MICHAEL MAZZA, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE

Fla. 4th DCA | 2010-01-06
No. 4D07-3324
POLEN and GERBER, JJ., concur.
25 So. 3d 659 Florida District Court of Appeal, Fourth District (2010) Positive Treatment
Cited by 2 cases

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Synopsis

Michael Mazza appeals his conviction for armed robbery, challenging the trial court's denial of his motion to suppress photo lineup identifications. The Fourth District Court of Appeal affirmed, finding no constitutional defect in the identification procedures despite the defendant's picture appearing in two separate lineups.


Holding

The court held that the lineup procedures were not unduly suggestive and did not create a substantial likelihood of irreparable misidentification. The mere use of the same photo in both lineups does not render a procedure suggestive, and informing the witness that a suspect was in custody is insufficient alone to classify the procedure as suggestive. The clerk's opportunity to observe the defendant and her accurate description of him within minutes of the robbery ensured against any likelihood of misidentification.


Headnotes

[1] A trial court's ruling on a motion to suppress is presumed correct on appeal and should be interpreted in the light most favorable to sustaining the ruling.

[2] Florida law employs a two-part test to determine the admissibility of out-of-court identifications: first, whether the police used an unnecessarily suggestive procedure,…

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Key Quotes

“Florida law provides a two-part test for the suppression of an out-of-court identification: "(1) whether the police used an unnecessarily suggestive procedure to obtain the out-of-court identification; and (2) if so, considering all the circumstances, whether the suggestive procedure gave rise to a substantial likelihood of irreparable misidentification."”

Establishes the controlling legal standard for evaluating photo lineup identification procedures

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Facts & Procedural History

Mazza robbed a CVS pharmacy by presenting a note demanding money and displaying a gun. The clerk called 911 and described the robber as a white male, …

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Opinion of the Court
MAY, J.

MAY, J.

The defendant appeals his conviction and life sentence for armed robbery. The single issue raised concerns the trial court’s denial of the defendant’s motion to suppress. We find no error and affirm.

*660The crime occurred at a CVS Pharmacy. When the defendant handed the merchandise to the store clerk at the check-out counter, he included a note that instructed the clerk to put all of the money from the register in a bag. At the same time, the defendant opened his shirt and showed the clerk a gun on his waistband. The clerk complied. The defendant placed the note in his pocket, took the money and merchandise, and ran out of the store.

The clerk called 911 and told the operator that the robber was a white male, about 5'6", 5'7", not too tall, sort of tannish, and wearing a gray shirt, jeans, and a New York Yankees hat. The clerk described the man’s hair as dark brown, but not long.

The lead detective developed the defendant as a suspect and compiled a photo line-up. Approximately a week after the incident, the detective took the photo lineup to the clerk. Prior to showing her the photos, he read from his card of admonitions. He told the clerk to take her time, look at all the photos, sometimes hairstyles and beards change, and asked her to be certain. He may have told her that someone was in custody.

The defendant’s driver’s license picture was in this first line-up, and all of the men looked similar. After looking at all six pictures, the clerk chose the defendant’s picture because she “felt strongly that this was the man” who robbed her, but hesitated because “the man in that photo looks heavier than the man that robbed CVS.”

The detective then compiled a second photo line-up. In the second photo lineup, the detective used the defendant’s Department of Corrections’ photo in which he appeared thinner. The photo was placed in a different position than in the first photo line-up. Thirty to forty minutes later, the detective returned to the clerk with the second photo line-up. The detective told the clerk that he had a more recent photo of the suspect. The clerk pointed to the defendant’s picture instantly, and said “that’s him.” She circled and initialed the photo with the date and time.

The State charged the defendant with robbery by a firearm. The defendant moved to suppress the lineup identification as unduly suggestive. At the hearing on the motion to suppress, the clerk testified to the above facts and identified the defendant in the courtroom as the person who robbed her. She testified that she did not remember if the same six men were in both lineups, but the defendant’s pictures were in both.

Defense counsel argued for suppression of both the in-court and out-of-court identifications. Defense counsel argued the lineups were unduly suggestive because the defendant was the only person who appeared in both lineups and because the detective may have said that a suspect was in custody and that he had more photos of the same person. Defense counsel further argued that the in-court identification was tainted by the unduly suggestive line-up identification. The trial court denied the motion.

