JOYCE ANGELO, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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Joyce Angelo was convicted of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, but the appellate court reversed because the trial court improperly excluded her testimony about the victim's prior violent acts, which was relevant to her self-defense claim.
The trial court erred in excluding evidence of the victim's prior specific acts of violence. Under section 90.404(1)(b), Florida Statutes, once a defendant presents evidence that the victim committed an overt act at or near the time of the incident indicating need for self-defense, the defendant may present evidence of the victim's prior violent acts to prove the reasonableness of the defendant's apprehension. The error was not harmless because the eyewitnesses did not observe how the conflict began or when the cutting occurred, so the State cannot prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the error did not contribute to the verdict.
[1] A defendant may present evidence of prior specific acts of violence by the victim to prove the reasonableness of the defendant's apprehension when the victim has committe…
[2] The State bears the burden of proving beyond a reasonable doubt that an error in excluding evidence did not contribute to the verdict.
Previewing 2 of 3 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“pursuant to section 90.404(l)(b), Florida Statutes, once the defendant presents evidence that the victim committed an overt act at or near the time of the incident that reasonably indicated the need for self-defense, the defendant may present evidence of prior specific acts of violence by the victim to prove the reasonableness of the defendant's apprehension at the time of the incident”
Establishes the legal rule for admissibility of victim's prior violent acts in self-defense cases
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAngelo was charged with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon. During trial, two eyewitnesses testified about events surrounding the incident, but n…
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Appellant challenges her conviction for aggravated battery with a deadly weapon. She argues the trial court erred in prohibiting her from testifying regarding prior specific acts of violence committed by the victim. The State concedes that the trial court erred. We agree. See Savage v. State, 99 So.3d 1001, 1002-03 (Fla. 1st DCA 2012) (finding that pursuant to section 90.404(l)(b), Florida Statutes, once the defendant presents evidence that the victim committed an overt act at or near the time of the incident that reasonably indicated the need for self-defense, the defendant may present evidence of prior specific acts of violence by the victim to prove the reasonableness of the defendant’s apprehension at the time of the incident).
The parties dispute whether the error was harmless. The State argues that it met its burden to show the error.was harmless because appellant was still able to present her theory of defense, and appellant’s version of the events was contradicted by the eyewitnesses. However, while there were two eyewitnesses who testified to the events around the time of the incident, neither witness testified that he or she saw how the conflict began or was watching when the victim was cut. Thus, the State cannot prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the error did not contribute to the verdict. See Grace v. State, 832 So.2d 224, 227 (Fla. 2d DCA 2002) (finding the error in excluding testimony of prior specific acts of violence of the victim was not harmless even though three eyewitnesses testified that the defendant hit the victim unprovoked, reasoning “the fact that [the defendant] did not have any corroborative testimony to support his defense supports [his] argument that the error contributed to the verdict”). As such, we REVERSE.
BILBREY and M.K. THOMAS, JJ, concur.
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Citator
Cited By
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Gerrod Antonio Jones v. State, 230 So. 3d 1290 (Fla. 1st DCA 2017)…t case threatened appellant with a machete. We have held that when a defendant raises self-defense, it is error to exclude evidence of specific acts of violence committed by a victim against a defendant during a prior confrontation. Angelo v. State, 204 So. 3d 594 (Fla. 1st DCA 2016); Savage v. State, 99 So. 3d 1001 (Fla. 1st DCA 2012). Under the circumstances of this case we cannot find this error to be harmless. Hughes v. State, 36 So. 3d 816 (Fla. 1st DCA 2010). REVERSED and REMANDED for a new trial. W…
Authorities Cited
- Grace v. State, 832 So. 2d 224 (Fla. 2d DCA 2002)
- Savage v. State, 99 So. 3d 1001 (Fla. 1st DCA 2012)