RONNIE ENNIS, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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Ronnie Ennis was convicted of robbery (but acquitted of second degree murder) and sentenced to 45 years in prison. On appeal, he challenged the denial of his motion for change of venue, motion for directed verdict, motion for new trial based on improper jury communication, and his sentence as cruel and unusual punishment. The appellate court affirmed the conviction and sentence.
The court affirmed the conviction and sentence on all grounds. The trial judge did not abuse discretion in denying the change of venue. The evidence was sufficient to support the conviction. The bailiff's communication to the jury about Burdick's bank accounts, while erroneous and a violation of Florida law, was harmless error because the information actually favored the defendant. A 45-year sentence is constitutional because it falls within the statutory penalty range for robbery.
[1] A trial court does not abuse its discretion in denying a motion for a change of venue when the evidence presented in support of the motion does not demonstrate prejudice.
[2] A motion for a directed verdict of acquittal based on insufficiency of evidence should be denied when the record contains ample evidence to support the jury's verdict.
Previewing 2 of 6 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“The bailiff should not have replied to the jury's question. He should have advised the judge that the jury had a question they wished to ask, and the judge should have then had the bailiff return the jury to the courtroom and had them ask their question on the record in the presence of the defendant and the attorneys for both parties.”
Establishes the proper procedure for handling jury questions during deliberations and identifies the bailiff's error
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceEnnis was tried for second degree murder and robbery in connection with the death of George Burdick during a robbery. Burdick was killed during a robb…
The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.
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McCORD, Judge.
Appellant was tried for second degree murder and robbery. He was acquitted of the murder charge and convicted of robbery. He appeals from his conviction and sentence to forty-five years in the state prison.
Appellant raises four questions on this appeal. He first contends that the trial court erred in failing to grant his motion for a change of venue. We have .examined the motion and the evidence presented in support of same and find nó abuse of discretion by the trial judge in his denial thereof.
Next, appellant contends the trial court erred in failing to grant his motion for a directed verdict of acquittal which was based upon alleged insufficiency of the evidence. Our reading of the record reveals ample evidence to support the Jury’s verdict.
Thirdly, appellant contends the trial court erred in failing to grant a new trial upon testimony presented which allegedly indicated the bailiff carried on an'improper conversation with the jury. The bailiff, Ervie Botts, testified as follows on the point in question:
“Q Mr. Botts, do you recall the jury knocking on the door for your attention ?
A Yes, sir. Q Do you recall what conversation, if any, you had with the j ury ?
A They asked me did George Burdick have any money in the Jay bank at the time of his death. Q What did you tell them ?
A I told him to ask the judge? I come in and asked the judge, and he informed me that that wasn’t in the evidence and it didn’t mean nothing— forget it- — and I went back and told them.”
There was evidence presented in the trial that the victim, Burdick, who was killed in the robbery lived alone and kept money hidden about his place and because of this the perpetrators of the robbery knowing or believing he had money at his place of residence committed the robbery. Any evidence that he had money in banks could weigh only in appellant’s favor if it was given any weight at all. The juror whose testimony was presented by appellant on his motion for new trial testified as follows on this point:
“Q While you were in the jury room deliberating your verdict with your fellow jurors, do you recall whether or not Mr. Botts came to the door— whether you all sent for him ?
A Yes, sir, we knocked on the door because we were debating different questions, and we asked the question of each other if Mr. Ennis knew that Mr. Burdick had his money in the bank as his testimony said that he did, why — what reason would he have to try to rob the man. I mean why go to his place to rob him when his money was in the bank. Mr. Ennis said that he knew this, and this was one question that came up. He couldn’t have planned to rob him — we felt like this was one thing that would set him one way or the other in the case, and we wondered if we could get this information, and the only way — we knocked on the door, and Mr. Botts came to the door, and we asked him if we could get information that was not presented during the trial. I mean, like it was brought up, but nothing was emphasized on it. It never came out. Nobody ever said that Mr. Bur-dick kept his money in the bank or not, and he told us that Mr. Burdick did keep his money in several banks —that he had quite a bit of money in several banks — and then he came back to the door a short time later and he said he had talked to you about this and that you had said for us to disregard this — that it didn’t make any difference.” (The juror’s reference to “you” was to the trial judge.)
The bailiff’s answer that “Mr. Burdick did keep his money in several banks — that he had quite a bit of money in several banks”, if given, was error and a violation of Section 918.07, Florida Statutes, which provides that the officer in whose charge a jury is committed shall not communicate with the jurors on any subject connected with the trial. The bailiff should not have replied to the jury’s question. He should have advised the judge that the jury had a question they wished to ask, and the judge should have then had the bailiff return the jury to the courtroom and had them ask their question on the record in the presence of the defendant and the attorneys for both parties. The court should have then told the jury that no additional evidence could be presented, to them and they could consider only such evidence on the point as had been given them in the trial. While the procedure which was followed was error, we conclude that it was harmless error. Section 59.041, Florida Statutes, provides as follows:
“No judgment shall be set aside or reversed, or new trial granted by any court of the state in any cause, civil or criminal, on the ground of misdirection of the jury or the improper admission or rejection of evidence or for error as to any matter of pleading or procedure, unless in the opinion of the court to which application is made, after an examination of the entire case it shall appear that the error complained of has resulted in a miscarriage of justice. This section shall be liberally construed.” In addition, Section 924.33, Florida Statutes, provides as follows:
“No judgment shall be reversed unless the appellate court is of the opinion, after an examination of all the appeal papers, that error was committed that injuriously affected the substantial rights of the appellant. It shall not be presumed that error injuriously affected the substantial rights of the appellant.”
