J. E. MAPOLES
v.
STATE
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The Florida Supreme Court reversed a conviction for assault with intent to rape, finding the evidence insufficient for a new trial. The conviction relied heavily on hearsay and leading questions, and the physical evidence did not conclusively link the defendant to the crime.
No, the evidence was uncertain and unsatisfactory, requiring a new trial to serve the ends of justice.
“The accused was convicted solely upon the hearsay testimony of the mother of the little girl and the monosyllable answers to leading questions propounded to the little girl.”
This quote highlights the weak and potentially unreliable nature of the evidence used for conviction.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceThe plaintiff in error was convicted of assault with intent to rape a nine-year-old child. The conviction was based on the hearsay testimony of the ch…
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Plaintiff in error was convicted of the statutory offense of assault with intent to sexually know a female child nine years of age, which constitutes an assault with intent to rape. The accused was convicted solely upon the hearsay testimony of the mother of the little girl and the monosyllable answers to leading questions propounded to the little girl.
The record shows that the little girl shortly after the offense is alleged to have occurred was found to have a fully *179developed case of gonorrhea and that accused at the same time did not have that disease. Evidently the child contracted the disease from some other source.
We consider the evidence uncertain and unsatisfactory to such an extent that we deem the ends of justice require the defendant to be granted a new trial on the offense charged. The judgment is reversed on authority of the opinion and judgment in the case of Smith v. State, 101 Fla. 1066, 132 Sou. 840, and authorities there cited.
It is so ordered.
Reversed.
Davis, C. J., and Whitfield and Brown, J. J., concur.
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City of Bradenton v. State, 118 Fla. 838 (Fla. 1935)…mus is in all respects the plaintiff’s (relator’s) declaration in the case and is subject to the same rules as to amendment and the like as are applicable to declarations in ordinary legal proceedings. State, ex rel. Davidson v. Couch, 116 Fla. 120, 156 Sou. Rep. 297. The mandate of an alternative writ of mandamus is peculiarly within the control of the court, and the court may fashion it to suit the case made in the petition. The alternative writ is therefore not required to be strictly conformed to the petiti…
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State v. Couch, 117 Fla. 609 (Fla. 1934)…of the case has been settled by this Court by the decisions of May 26, 1934, and August 6, 1934, the reports of those decisions being reported under the title of State, ex rel. Davidson, v. Couch, 115 Fla. 115, 155 South. Rep. 153, and 116 Fla. 120, 156 South. Rep. 297. The matter now before us is the determination from the evidence reported of a question of fact. In the last reported case we held in substance that certain averments of the respondent’s answer required denial by the relator. One of the averments…
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City OF W. Palm Beach v. Knuutila, 183 So. 2d 881 (Fla. 4th DCA 1966)…s is in all respects the plaintiff’s (relator’s) declaration in the case and is subject to the same rules as to amendment and the like as are applicable to declarations in ordinary legal proceedings. State ex rel. Davidson v. Couch [116] Fla. [120], 156 So. 297.” See also Goodrich and Cone, Mandamus In Florida, 4 U.Fla.L.Rev. 535; 21 Fla.Jur., Mandamus, § 104 et seq. Appellee’s petition became defunct when the alternative writ was issued. At that point the writ itself became in all respects the appellee’…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Smith v. State, 132 So. 840 (Fla. 1931)