STATE OF FLORIDA, PETITIONER,
v.
HORACE OLIVER RUCKER, RESPONDENT
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The Florida Supreme Court reviewed whether a prosecutor's reference to "mug shots" in closing argument constitutes automatic reversible error. The Court held that such error is not automatically reversible but must be evaluated in context with the entire trial record, and affirmed the trial court's harmless error analysis.
A reference to "mug shots" in a prosecutor's closing argument does not require automatic reversal. Instead, the trial court must consider the entire record and surrounding circumstances to determine whether any error was harmless, and the trial court did not abuse its discretion in finding harmless error here.
[1] Reference to "mug shots" in a prosecutor's closing argument does not automatically constitute reversible error; the entire record and surrounding circumstances must be co…
[2] A trial judge's determination that prosecutorial error is harmless in light of trial circumstances is entitled to deference.
Previewing 2 of 5 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“We are not, however, willing to say that such error in this matter should be an 'automatic reversal' upon the mere use of the words 'mug books'. As in other such instances, the entire record and surrounding circumstances must be considered . . . .”
Establishes the holding that mug shot references do not trigger automatic reversal but require contextual analysis
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceThe defendant was tried for a crime where the victim made a positive identification. During closing argument, the prosecutor mentioned that the victim…
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ENGLAND, Justice.
By petition for a writ of certiorari, the State asks that we review and reverse a decision of the Third District Court of Appeal reported at 307 So. 2d 830. We noted a direct conflict between that decision and Loftin v. State, 273 So. 2d 70 (Fla. 1973), issued our writ and dispensed with oral argument.
The point at issue is whether reference to the phrase “mug shots” in a prosecutor’s closing argument to a jury constitutes reversible error in all cases. The district court believed it did, stating that such a statement “clearly indicated to the jury the nature thereof.” 307 So. 2d at 831.* We do not agree, and we reaffirm the view expressed in Loftin that:
“We are not, however, willing to say that such error in this matter should be an ‘automatic reversal’ upon the mere use of the words ‘mug books’. As in other such instances, the entire' record and surrounding circumstances must be considered . . . .” 273 So. 2d at 71.
At the close of argument following the trial of this case, defendant’s counsel moved for a mistrial on the ground that the prosecutor had prejudiced his client when he argued:
“We have brought you not only the victim, making a positive identification, but the only discrepancy at all in this testimony is that he didn’t recall the moustache on the mug shot that he looked at, which only means to prove another thing, that nobody was rehearsing him on the mug shot.”
The trial judge thereupon excused the jury and in consideration of our opinion in Lof-tin ruled that the error was harmless in view of all the circumstances of the trial. When the jury returned he gave them cautionary instructions on the prosecutor’s comment, and on their use of the photographs in the jury room.
We note that the district court did not conclude that the trial judge abused his discretion in finding the error harmless and failing to direct a mistrial. See Thomas v. State, 326 So. 2d 413 (Fla.1975). On the basis of the entire record, such a finding would not have been warranted.
The court did, however, begin in its opinion by stating that defendant’s first allegation of trial error involved the reference to “mug shots”. The court never indicated whether other alleged errors would require a new trial. Accordingly, the decision of the district court is vacated and the cause is remanded for further proceedings in the district court consistent with this opinion.
ROBERTS, Acting C. J., and BOYD and SUNDBERG, JJ., concur. ADKINS, J., dissents.
*
Defense counsel argues that the prejudice here stems from a combination of the prosecutor’s remark in closing argument and the introduction into evidence of the front and side view “mug shot” photographs. The thrust of his argument is that we should adopt as the law of this state a rule which absolutely prohibits the introduction into evidence of photographs of this type, on the grounds of inherent and uncorrectable prejudice. See Barnes v. United States, 124 U.S.App.D.C. 318, 365 F. 2d 509 (1966) ; United States v. Harrington, 490 F. 2d 487 (2d Cir.1973). This we decline to do. We are not called upon here and expressly decline to decide when and if the introduction of photographs of this type may be prejudicial error, in light of the overwhelming independent proof of defendant’s guilt in this case. This is not to say, however, that the other proof was itself necessarily free of prejudicial error, as our mandate indicates.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By (13 total)
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D'Anna v. State, 453 So. 2d 151 (Fla. 1st DCA 1984)…the photographs introduced below were not specifically referred to in front of the jury as “mug shots,” there is little doubt that the jury could have so interpreted them. Rucker v. State, 307 So. 2d 830 (Fla. 3d DCA 1974), vacated on other grounds, 330 So. 2d 470 (Fla.1976) (photographs introduced at defendant’s trial contained name of arresting law enforcement agency, date of arrest, and case identification number); see also Wilding v. State, 427 So. 2d 1069, 1070 (Fla. 2d DCA 1983). However, it is likewis…1 / 3
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Houston v. State, 360 So. 2d 468 (Fla. 3d DCA 1978)…States v. Harrington, 490 F. 2d 487 (2d Cir. 1973); Barnes v. United States, 124 U.S.App.D.C. 318, 365 F. 2d 509 (1966); Williams v. State, 110 So. 2d 654 (Fla.1959); and Mancebo v. State, 350 So. 2d 1098 (Fla.3d DCA 1977). Compare State v. Rucker, 330 So. 2d 470 (Fla.1976). We note, however, that if the photographs are properly cropped this objection could be alleviated. Appellant in his first point on appeal contends that the trial court erred in refusing to instruct the jury on (1) aggravated assault and…
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Fuster v. State, 480 So. 2d 173 (Fla. 3d DCA 1985)…ellant’s counsel for a curative instruction, although one was subsequently given by the court to the jury during its deliberations, any error in the admission of the photographs and videotaped lineup was, in any event, harmless. See State v. Rucker, 330 So. 2d 470 (Fla.1976); D’Anna v. State, 453 So. 2d 151 (Fla. 1st DCA 1984). We do find it appropriate, however, particularly with respect to the videotaped lineup which may, by its very nature, be more suggestive of some prior involvement of the defendant with…
Previewing 3 of 13 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Barnes v. United States, 365 F.2d 509 (D.C. Cir. 1966)
- Thomas v. State, 326 So. 2d 413 (Fla. 1975)
- Loftin v. State, 273 So. 2d 70 (Fla. 1973)
- United States v. Harrington, 490 F.2d 487 (2d Cir. 1973)
- Rucker v. State, 307 So. 2d 830 (Fla. 3d DCA 1974)