GERALD HOLLAND, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE

Fla. 4th DCA | 1976-11-19
No. 75-1592
CROSS and DOWNEY, JJ., concur.
340 So. 2d 931 Florida District Court of Appeal, Fourth District (1976) Positive Treatment
Cited by 8 cases

AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.

Synopsis

Gerald Holland appeals his convictions for robbery and aggravated assault, challenging the trial court's denial of his motion for mistrial based on the arresting officer's testimony regarding Miranda warnings. The appellate court affirmed the convictions, finding no error because the officer's comments about Holland's silence in response to 'Do you understand?' questions during the warning process did not constitute improper commentary on his right to remain silent.


Holding

The trial court properly denied the motion for mistrial. The officer's testimony about Holland's lack of response to 'Do you understand?' questions did not constitute reversible error because these questions related solely to Holland's comprehension of the warnings, not to his invocation of the right to remain silent. The officer never testified that Holland failed to answer substantive questions about the offense, which would have been improper commentary.


Headnotes

[1] A police officer's testimony regarding a defendant's silence in response to questions about understanding Miranda warnings does not constitute an impermissible comment on…

[2] Questions posed by law enforcement to ascertain a defendant's comprehension of Miranda warnings are permissible and do not violate the defendant's right to remain silent.

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Key Quotes

“Here, the witness commented on appellant's silence during the course of the reading of Miranda warnings. The silence was in response to the question "Do you understand?" which the arresting officer asked the appellant after he read each warning.”

Distinguishes this case by identifying that the silence at issue was in response to clarifying questions about comprehension of warnings, not about the right to remain silent itself.

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Facts & Procedural History

Holland and a companion, both masked, entered a motel room at gunpoint and demanded money and valuables from the occupants. When the occupants did not…

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Opinion of the Court
ALDERMAN, Judge.

ALDERMAN, Judge.

Appellant appeals his convictions for robbery and aggravated assault.

The evidence at trial showed that appellant and a companion, wearing masks, entered a motel room and at gunpoint demanded money and valuables from the room’s occupants.

The victims were tied up and assaulted when the demand for more money was not satisfied.

Police officers arrived and apprehended appellant and his companion while they were still in the motel room.

At the jury trial, one of the arresting officers testified concerning the arrest of appellant and his companion.

When the prosecutor questioned the officer as to the giving of Miranda warnings, he testified as follows: “Q. (By the prosecutor) What did you do when this subject was brought out? A. Well, we advised them that they were under arrest. I read both the subjects their rights, and they were searched. Q.

You read both of the subjects their rights? A. Yes. Q.

Do you recall what rights you read to them? A. I have the rights card in my pocket. Q.

Did you read it from the card? A. Yes, I did. Q.

Would you please take out the card and read exactly what you read to both of the subjects that were brought out of the room? A. Yes, sir. I read them their rights per Miranda, the Constitution of the United States. ‘1.

You have a right to remain silent and refuse to answer questions.

Do you understand?’ They both gave no answer. ‘2.

Anything you say may be used against you in a court of law.

Do you understand?’ They gave no answer. ‘3.

You have the right to consult an attorney before speaking to the police and to have an attorney present during questioning now or in the future.

Do you understand that?’ They gave no answer. ‘If you decide to answer questions now without an attorney present you will still have the right to stop answering at any time until you talk to an attorney.

Do you understand?’ No answer. ‘Knowing and understanding your rights as I explained them to you, are you willing to answer my questions without an attorney present?’ ” Appellant’s attorney immediately moved for a mistrial on the ground that the witness had commented on appellant’s right to remain silent.

The trial court denied the motion.

The sole point on appeal is whether the trial court erred in denying appellant’s motion for a mistrial.

Appellant cites Jones v. State, 200 So. 2d 574 (Fla. 3d DCA 1967), and Bennett v. State, 316 So. 2d 41 (Fla.1975), in support of his argument that the comments of the arresting officer in regard to appellant’s silence during the course of the Miranda warnings constitute clear fundamental error. The present case is factually distinguishable from Jones v. State, Bennett v. State, and other Florida cases such as Farese v. State, 328 So. 2d 548 (Fla. 1st DCA 1976); Bostic v. State, 332 So. 2d 349 (Fla. 4th DCA 1976); Martin v. State, 334 So. 2d 841 (Fla. 4th DCA 1976), which have held that any comment on the defendant’s right to remain silent is reversible error. Here, the witness commented on appellant’s silence during the course of the reading of Miranda warnings.

The silence was in response to the question “Do you understand?” which the arresting officer asked the appellant after he read each warning.

In our opinion the trial court properly denied appellant’s motion for mistrial.

The questions “Do you understand?” after each Miranda warning were appropriate.

Such questions related only to appellant’s understanding of the Miranda warnings.

Testimony concerning appellant’s response or lack of response to these questions cannot reasonably be construed as a comment on his right to remain silent.

At no point did the officer testify that appellant failed to answer questions or give a statement about the offense for which he had been arrested. No error having been committed by the trial court, appellant’s convictions are affirmed.

CROSS and DOWNEY, JJ., concur.


Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus


Citator

Cited By

  • Hall v. State, 403 So. 2d 1321 (Fla. 1981)
    …that he made no improper comment. While a prosecutor may not elicit from a witness the fact that the accused chose not to make a statement, it is not improper to elicit testimony that Miranda warnings were given to the accused. See Holland v. State, 340 So. 2d 931 (Fla. 4th DCA 1976). Such testimony is relevant to prove that a subsequent statement was made voluntarily- Hall’s last attack on his conviction is that evidence of the Coburn murder should not have been admitted. He contends that the testimony abou…
  • Coco v. State, 426 So. 2d 1225 (Fla. 4th DCA 1983)
    …PER CURIAM. AFFIRMED. See State v. Grant, 392 So. 2d 1362 (Fla. 4th DCA 1981) and Holland v. State, 340 So. 2d 931 (Fla. 4th DCA 1976). DOWNEY, ANSTEAD and BERANEK, JJ., concur.…
  • Thomas v. State, 367 So. 2d 260 (Fla. 3d DCA 1979)
    …ional Rights Warning Interrogation Form and to place his initials after each right. Thomas complied with this request and did so. This testimony cannot reasonably be construed as a comment on appellant’s right to remain silent. Holland v. State, 340 So. 2d 931 (Fla. 4th DCA 1976); Mansfield v. State, 338 So. 2d 857 (Fla. 3d DCA 1976). The jury could not reasonably conclude from the arresting officer’s testimony that the appellant “stood mute or claimed his privilege in the face of accusation.” Miranda…

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