ADRIAN DONELL SCOTT, SR., APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE

Fla. 1st DCA | 2007-04-30
No. 1D05-4987
WOLF, DAVIS, and THOMAS, JJ., concur.
957 So. 2d 43 Florida District Court of Appeal, First District (2007) Positive Treatment
Cited by 2 cases

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Synopsis

Adrian Scott was convicted of felony murder by aggravated child abuse, but the Florida First District Court of Appeal reversed his conviction because the trial court improperly admitted evidence of prior injuries to the child without proper Williams rule notice and admitted insufficient evidence of child abuse through punishment.


Holding

The trial court erred in admitting the prior injuries as inextricably intertwined evidence because the broken bones were not related to the cause of death and occurred a month prior to the death, and erred in admitting the punishment testimony as Williams rule evidence without sufficient proof of the duration or frequency of the punishment constituting child abuse. The errors were not harmless beyond a reasonable doubt.


Headnotes

[1] Evidence is inextricably intertwined with a charged crime only if it is necessary to adequately describe the deed, provide an intelligent account of the crime, establish…

[2] Evidence that occurred a month prior to the charged crime and is unrelated to the cause of death is not inextricably intertwined with the charged crime.

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Key Quotes

“Evidence is inextricably intertwined if the evidence is necessary to (1) adequately describe the deed, (2) provide an intelligent account of the crime(s) charged, (3) establish the entire context out of which the charged crime(s) arose, or (4) adequately describe the events leading up to the charged crime(s).”

Establishes the legal standard for inextricably intertwined evidence exception to Williams rule notice requirement.

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Facts & Procedural History

Scott was charged with felony murder by aggravated child abuse resulting in a child's death. The child had suffered a broken arm and leg approximately…

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Opinion of the Court
PER CURIAM.

PER CURIAM.

This is a direct appeal from Appellant’s conviction and sentence for felony murder by aggravated child abuse. Because the trial court allowed the admission of improper evidence, we reverse.

Defense counsel filed a motion in limine seeking to exclude testimony that the child suffered a broken arm and leg approximately one month prior to his death because the State failed to provide timely Williams rule notice. The State conceded that it failed to comply with the notice requirement, but argued that the evidence should be admitted because it was inextricably intertwined with the charged crime. The trial court allowed the admission of the evidence under this theory.

“Evidence is inextricably intertwined if the evidence is necessary to (1) adequately describe the deed, (2) provide an intelligent account of the crime(s) charged, (3) establish the entire context out of which the charged crime(s) arose, or (4) adequately describe the events leading up to the charged crime(s).” Dorsett v. State, 944 So. 2d 1207, 1213 (Fla. 3d DCA 2006) (en banc) (citations omitted). In this case, the testimony was not necessary to establish any of the above criteria because the broken bones were not related to the cause of death and the events happened a month prior to the child’s death. Although the broken bones required the use of a body cast, the causes of the injuries were not established to be relevant as inextricably intertwined or similar fact evidence.

The State urges this court to affirm the trial court’s ruling because the evidence could have also been admitted as Williams rule evidence. However, the State never argued this ground for admission before the trial court because it failed to timely comply with the statutory notice requirement. Thus, the trial court never considered the evidence within the parameters of section 90.404(2), Florida Statutes (2003), and defense counsel was never afforded an opportunity to argue against the admission on such grounds. Therefore, it would be improper for this court to affirm the trial court’s ruling on this basis. Robertson v. State, 829 So. 2d 901, 906-09 (Fla.2002).

The trial court also erred by allowing testimony that Appellant punished the child by requiring him to stand on one leg in a corner as Williams rule evidence. Because there was no testimony concerning the duration or frequency of the punishment, there was insufficient evidence to establish that this form of punishment constituted child abuse. State v. Lee, 531 So. 2d 133, 135 (Fla.1988). These errors cannot be considered harmless beyond a reasonable doubt under the circumstances of this case. See State v. DiGuilio, 491 So. 2d 1129 (Fla.1986); Henrion v. State, 895 So. 2d 1213, 1217 (Fla. 2d DCA 2005). We therefore reverse Appellant’s conviction and remand for a new trial.

REVERSED and REMANDED.

WOLF, DAVIS, and THOMAS, JJ., concur.


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Citator

Cited By

  • Kates v. State, 41 So. 3d 1044 (Fla. 1st DCA 2010)
    …cribe the charged act, (2) provide an intelligent account of the crime charged, (3) establish the entire context out of which the charged crime arose, or (4) adequately describe the events leading up to the [*1046] charged crime. See Scott v. State, 957 So. 2d 43 (Fla. 1st DCA 2007); McGee v. State, 19 So. 3d 1074 (Fla. 4th DCA 2009). If the purpose of admitting testimony regarding uncharged collateral crimes is to show a logical sequence of events leading up to an arrest, the need for the evidence is sligh…

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