JUAN NAVAS, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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Florida appellate court affirmed convictions for trespass, theft, and sexual battery, rejecting claims that detective testimony about non-verbal admissions was improper opinion evidence and that denial of judgment of acquittal was erroneous.
A detective's testimony regarding non-verbal admissions observed during an investigative interview does not constitute fundamental error when trial counsel fails to object, and the denial of a motion for judgment of acquittal is proper when the State presents evidence inconsistent with the defendant's hypothesis of innocence.
[1] A detective's testimony regarding non-verbal admissions observed during an investigative interview does not constitute fundamental error when trial counsel fails to objec…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAppellant was convicted of trespass in a structure, trespass in a conveyance, theft, and sexual battery with the victim physically helpless. During tr…
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We affirm appellant’s convictions and sentences for trespass in a structure, trespass in a conveyance, theft, and sexual battery with the victim physically helpless. Appellant claims that a détective’s testimony regarding non-verbal “admissions” by the appellant, observed by the detective during an investigative interview, was improper opinion testimony and a comment *1128on the guilt of appellant. Appellant’s counsel did not object, however, to this testimony. Thus, this issue can be raised on appeal only if it constituted fundamental error, which we conclude that it does not. See Odeh v. State, 82 So.3d 915, 921 (Fla. 4th DCA 2011) (describing fundamental error as error that reaches down into the validity of the trial itself to the extent that a verdict of guilty could not have been obtained without the assistance of the alleged error). We also cannot state that the failure to object constitutes ineffective assistance of counsel on the face of this record. Kidd v. State, 978 So.2d 868, 869 (Fla. 4th DCA 2008). Appellant also contends that the court erred in denying his motion for judgment of acquittal on his petit theft conviction. We affirm without further comment, concluding that the State presented evidence inconsistent with appellant’s hypothesis of innocence.
Affirmed, without prejudice to appellant’s ability to assert any claim in a motion for post-cónviction relief.
CIKLIN, C.J., and KLINGENSMITH, J., concur.
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Citator
Authorities Cited
- Mickey Kidd v. State, 978 So. 2d 868 (Fla. 4th DCA 2008)
- Abdel Odeh v. State, 82 So. 3d 915 (Fla. 4th DCA 2011)