CINDY KEANE, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE; GEORGE ROBERT DEVINE, APPELLANT, V. STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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The court held that the trial court erred in refusing to allow cross-examination of a witness regarding pending criminal charges and that the trial judge's comments deprived the defendants of a fair trial.
Defendants were convicted of robbery. They appealed, arguing the trial court improperly limited their cross-examination of a witness and that the judg…
The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.
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ALDERMAN, Chief Judge.
The defendants were convicted of robbery. They appeal and raise several points, two of which require reversal.
Firstly, we hold that the trial court erred in refusing to allow the defendants to cross-examine the alleged victim as to a pending criminal charge against him to which he had pleaded guilty. When a prosecution witness is under criminal charges at the time he testifies, the defense is entitled to bring this fact out. Blanco v. State, 353 So. 2d 602 (Fla. 3d DCA 1977); Redden v. Wainwright, 340 So. 2d 1187 (Fla. 4th DCA 1976); Fulton v. State, 335 So. 2d 280 (Fla.1976); Morrell v. State, 297 So. 2d 579 (Fla. 1st DCA 1974).
Secondly, we concluded that the comments and repeated interjections by the trial court during the course of the trial deprived the defendants of a fair trial. No purpose would be served in setting out the numerous gratuitous comments and interjections by the trial judge during the course of the trial. This court’s admonition in Hunter v. State, 314 So. 2d 174 (Fla. 4th DCA 1975), is applicable to the present case.
REVERSED and REMANDED for a new trial.
CROSS, J., and DURANT, N. JOSEPH, Jr., Associate Judge, concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
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Pope v. Louie L. Wainwright, 496 So. 2d 798 (Fla. 1986)…xtent of interjection which has been found objectionable. Compare, e.g., Jones v. State, 385 So. 2d 132 (Fla. 4th DCA 1980) (harsh rebuke of defense counsel in presence of jury abridged defendant’s fundamental right to a fair trial); Keane v. State, 357 So. 2d 457 (Fla. 4th DCA 1978) (numerous gratuitous comments and interjections by trial judge during course of trial deprived defendant of a fair trial). The only other alleged error occurring during the guilt phase of the trial which merits discussion was ma…
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Wilkerson v. State, 510 So. 2d 1253 (Fla. 1st DCA 1987)…didn’t halt a certain line of questioning he had been pursuing. The court held that, based on the foregoing remarks, the trial court [*1255] abused its discretion in rebuking defense counsel in the presence of the jury. Similarly, in Keane v. State, 357 So. 2d 457 (Fla. 4th DCA 1978), the 4th DCA found that numerous gratuitous comments and interjections by the trial judge during course of trial deprived the defendant in that case of a fair trial. See also Tyndall v. State, 234 So. 2d 154 (Fla. 4th DCA 1970) (…
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Reyes v. State, 547 So. 2d 347 (Fla. 3d DCA 1989)…Lester v. State, 37 Fla. 382, 387-88, 20 So. 232, 234 (Fla.1896); Peek v. State, 488 So. 2d 52 (Fla.1986); Whitenight v. Int’l Patrol & Detective Agency, Inc., 483 So. 2d 473 (Fla. 3d DCA), review denied, 492 So. 2d 1333 (Fla.1986); Keane v. State, 357 So. 2d 457 (Fla. 4th DCA 1978); Abrams v. State, 326 So. 2d 211 (Fla. 4th DCA 1976). In the case before us, the trial judge departed from his impartial role and commented on the testi [*348] mony of witnesses. The court’s comments were especially damaging beca…
Authorities Cited
- Fulton v. State, 335 So. 2d 280 (Fla. 1976)
- Morrell v. State, 297 So. 2d 579 (Fla. 1st DCA 1974)
- Blanco v. State, 353 So. 2d 602 (Fla. 3d DCA 1977)
- Hunter v. State, 314 So. 2d 174 (Fla. 4th DCA 1975)
- Redden v. Wainwright, 340 So. 2d 1187 (Fla. 4th DCA 1976)