HENRY A. DAVIS, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE

Fla. 4th DCA | 1978-02-21
No. 76-1723
ANSTEAD, J., concurs., CROSS, J., dissents, with opinion.
356 So. 2d 1252 Florida District Court of Appeal, Fourth District (1978) Positive Treatment
Cited by 6 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

Davis was convicted of attempted burglary of a motor vehicle and possession of burglary tools. The appellate court reversed and remanded for a new trial on the possession of burglary tools count due to the trial court's violation of Davis's Fifth Amendment right to remain silent by allowing the State to introduce evidence of his post-Miranda silence.


Holding

The court reversed and remanded for a new trial on Count II (possession of burglary tools) because the trial court's allowance of evidence regarding appellant's post-Miranda silence constituted a clear violation of his right to remain silent, despite the trial judge's instruction to disregard the evidence. While the court noted it would reverse the burglary conviction on Count I if properly preserved due to the State's failure to prove vehicle ownership, that count was not properly before the court in the written judgment.


Headnotes

[1] A court's jurisdiction on appeal is limited to the matters adjudicated and sentenced in the written judgment.

[2] Evidence of a defendant's post-Miranda silence is inadmissible.

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Key Quotes

“This is a clear violation of appellant's right to remain silent and we doubt the efficacy of the Court's instruction.”

Establishes that the trial court's allowance of evidence regarding post-Miranda silence was constitutional error and that the jury instruction was inadequate to remedy it.

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Facts & Procedural History

Davis was charged with attempted burglary of a motor vehicle and possession of burglary tools. After trial, the jury found him guilty of attempted tre…

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Opinion of the Court
DOWNEY, Judge.

DOWNEY, Judge.

Appellant was charged with attempted burglary of a motor vehicle contrary to Section 810.02(3), Florida Statutes (1975), and possession of burglary tools contrary to Section 810.06, Florida Statutes (1975). After a trial by jury appellant was convicted of attempted trespass and possession of burglary tools. Ostensibly appellate review is now sought of the judgment and sentence based upon two alleged errors of the trial court: 1) the trial court erred in allowing the State to adduce evidence that appellant chose to remain silent after being advised of his constitutional rights; and 2) the trial court erred in failing to grant a judgment of acquittal when the State failed to prove ownership of the vehicle in question as that ownership was alleged in the information.

If the conviction on Count I (attempted burglary of a motor vehicle) had been properly preserved for appeal, we would reverse the conviction on that count because the State failed to prove ownership of the motor vehicle as laid in the information, Salerno v. State, 347 So. 2d 659 (Fla. 4th DCA 1977); Mitchell v. State, 317 So. 2d 465 (Fla. 4th DCA 1975); Smith v. State, 96 Fla. 30, 117 So. 377 (1928). However, although both parties have treated this matter as involving an appeal from the conviction on both counts of the information, the record demonstrates that the appeal from the written judgment of conviction and sentence gives us jurisdiction only over Count II (possession of burglary tools).

The record reflects that the jury found appellant guilty of attempted trespass and possession of burglary tools. It is further evident that at sentencing in open court the trial judge sentenced appellant to five years in prison for possession of burglary tools and sixty days for the attempted trespass to run concurrent with the prison term. However, in reducing the judgment to writing the Court only adjudicated appellant guilty of Count II (possession of burglary tools) and sentenced appellant to five years in prison. No adjudication or sentence on Count I was provided for in the written judgment. Since the written judgment only adjudicated and sentenced appellant for the crime of possession of burglary tools, we have jurisdiction only to consider an appeal involving that count of the information.

During the course of the testimony of Officer Commello, the State inquired about Miranda warnings and any' statements made thereafter by appellant. Com-mello testified that appellant told him how he happened to be at the scene of the crime but then he stated that “He [appellant] refused to answer any further question in there.” Defense counsel objected and the Court sustained the objection and instructed the jury to disregard the question. This, incidentally, was the second comment upon appellant’s refusal to answer any further questions. This is a clear violation of appellant’s right to remain silent and we doubt the efficacy of the Court’s instruction. Bennett v. State, 316 So. 2d 41 (Fla.1975); Martin v. State, 334 So. 2d 841 (Fla. 4th DCA 1976); Bostic v. State, 332 So,2d 349 (Fla. 4th DCA 1976); Jones v. State, 200 So. 2d 574 (Fla. 3rd DCA 1967).

