JAMES GARFIELD WILLIAMS, APPELLANT,
v.
THE STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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The court held that the trial court did not err in charging the jury on flight, as the evidence supported the charge.
The defendant was convicted of third degree murder after shooting his wife. He left the scene of the crime and was found hiding in a friend's apartmen…
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The appellant was charged by information with second degree murder. He was tried before a jury in the criminal court of record of Dade County and convicted of third degree murder, of which crime he was adjudged guilty and sentenced to imprisonment for a period of fifteen years.
On appeal therefrom the appellant contends the trial court committed reversible error by including in the charges given to the jury a charge on flight, arguing that the evidence did not afford basis for the charge.
On consideration of the record and briefs we conclude the appellant’s contention is without merit. The defendant was residing with his wife and her teen aged daughter by a prior marriage. In the course of a quarrel and struggle between the defendant and his wife in their home, the woman was shot and killed. Immediately thereafter the defendant left the premises. When the police upon arrival found he had departed, they sought and found him in a friend’s apartment hiding in a bedroom, crouched behind a dresser.
On that evidence the trial court did not commit error in charging the jury on flight. Under the law flight is considered to exist when an accused departs from the vicinity of the crime under circumstances such as to indicate a sense of fear, or of guilt or to avoid arrest, even before the defendant has been suspected of the crime. It is only a circumstance of guilt, to be considered by a jury under an appropriate charge. See Noeling v. State, Fla. 1949, 40 So.2d 120; Mackiewicz v. State, Fla. 1959, 114 So.2d 684.
Affirmed.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By (12 total)
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Proffitt v. State, 315 So. 2d 461 (Fla. 1975)…s. Bassett. There is the phone call to the police by the defendant’s wife and, finally, there is the flight itself. Thus, it is clear that under the facts in this case, the court was correct in instructing the jury on flight. See: Williams v. State, 268 So. 2d 566 (Fla.App.1972). The seventh point raised on appeal by the appellant deals with whether the court erred in instructing the jury on felony murder. Our review of the record indicates that the trial court correctly instructed the jury on the elements o…
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Brown v. State, 526 So. 2d 903 (Fla. 1988)…admitting a picture of the victim’s arm wound. We reject all of these claims as meritless. The flight instruction was proper. Proffitt v. State, 315 So. 2d 461 (Fla.1975), aff’d, 428 U.S. 242, 96 S.Ct. 2960, 49 L.Ed.2d 913 (1976); Williams v. State, 268 So. 2d 566 (Fla. 3d DCA 1972). Moreover, the trial court did not preclude argument by defense counsel regarding Cotton’s beliefs as to the effect of his testimony, but merely precluded an argument implying that the state had made him promises. Finally, the tri…
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Palmer v. State, 323 So. 2d 612 (Fla. 1st DCA 1975)…in Young, 217 So. 2d at 571, and quoted above, only flight and the unexplained possession of recently stolen property are considered appropriate subjects for comment to the jury. Blackwell v. State, 79 Fla. 709, 86 So. 224 (1920); Williams v. State, 268 So. 2d 566 (Fla.App.3d, 1972). Because a judicial comment on one inference often neglects another [Gunn v. State, 78 Fla. 599, 83 So. 511 (1919)] and charges balanced with fairness all round are scarcely intelligible, judge-made argument has largely been elimi…
Previewing 3 of 12 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Blackburn v. Cochran, 114 So. 2d 684 (Fla. 1959)
- MacKiewicz v. State, 114 So. 2d 684 (Fla. 1959)