Kearse v. State

662 So. 2d 677, 1995 WL 368410
CourtSupreme Court of Florida
DecidedJune 22, 1995
Docket79037
StatusPublished
Cited by98 cases

This text of 662 So. 2d 677 (Kearse v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Kearse v. State, 662 So. 2d 677, 1995 WL 368410 (Fla. 1995).

Opinion

662 So.2d 677 (1995)

Billy Leon KEARSE, Appellant,
v.
STATE of Florida, Appellee.

No. 79037.

Supreme Court of Florida.

June 22, 1995.
Rehearing Denied November 9, 1995.

*680 Richard L. Jorandby, Public Defender and Jeffrey L. Anderson, Asst. Public Defender, West Palm Beach, for appellant.

Robert A. Butterworth, Atty. Gen. and Sara D. Baggett, Asst. Atty. Gen., West Palm Beach, for appellee.

PER CURIAM.

We have on appeal the judgment and sentence of the trial court imposing the death penalty upon Billy Leon Kearse. We have jurisdiction pursuant to article V, section 3(b)(1) of the Florida Constitution. For the reasons set forth below, we affirm Kearse's convictions, but vacate his death sentence and remand for a new penalty phase proceeding before a jury.

Kearse was charged with robbery with a firearm and first-degree murder in the death of Fort Pierce police officer Danny Parrish on January 18, 1991. After Parrish observed Kearse driving in the wrong direction on a one-way street, he called in the vehicle license number and stopped the vehicle. Kearse was unable to produce a driver's license, and instead gave Parrish several alias names that did not match any driver's license history. Parrish then ordered Kearse to exit the car and put his hands on top of the car. While Parrish was attempting to handcuff Kearse, a scuffle ensued, Kearse grabbed Parrish's weapon and fired fourteen shots. Thirteen of the shots struck Parrish, nine in his body and four in his bullet-proof vest. A taxi driver in the vicinity heard the shots, saw a dark blue vehicle occupied by a black male and female drive away from the scene, and called for assistance on the police officer's radio. Emergency personnel transported Parrish to the hospital where he died from the gunshot injuries.

The police issued a be-on-the-lookout (BOLO) for a black male driving a dark blue 1979 Monte Carlo. By checking the license plate that Officer Parrish had called in, the police determined that the car was registered to an address in Fort Pierce. Kearse was arrested at that address. After being informed of his rights and waiving them, Kearse confessed that he shot Parrish during a struggle that ensued after the traffic stop.

The jury convicted Kearse of both charged counts and recommended the death penalty by a vote of eleven to one. In sentencing Kearse to death, the judge found four aggravating circumstances: 1) the murder was committed while the defendant was engaged in a robbery; 2) the murder was committed to either avoid arrest or hinder the enforcement of laws; 3) the murder was especially heinous, atrocious, or cruel (HAC); and 4) the victim of the murder was a law enforcement officer engaged in the performance of his official duties. § 921.141(5)(d), (e), (g), (h), (j), Fla. Stat. (1991). The judge found two statutory mitigating circumstances: the murder was committed while the defendant was under the influence of extreme mental or emotional disturbance; and the defendant's capacity to appreciate the criminality of his conduct or to conform his conduct to the requirements of law was substantially impaired. § 921.141(6)(b), (f), Fla. Stat. (1991). The judge also found three nonstatutory mitigating circumstances: the defendant's impoverished and culturally deprived background; the defendant was severely emotionally disturbed as a child; and the defendant's IQ is just above the retarded line. However, the judge determined that none of the mitigating circumstances "are substantial or sufficient to outweigh any aggravating circumstance."

On appeal, Kearse raises the following issues: 1) the denial of the requested limiting instruction on the consideration of duplicate *681 aggravating circumstances; 2) the aggravating circumstances of murder of a law enforcement officer and avoid arrest or hinder enforcement of laws constituted improper doubling; 3) the court's failure to find Kearse's age to be a mitigating factor; 4) the consideration of the aggravating circumstance of committed while engaged in the commission of a robbery; 5) finding that the murder was HAC; 6) the denial of the requested instruction on the cold, calculated, and premeditated (CCP) aggravating circumstance; 7) the prosecutor engaged in misconduct during the penalty phase; 8) the aggravating circumstance of committed while engaged in the commission of a robbery was based on the same aspect of the offense as the other aggravating circumstances; 9) the death penalty is not proportional; 10) the admission of evidence regarding Kearse's emotional state during the penalty phase; 11) the giving of the State's special requested instruction on premeditated murder over defense objection; 12) instructing the jury on escape as the underlying felony of felony murder; 13) the denial of defense challenges for cause of prospective jurors; 14) the admission of testimony regarding the purpose of a two-handed grip on a gun; 15) the denial of defense motions to suppress evidence on the basis that Kearse's warrantless arrest was not based on probable cause; 16) the instruction on reasonable doubt denied Kearse due process and a fair trial; 17) the admission of hearsay evidence during the guilt phase; 18) the introduction of evidence in the penalty phase that Kearse had been previously convicted of robbery; 19) the admission of Kearse's alleged disciplinary record during the penalty phase; 20) the constitutionality of the felony murder aggravating circumstance; 21) the denial of the requested instruction regarding the weight to be afforded the jury's recommended sentence; 22) the denial of the requested instruction regarding mitigating circumstances; 23) the denial of the requested instruction regarding the burden of proof in the penalty phase; 24) the constitutionality of Florida's death penalty statute; and 25) the constitutionality of the aggravating circumstances found in this case.

Guilt Phase

Issues 11-17, which relate to the guilt phase proceedings, are without merit. Kearse claims that the standard instruction on reasonable doubt which was given in this case is constitutionally infirm (issue 16). This issue was not properly preserved as counsel raised no objection below. However, even if preserved, we would find no merit to this claim as this Court has previously considered and rejected similar constitutional challenges directed at the reasonable doubt instruction. See Esty v. State, 642 So.2d 1074, 1080 (Fla. 1994); accord Brown v. State, 565 So.2d 304, 307 (Fla.), cert. denied, 498 U.S. 992, 111 S.Ct. 537, 112 L.Ed.2d 547 (1990), abrogated on other grounds, Jackson v. State, 648 So.2d 85 (Fla. 1994).

In issue 11, Kearse argues that the trial court erred in reading a special instruction on premeditation. The following language was added to the standard instruction on premeditation:

Among the ways that premeditation may be inferred is from evidence as to the nature of the weapon used, the manner in which the murder was committed and the nature and manner of the wounds inflicted.

Kearse contends that this instruction improperly highlighted the State's evidence through the court's voice, permitted the jury to infer premeditation based on insufficient evidence, and constituted an improper comment on the evidence because the court called the killing a "murder." The State argues that these were not the grounds on which Kearse objected to the special instruction below, and thus he is precluded from raising them for the first time on appeal.

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Bluebook (online)
662 So. 2d 677, 1995 WL 368410, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/kearse-v-state-fla-1995.