Jose Luis Carmonajaca v. the State of Florida

Opinion

Third District Court of Appeal State of Florida

Opinion filed May 14, 2025.

Not final until disposition of timely filed motion for rehearing.

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No. 3D23-2173

Lower Tribunal No. M23-2175

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Jose Luis Carmonajaca,

Appellant,

vs.

The State of Florida,

Appellee.

An Appeal from the County Court for Miami-Dade County, Elisabeth Espinosa Marin, Judge.

Carlos J. Martinez, Public Defender, and Deborah Prager, Assistant Public Defender, for appellant.

James Uthmeier, Attorney General, and Kayla Heather McNab, Assistant Attorney General, for appellee.

Before EMAS, SCALES and GOODEN, JJ.

PER CURIAM.

Appellant Jose Luis Carmonajaca appeals his conviction and sentence for battery. He raises two issues. First, he asserts that the trial court abused its discretion by denying a cause challenge for a juror who allegedly showed bias in favor of police officers. Second, he argues the trial court abused its discretion by precluding cross-examination of the victim on her mental health, including her prior thoughts of self-harm, her stay at a psychiatric hospital, and an unused prescription for depression medication.

We disagree. A thorough review of the record and transcript demonstrates that the trial court acted within its discretion in each instance. See Mosley v. State, 349 So. 3d 861, 869 (Fla. 2022); Hedvall v. State, 283 So. 3d 901, 914 (Fla. 3d DCA 2019); Guzman v. State, 934 So. 2d 11, 16 (Fla. 3d DCA 2006); Whitby v. State, 933 So. 2d 557, 558 (Fla. 3d DCA 2006). As a result, we affirm.

Affirmed.