Appellant in his brief asserts the conclusion that his rights were prejudiced by the bailiff’s communication. He does not attempt to point out wherein his rights were prejudiced by the remark. As we have heretofore stated, the remark was obviously not prejudicial to the defendant, but was in his favor. It is a long settled rule that a criminal conviction will not be reversed where evidence of guilt is ample, unless substantial rights have been violated and injury therefrom is clearly demonstrated. See Matera v. State, Fla.App.3d, 218 So. 2d 180, cert. den. 396 U.S. 955, 90 S.Ct. 424, 24 L.Ed.2d 420; Ward v. State, 82 Fla. 383, 90 So. 157. Such a showing has not been made here.
Lastly, appellant contends the trial court erred in imposing a sentence of forty-five years; that such is cruel and unusual punishment under the factual situation of this case. The statutory penalty for the crime of robbery is life imprisonment or any lesser term of years at the discretion of the court. See Section 813.-011, Florida Statutes. A sentence which is within the limit fixed by statute is not cruel and unusual punishment. See Brown v. State, 152 Fla. 853, 13 So. 2d 458 and Cole v. State, Fla.App.3rd, 262 So. 2d 902, cert. dismissed, Fla., 268 So. 2d 904, cert. den. 411 U.S. 968, 93 S.Ct. 2157, 36 L.Ed. 2d 690.
Affirmed.
RAWLS, C. J., and JOHNSON, J., concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
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Boris McKINNEY v. State, 579 So. 2d 80 (Fla. 1991)…ors on any subject connected with the trial.” The bailiff’s remark to the jury concerning premeditated murder falls within this prohibition and clearly constitutes error. See, e.g., Thomas v. State, 348 So. 2d 634 (Fla. 3d DCA 1977); Ennis v. State, 300 So. 2d 325 (Fla. 1st DCA 1974). This error requires a reversal of the conviction and a new trial if the error prejudiced the defendant such that his substantive rights were violated. See Ennis, 300 So. 2d at 328; § 924.33, Fla.Stat. (1985). Prejudice exists wh…
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Randolph v. State, 336 So. 2d 673 (Fla. 2d DCA 1976)…whether or not the proof of the date was necessary.1 It was clearly improper for instructions to be conveyed by the bailiff. We recognize that the First District has held a similar procedural error to be harmless. Ennis v. State, Fla.App.1st 1974, 300 So. 2d 325. Ennis involved an instruction sent through the bailiff that a certain fact was immaterial. There was no uncertainty as to what was told the jury. Given the particular circumstances here we cannot view the error as harmless since the jury’s inquiry…
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Crews v. State, 442 So. 2d 432 (Fla. 5th DCA 1983)…wers v. State, 348 So. 2d 602 (Fla. 4th DCA 1977); Randolph v. State, 336 So. 2d 673 (Fla. 2d DCA 1976); Slinsky v. State, 232 So. 2d 451 (Fla. 4th DCA 1970). . Walt Disney World Co. v. Althouse, 427 So. 2d 1135 (Fla. 5th DCA 1983); Ennis v. State, 300 So. 2d 325 (Fla. 1st DCA 1974); see Degeer v. State, 349 So. 2d 713 (Fla. 2d DCA 1977). . Caldwell v. State, 340 So. 2d 490 (Fla. 2d DCA 1976); Randolph v. State, 336 So. 2d 673 (Fla. 2d DCA 1976); Holzapfel v. State, 120 So. 2d 195 (Fla. 3d DCA 1960).…
Previewing 3 of 10 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Brown v. State, 152 Fla. 853 (Fla. 1943)
- Matera v. State, 218 So. 2d 180 (Fla. 3d DCA 1969)
- Cole v. State, 262 So. 2d 902 (Fla. 3d DCA 1972)
- Morton C. Nichols v. Walton, 82 Fla. 385 (Fla. 1921)
- Nelson v. George, 396 U.S. 955 (U.S. 1969)
- Williams v. Maryland, 411 U.S. 968 (U.S. 1973)
- Carter v. Gupton, 411 U.S. 968 (U.S. 1973)
- Ward v. State, 82 Fla. 383 (Fla. 1921)
- Stone v. Saltray, 268 So. 2d 904 (Fla. 1972)
- Gilliam v. State, 268 So. 2d 904 (Fla. 1972)