THE STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLANT,
v.
MANUEL LENA, APPELLEE

Fla. 3d DCA | 2002-06-19
No. 3D02-1495
Before JORGENSON, FLETCHER, and RAMIREZ, JJ.
819 So. 2d 919 Florida District Court of Appeal, Third District (2002) Positive Treatment
Cited by 3 cases

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Synopsis

The State of Florida appeals the trial court's suppression of a defendant's admission regarding a prior incident, arguing the trial court misapplied Florida's statute protecting confessions in sexual abuse cases. The appellate court reverses, holding that the statute applies only to admissions relating to the charged offense, not to other crimes, and remands for the trial court to reconsider admissibility under other legal standards.


Holding

The court held that § 92.565 applies only to confessions or admissions relating to the charged crimes and has no applicability to admissions regarding other offenses for which the defendant is not charged. The trial court erred in granting the suppression motion based on this statute, and the case must be remanded for the court to reconsider admissibility under other relevant legal standards.


Headnotes

[1] A statute concerning confessions or admissions relating to a charged sexual abuse offense is inapplicable to admissions regarding other offenses with which the defendant…

[2] The doctrine of completeness, codified in section 90.108 of the Florida Statutes, requires that the proponent of evidence be an adverse party to insist that another part…

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Key Quotes

“That statute has no applicability to the case at hand, as it pertains solely to confessions or admissions related to the charged crimes. The statute has no applicability to an admission regarding another offense which the defendant is not presently charged with committing.”

Establishes the holding that § 92.565 applies only to confessions or admissions relating to the charged offense, not to admissions about other crimes.

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Facts & Procedural History

Manuel Lena was charged with three counts of sexual battery upon a minor and two counts of lewd and lascivious molestation against a child under twelv…

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Opinion of the Court
PER CURIAM.

PER CURIAM.

Appellant, the State of Florida, appeals the trial court’s reliance on section 92.565, Florida Statutes (2000), to grant the defense’s motion to suppress an admission regarding a prior incident. We reverse because the statute is only applicable to confessions or admissions relating to a charged sexual abuse offense.

Appellee Manuel Lena was charged with three counts of sexual battery upon a minor by an adult and two counts of lewd and lascivious molestation against a child under twelve. Lena gave a written statement in which he discussed the charged offense, but also stated that six years earlier during a visit to the victim’s family apartment, the then three-year old victim walked in on him in the bathroom and proceeded to grab his penis and put it in her mouth. The victim’s parents denied that such an incident could have occurred as Lena had never been inside their apartment. The defense’s motion to suppress Lena’s statement as to the prior incident was granted by the court pursuant to section 92.565.

We first reject the State’s contention that this statement is admissible un der section 90.108, Florida Statutes (2000), commonly known as the doctrine of completeness. This statute is inapplicable because the State is both the proponent of the evidence and the party seeking to introduce the other part of the statement. Only an adverse party can insist that in the interest of fairness the other part of the statement be considered contemporaneously. See § 90.108, Fla. Stat. (2000).

We agree with the State, however, that the trial court erred in granting Lena’s motion to exclude a portion of-his statement based upon section 92.565. That statute has no applicability to the case at hand, as it pertains solely to confessions or admissions related to the charged crimes. The statute has no applicability to an admission regarding another offense which the defendant is not presently charged with committing.

We decline to consider whether the trial court was right for the wrong reason because the judge only considered section 92.565 and did not entertain argument or rule upon the admissibility of the evidence under any other theory. Thus, there is no record at this time from which we can determine whether this evidence is relevant under sections 90.403 or 90.404, or whether it is proper impeachment. By our decision today, we specifically make no determination on the admissibility of the statement.

Reversed and remanded.


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Citator

Cited By

  • Fredrick Livingston v. State, 219 So. 3d 911 (Fla. 2d DCA 2017)
    …priety of using the “tipsy coachman” doctrine to affirm a trial court ruling); May v. HCA Health Servs. of Fla., Inc., 166 So. 3d 850, 854 (Fla. 2d DCA 2015) (same); Fitzsimmons v. State, 935 So. 2d 125, 128 (Fla. 2d DCA 2006) (same); State v. Lena, 819 So. 2d 919, 921 (Fla. 3d DCA 2002) (same). For these reasons, I conclude that the excited utterance exception to the hearsay rule does not constitute a valid basis for the denial of Livingston’s motion for new trial or for the affirmance of the judgment and se…
  • State v. Jackson, 385 So. 3d 189 (Fla. 2d DCA 2024)
    …ther to corroborate the memorialized confession it was seeking to admit into evidence—his recorded confession to law enforcement. The trial court should have considered the former in evaluating the trustworthiness of the latter. Cf. State v. Lena, 819 So. 2d 919, 920–21 (Fla. 3d DCA 2002) (holding the trial court erred in excluding a portion of the defendant's statement because "[section 92.565] is only applicable to confessions or admissions relating to a charged sexual abuse offense"). The corroborative s…

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