Accordingly, the judgment appealed from is reversed and the cause is remanded for a new trial on Count II of the information.

REVERSED AND REMANDED.

ANSTEAD, J., concurs.

CROSS, J., dissents, with opinion.

Dissent
CROSS, Judge,

CROSS, Judge,

dissenting:

I respectfully dissent.

Although the complained-of error did impinge on the accused’s right to remain silent, it is clear that such error no longer requires automatic reversal of an adjudica tion of guilt. See Clark v. State, 336 So. 2d 468 (Fla. 2d DCA 1976); Wythers v. State, 348 So. 2d 390 (Fla. 3d DCA 1977). See also Royal v. State, 347 So. 2d 742 (Fla. 4th DCA 1977). After carefully reviewing the record, including the numerous inculpatory statements made by appellant after he was given the Miranda warnings, I am convinced .that the reference to the accused’s refusal to answer any further questions did not prejudice his right to receive a fair trial in any way. See Wythers v. State, supra.

Accordingly, I would affirm the judgment.

Other
DOWNEY, Judge.

DOWNEY, Judge.

On February 21, 1978, we issued an opinion in this case reversing Petitioner’s conviction of possession of burglary tools, pursuant to Count II of the information.

In said opinion we pointed out that appellant was also appealing from a conviction of attempted trespassing, pursuant to Count I of the Information and from our study of the record the conviction on that Count was subject to reversal. However, since the record contained no written judgment and sentence for the conviction on Count I we had noted that we had no jurisdiction to review the judgment and sentence on that Count.

By Petition for Rehearing appellant points out that, subsequent to the issuance of our opinion, on February 28, 1978, the trial judge entered a judgment and sentence on Count I, nunc pro tunc to July 23, 1976. Petitioner seeks review of that judgment and sentence now by way of Petition for Rehearing.

Although the suggestion that we review the February 28th, 1978, judgment and sentence on Count I is tempting because it would be expeditious to do so, we decline to because that judgment and sentence can not be reviewed by this court until a notice of appeal has been filed. Accordingly, in order to obtain a review of the February 28, 1978, judgment and sentence Petitioner should file a new notice of appeal within thirty (30) days from the date of that judgment and sentence.

Accordingly, the Petition for Rehearing is denied.

ALDERMAN, C. J., and CROSS, J., concur.


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Citator

Cited By

  • Thompson v. State, 386 So. 2d 264 (Fla. 3d DCA 1980)
    …eed (in that Fleites had not previously mentioned that fact), Thompson became belligerent and refused to talk any further. At that point, Thompson obviously had invoked his right to remain silent in the face of [*267] accusation. See Davis v. State, 356 So. 2d 1252 (Fla.4th DCA 1978). We, therefore, conclude that the prosecutor’s remarks to the jury with regard to Thompson becoming belligerent and refusing to talk any further constituted an improper comment upon Thompson’s right to remain silent. See Knight v.…
  • Bowen v. State, 404 So. 2d 145 (Fla. 2d DCA 1981)
    …ate, 363 So. 2d 331 (Fla.1978), that there be no reference during trial to the defendant’s right to remain silent. See, e. g., Tindall v. State, 395 So. 2d 289 (Fla. 5th DCA 1981); Knight v. State, 374 So. 2d 1065 (Fla. 3d DCA 1979); Davis v. State, 356 So. 2d 1252 (Fla. 4th DCA 1978). Accordingly, we reverse appellant’s conviction and remand this cause for a new trial. BOARDMAN and OTT, JJ., concur.…
  • Davis v. State, 363 So. 2d 181 (Fla. 4th DCA 1978)
    …PER CURIAM. This is the second appearance of this case before this Court. In Davis v. State, 356 So. 2d 1252 (Fla. 4th DCA 1978), the facts were stated. The conviction on Count I for attempted trespass on a conveyance is now before us for review. In view of this Court’s more recent pronouncements on the issues raised under the Count I conviction in the cas…

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