The court found no problem with the clerk’s hesitancy regarding the first lineup because the defendant looked heavier. While the court thought that the newer lineup may have been suggestive, the clerk’s opportunity to view the subject, and her accurate description of him caused the court to find that there was no substantial likelihood of misidentification. The court found defense counsel’s arguments more appropriate for a jury argument with regard to the weight of the evidence.

At trial, the clerk identified the defendant as the armed robber and testified about the identification process. She had the opportunity to look directly at the *661defendant’s face. She was able to look through the window into the courtroom, where three to four men were sitting. The clerk saw the defendant sitting in a wheelchair alone, not talking to anyone and she “identified him right off’ and without hesitation. The State was able to show a video of the robbery where the defendant could be seen, but his face was not visible. The jury convicted the defendant of robbery with a firearm and found that he actually possessed a firearm during the robbery. The court adjudicated him guilty and sentenced him as a prison releasee reoffender to a term of life.

On appeal, the defendant again argues that under the two-part test in Johnson v. State, 566 So.2d 888 (Fla. 4th DCA 1990), the lineup procedure was unduly and unnecessarily suggestive because the defendant’s picture was the only picture that appeared in both lineups, and because the detective may have told the clerk that a suspect was in custody before showing her the original photo lineup. In addition, he argues, the totality of the circumstances suggested a likelihood of irreparable mis-identification where neither side presented evidence of the clerk’s description of, or opportunity to view, the subject. We disagree.

“[A] trial court’s ruling on a motion to suppress comes to the appellate court clothed with a presumption of correctness, and the reviewing court must interpret the evidence and reasonable inferences and deductions derived therefrom in a manner most favorable to sustaining the trial court’s ruling.” Pagan v. State, 830 So.2d 792, 806 (Fla.2002). We “must independently review mixed questions of law and fact that ultimately determine constitutional issues arising in the context of the Fourth and Fifth Amendment and, by extension, article I, section 9 of the Florida Constitution,” Connor v. State, 803 So.2d 598, 608 (Fla.2001), and must “review legal conclusions de novo.” Backus v. State, 864 So.2d 1158, 1159 (Fla. 4th DCA 2003).

Florida law provides a two-part test for the suppression of an out-of-court identification: “(1) whether the police used an unnecessarily suggestive procedure to obtain the out-of-court identification; and (2) if so, considering all the circumstances, whether the suggestive procedure gave rise to a substantial likelihood of irreparable misidentification.” Fitzpatrick v. State, 900 So.2d 495, 517-18 (Fla.2005) (quoting Rimmer v. State, 825 So.2d 304, 316 (Fla.2002)).

Here, the trial court applied that two-part test. The clerk identified the defendant in both lineups although she was less certain about the identification in the first photo lineup due to his weight. The clerk immediately identified the defendant when shown the second photo lineup. The trial court specifically found nothing wrong with the clerk’s hesitancy in the first photo lineup. The court found the pictures to be similar in each lineup with no picture standing out more than another.

While the court questioned the suggestiveness of the second photo lineup because the defendant’s photo was the only one common to both, this court has previously held that the use of the same photo does not necessarily render the lineup suggestive. See Fearon v. State, 10 So.3d 146, 148-49 (Fla. 4th DCA 2009). And, even though the detective may have informed the clerk that a suspect was in the photo lineup, this alone was insufficient to classify the procedure as suggestive. See Green v. State, 641 So.2d 391, 394 (Fla.1994). Add to that the court’s finding, with which we concur, that the clerk’s opportunity to observe the defendant and her accurate description of him within minutes of the robbery insured against any likelihood of misidentification.

*662For these reasons, we affirm.

Affirmed,

POLEN and GERBER, JJ., concur.


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Citator

Cited By

  • Jerry v. State, 225 So. 3d 246 (Fla. 4th DCA 2017)
    …Fla. 2010). [*249] Appellant’s second issue on appeal argues that the trial court .erred by admitting the photo line-ups used by the Witness to identify Appellant. We review the trial court’s determination for an abuse of discretion. Mazza v. State, 25 So. 3d 659, 661 (Fla. 4th DCA 2010). Defendant’s argument in his briefs appeared to be that the identification process was unduly suggestive. See id. To the extent that this is his argument, we hold both that this issue was unpreserved2 and that it is without…

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