Brighton v. State

141 So. 3d 579, 2014 WL 1464695, 2014 Fla. App. LEXIS 5564
CourtDistrict Court of Appeal of Florida
DecidedApril 16, 2014
DocketNo. 4D11-3740
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 141 So. 3d 579 (Brighton v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court of Appeal of Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Brighton v. State, 141 So. 3d 579, 2014 WL 1464695, 2014 Fla. App. LEXIS 5564 (Fla. Ct. App. 2014).

Opinion

LEVINE, J.

Appellant appeals his convictions for two counts of first-degree murder and his sentence to life in prison. We affirm appellant’s convictions, as the trial court did not err in allowing the state to cross-examine a witness regarding the circumstances surrounding appellant’s disclosure of sexual abuse. However, because appellant was a juvenile at the time of the offense, we reverse his mandatory life sentence and remand for resentencing after consideration of the factors outlined in Miller v. Alabama, — U.S. -, 132 S.Ct. 2455, 188 L.Ed.2d 407 (2012).

In August 2007, appellant, aged sixteen, waved frantically on the side of the road towards a St. Lucie County sheriffs lieutenant who was driving to appellant’s home for a welfare check. Appellant told the lieutenant that “I’ve done something terrible ... I shot my parents.” Appellant further told him that “there’s no need for rescue, they’re dead.” Both of appellant’s parents were found dead inside the house with bullet wounds to their bodies. Appellant told a deputy during an interview that he was thinking “what would happen if I shot him and how, like pretty much planning how to best do it cause I didn’t wanna, I didn’t wanna have to run from a different room to, I wanted them both [to] be in the same room so it could be easier.” Appellant admitted to shooting his father in the back while his father was in the kitchen, and when his mother started to flee, appellant shot his mother in the side.

At trial, appellant’s friend testified that appellant stated “he felt like killing his mom and his dad because he was very angry because they wouldn’t let him do anything.” A couple hours before the shooting, appellant called his friend and asked if they could “hang out” because appellant “thought he might be ungrounded later.”

Appellant testified in his own defense that his father sexually molested him from the time he was nine or ten years old. Appellant stated that he did not tell anyone about the sexual abuse until a year after the killings because he was ashamed and embarrassed and did not want anyone to know what happened to him. Appellant also presented testimony from Dr. Stephen Alexander, a psychologist who interviewed appellant several times after the shootings, that appellant suffered from “battered child syndrome.”

Before trial, appellant had moved in li-mine to preclude the state from suggesting [581]*581that the defense of “battered child syndrome” had been manufactured by his defense attorneys. The trial court ruled that it would “forbid the creation of any inference that there was anything improperly done by Defense counsel,” but that “the length of time that it took for this to come out and the circumstances immediately preceding it coming out” were “fair game.”

During cross-examination of Dr. Alexander, the state asked what appellant said his defense would be during their second meeting. Dr. Alexander responded that appellant said he thought his defense attorneys were going to use an insanity defense. The trial court overruled the defense’s objection and motion for mistrial based upon attorney-client privilege.

During a bench conference, the state said it intended to ask Dr. Alexander “isn’t it true that his Defense attorneys felt that there was more there and they asked him about sexual abuse.” Appellant objected and moved for a mistrial based on the prior motion in limine. The trial court overruled the objection and denied appellant’s motion for mistrial.

The following testimony then ensued:

[PROSECUTOR]: Now ah, Doctor, would, before we get to July of '08, at some point in time, and again I’m not suggesting anything improper by the Defense, I want this record to be absolutely clear of that. At some point in time the Defense said to you they thought there might be something more there and they asked the ...
[DEFENSE COUNSEL]: Again I’m gonna object, the same objections, same motion.
COURT: Same ruling.
[PROSECUTOR]: And they asked the defendant if he had ever been sexually abused, correct?
A: I had told them earlier I thought there was more after I saw him ...
[PROSECUTOR]: Okay.
A: The first couple of times and then eventually they contacted me and said they’re getting information from him as well and they suspected that there were problems, they had found some information that they, led them to believe it was something that needed to be explored.
Q: What I’m, my direct question is very simply they told you they asked him if he had been molested, correct?
A: Eventually they ask him directly.
Q: Right, and I’m not suggesting that that, that’s their job, they have to find out and talk to their client, I have no problem, there’s nothing improper with that, however he’s a smart kid, right?
A: Yes.
[PROSECUTOR]: All right.
[DEFENSE COUNSEL]: Same objection, same motion.
COURT: Same ruling.
[PROSECUTOR]: So just like we talked about him sitting in court hearing about fear, fear, fear, if he has no insanity defense and he hears sexual abuse
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[DEFENSE COUNSEL]: Judge ...
[PROSECUTOR]: Again no ...
[DEFENSE COUNSEL]: I’m sorry.
[PROSECUTOR]: No suggestion that the Defense is doing anything wrong, he’s smart enough to say maybe I should do this, maybe I should say this, isn’t he?
[DEFENSE COUNSEL]: Objection, Judge, can we approach?
COURT: You may.

Once again, appellant moved for a mistrial, arguing that the motion in limine barred the objected-to testimony. The tri[582]*582al court again denied the motion for mistrial. The jury found appellant guilty, and this appeal ensues.

Appellant asserts that the trial court erred by allowing the state to suggest to the jury that his defense of battered child syndrome was improperly suggested to him by the defense. “The standard of review of a trial court’s evi-dentiary rulings is abuse of discretion.” McDuffie v. State, 970 So.2d 312, 326 (Fla.2007).

Generally speaking, “[a] suggestion that the defendant suborned perjury or that a defense witness manufactured evidence, without a foundation in the record, is completely improper.” Chavers v. State, 964 So.2d 790, 792 (Fla. 4th DCA 2007) (citation omitted). In the present case, the record was not “without a foundation” “that the defendant suborned perjury.” The record showed that almost a year passed from the time of the shootings until appellant reported the alleged abuse. Appellant did not mention any abuse during his first three interviews with Dr. Alexander. Rather, appellant first mentioned the abuse only after the defense asked him whether he was abused. Thus, the trial court did not err in admitting testimony regarding the lapse in time, as it went to appellant’s credibility.

Additionally, “[t]he law is clear that attacks on defense counsel are highly improper and impermissible.” Lewis v. State,

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
141 So. 3d 579, 2014 WL 1464695, 2014 Fla. App. LEXIS 5564, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/brighton-v-state-fladistctapp-2014.