LEONARD BENEBY, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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Leonard Beneby was convicted of heroin possession after a jury trial. The appellate court reversed and remanded for a new trial, finding that the prosecutor improperly introduced evidence about the neighborhood's reputation for drug activity, which was irrelevant to the charges and violated rules against character evidence.
The court held that evidence of where the defendant was arrested is irrelevant and immaterial to proving guilt of heroin possession, that the defendant's character and reputation should not have been introduced since he did not place them in issue, and that the Williams Rule for similar fact evidence does not apply where evidence only serves to show bad character or propensity.
[1] Evidence of the general reputation of an area for drug use is irrelevant to the issue of a defendant's guilt for drug possession.
[2] A prosecutor's duty includes ensuring justice is done and respecting the legal rights of the defendant.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“The Appellant urges that it is irrelevant where he was when he possessed the heroin and immaterial to the issue of his guilt. We agree.”
Establishes the core holding that location of arrest is irrelevant to proving heroin possession
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceBeneby and another person were preparing to inject heroin when police arrived and arrested them. At trial, a police officer testified that he was in t…
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DAUKSCH, Judge.
Appellant was convicted of possession of heroin after a jury trial in which it was revealed he and another were preparing to shoot-up when the police appeared. At trial a policeman was asked by the prosecutor the purpose for his having been in the area at the time of the arrest. He answered, “Well, there had been several narcotic arrests made in that area; and the bar at 22nd and Sims has quite a reputation for narcotics in that area. That was the reason we went up there in that alley.” Appellant objected as he did when the prosecutor on opening statement said the area in which Appellant was arrested was “an area that is known to be inhabited by drug users.” Defense counsel on both occasions moved for a mistrial. The Motions were denied and we must decide whether the place the Appellant was arrested was relevant or material to the issue of the guilt of the accused and; if not, was the error in admitting the testimony and allowing the prosecutorial statements so harmful as to warrant a new trial.
In Young v. State, 141 Fla. 529, 195 So. 569 (1939), our Supreme Court alludes to the duty of the prosecutor in trying a criminal case. In that case, as in probably hundreds of others, we are reminded the prosecutor has a serious responsibility “not only to faithfully represent the state but to see that justice is done. His duty is twofold, and it cannot be said that he represents a great State only and should remain oblivious to the legal rights of the defendant.” Young then refers to Roach v. State, 108 Fla. 222, 146 So. 240 (1933). That bears reading, as well. We add that our society depends upon the protection of the individual by the government in order to preserve the very government in which all of us are the individuals. We add further there is absolutely no evidence the prosecutor here wilfully tried to mislead the jury.
The Appellant urges that it is irrelevant where he was when he possessed the heroin and immaterial to the issue of his guilt. We agree.1 Young, supra. He also contends he did not put his reputation or character in issue therefore the State had no business bringing it up. We agree. Roti v. State, 334 So. 2d 146 (Fla.2d DCA 1976).
The State counters with the quite incredible argument that the Williams Rule applies. Williams v. State, 110 So. 2d 654 (Fla.1959). We have reread Williams to confirm that case has to do with past similar crimes committed by the Defendant which were introduced to show identity, intent or an established plan, scheme or design. If similar fact evidence is to be deemed admissible it must be relevant to a fact in issue. The facts in issue in this case are the possession of heroin and the identity of the drug as heroin. The fact that the policeman knew the scene as being within a reputed narcotics area doesn’t tend to prove anything in issue and could only serve to unduly prejudice the jury. This case surely does not fall within the Williams Rule and we suggest the only reason the evidence was submitted by the State was to show bad character or propensity — just what Williams forbids.
The evidence of the guilt of the Defendant is clear but the entire transcript is red-lighted by the improprieties mentioned. Therefore we must add our emphasis by reversing for a new trial.
REVERSED and REMANDED.
CROSS and ANSTEAD, JJ., concur. . All that is necessary is venue, Broward County, unless an alibi or statement of particulars is involved and then only location — not the characterization of the location.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By (31 total)
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Lowder v. State, 589 So. 2d 933 (Fla. 3d DCA 1991)…ear the time of the arrest. It is well settled that reference to the area in which a defendant is arrested as a location known to be inhabited by drug dealers is prohibited because such reference is irrelevant to the issue of guilt. Beneby v. State, 354 So. 2d 98 (Fla. 4th DCA), cert. denied, 359 So. 2d 1220 (Fla. 1978). Evidence of this type, impugning the area’s reputation, is introduced only to show bad character or propensity, and may unduly prejudice the jury. Beneby, 354 So. 2d at 99. In a prosecution…
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Gillion v. State, 573 So. 2d 810 (Fla. 1991)…facts that do not bear directly on the purely legal issues, but merely fill in the background of the narrative and give it interest, color, and lifelikeness.” McCormick on Evidence § 185, at 541 (3d ed. 1984). Petitioner relies on Beneby v. State, 354 So. 2d 98 (Fla. 4th DCA 1978), cert. denied, 359 So. 2d 1220 (Fla.1978). Beneby was convicted of heroin possession. During his opening statement the prosecutor described the area in which the defendant was arrested as “an area that is known to be inhabited by…1 / 2
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Jackson v. State, 89 So. 3d 1011 (Fla. 4th DCA 2012)…use, and the arresting officer so testified, because “[t]he fact that the policeman knew the scene as being within a reputed narcotics area doesn’t tend to prove anything in issue and could only serve to unduly prejudice the jury.” Beneby v. State, 354 So. 2d 98, 99 (Fla. 4th DCA 1978); see also Lowder v. State, 589 So. 2d 933, 935 (Fla. 3d DCA 1991) (“In a prosecution for possession of illegal drugs, the fact that a police officer knows that an arrest scene is a reputed narcotics area does not prove anythi…
Previewing 3 of 31 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Williams v. State, 110 So. 2d 654 (Fla. 1959)
- Roti v. State, 334 So. 2d 146 (Fla. 2d DCA 1976)
- Young v. State, 142 Fla. 361 (Fla. 1939)
- Young v. State, 141 Fla. 529 (Fla. 1939)
- Roach v. State, 108 Fla. 222 (Fla. 1933)