at the rear window of the car, causing it to shatter. In final argument the state, in response to an argument made by defense counsel to the effect that he personally would or would not have been afraid under certain circumstances, made the following argument:

Prosecutor: Counsel testified that he wouldn’t be afraid. I submit to you that attorneys testify the way they’re paid to testify. He’s got a lot of money telling you why he wouldn’t be afraid. You ask a 65 year old lady, eleven year old kid, while they’re boxed in their own carport without their-without her husband home, with this lunatic, a man acting like a lunatic, banging that -

[Defense counsel]: Objection, your Hon-or. He’s mischaracterizing what I said. First of all in terms of money, that’s not even relevant here.

The Court: Okay. This is not the time for another rebuttal argument. This is just argument.

Appellant argues that this remark is tantamount to telling the jury that defense counsel was a “hired gun,” an argument we strongly disapproved in Barnes v. State, 743 So. 2d 1105 (Fla. 4th DCA 1999).

Prior to these remarks, defense counsel, in closing argument, attacked the credibility of the victim, stating:

If you were scared would you open — roll down the window to speak to someone? I wouldn’t. I would have kept the windows locked. I’d have beeped my horn. That’s not the sign of a scared person.

Shortly thereafter, in attempting to show that his client was in fear, defense counsel made the following argument, referring to the appellant and the victim:

Then he got on his motorcycle. Miss Danyluck followed him. She’s scared. She’s scared. She’s right behind him. She goes into her house. Picks up something that is black, she’s a security officer. Heck, I would be afraid.

MR. EVANS: Objection. Improper argument as to the counsel would be afraid.

THE COURT: I’ll overrule the objection.

MR. ARIAS: Thank you. Now she follows him. She picks up this thing that’s black. He’s afraid. I would be too.

The argument suggesting that defense counsel was being “paid to testify” was grossly improper. Barnes and cases cited. Defense counsel’s argument, however, in which he told the jury that he personally would have been afraid or not have been afraid was just as improper. In addition, defense counsel’s objection did not apprise the trial court of the precise argument made here, that this was an improper personal attack on counsel. If defense counsel had made a more specific objection the trial court might well have sustained it.

In light of defense counsel’s opening the door, and the lack of specificity of the objection, we find no reversible error. We have considered the other issue raised by appellant and find it to be without merit. Affirmed.

SCOLA, ROBERT N., Jr., Associate Judge, and TAYLOR, J., concurs.


Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus


Citator

Cited By

  • Harrel Franklin Braddy v. State, 111 So. 3d 810 (Fla. 2012)
    …ecific objection on the grounds of “[improper argument,” that the trial court overruled. Braddy’s claim on appeal that this was an imaginary first-person script that constituted a golden rule argument was therefore not preserved. See Jones v. State, 760 So. 2d 1057, 1058 (Fla. 4th DCA 2000) (holding that objection on grounds of “[i]mproper argument” “did not apprise the trial court of the precise argument made here”). We have condemned the use of arguments that present imaginary first-person scripts. See Urbi…
  • State v. Tabias Calvert, 15 So. 3d 946 (Fla. 4th DCA 2009)
    …that the trial court was committing error. See Keyes v. State, 804 So. 2d 373, 376 (Fla. 4th DCA 2001) (“Indeed, defense counsel’s assertion that T will object to that’ was insufficient to preserve any specific ground for appeal.”); Jones v. State, 760 So. 2d 1057, 1058 (Fla. 4th DCA 2000) (“[Djefense counsel’s objection did not apprise the trial court of the precise argument made here, that this was an improper personal attack on counsel. If defense counsel had made a more specific objection the trial court…
  • Peterson Baltazare Simbert v. State, 226 So. 3d 883 (Fla. 4th DCA 2017)
    …ent” was insufficient to preserve the issue for appeal. See Braddy v. State, 111 So. 3d 810, 850 (Fla. 2012) (finding that objection on grounds of improper argument was “nonspecific” and insufficient to preserve argument for appeal); Jones v. State, 760 So. 2d 1057, 1058 (Fla. 4th DCA 2000) (holding that objection on grounds of “[ijmproper argument” “did not apprise the trial court of the precise argument made here”). These arguments, though un-preserved, were inappropriate and thus error. As the. supreme cou…

Previewing 3 of 5 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.

Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence

Authorities Cited

Full citator, related cases, and AI research tools

Open in FLexlaw