Lucas v. State

568 So. 2d 18, 1990 WL 141432
CourtSupreme Court of Florida
DecidedSeptember 20, 1990
Docket70653
StatusPublished
Cited by72 cases

This text of 568 So. 2d 18 (Lucas 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
Lucas v. State, 568 So. 2d 18, 1990 WL 141432 (Fla. 1990).

Opinion

568 So.2d 18 (1990)

Harold Gene LUCAS, Appellant,
v.
STATE of Florida, Appellee.

No. 70653.

Supreme Court of Florida.

September 20, 1990.

*20 James Marion Moorman, Public Defender, and Robert F. Moeller, Asst. Public Defender, Bartow, for appellant.

Robert A. Butterworth, Atty. Gen., and Charles Corces, Jr. and Joseph R. Bryant, Asst. Attys. Gen., Tampa, for appellee.

PER CURIAM.

Lucas appeals the death sentence imposed on him at resentencing. We have jurisdiction. Art. V, § 3(b)(1), Fla. Const. We again vacate his death sentence and remand to the trial court for resentencing.

This is the fourth time Lucas has been before this Court. In 1979 we affirmed his conviction of first-degree murder for killing his former girlfriend and his convictions of attempted first-degree murder for shooting two of her friends. Lucas v. State, 376 So.2d 1149 (Fla. 1979).[1] Because the trial court relied on an improper aggravating factor, however, we vacated Lucas' death sentence and remanded for resentencing. After the court again sentenced Lucas to death, we again vacated the sentence and remanded because the court had not exercised reasoned judgment in weighing aggravating and mitigating circumstances on the first remand. Lucas v. State, 417 So.2d 250 (Fla. 1982). On remand the court again sentenced Lucas to death. In appealing that sentence Lucas argued that he should have received a new sentencing proceeding so that he could present additional evidence and testimony because his original trial judge did not believe that nonstatutory mitigating evidence could be introduced and considered. We agreed and, yet again, vacated the death sentence and sent the case back for a new sentencing proceeding before a jury. Lucas v. State, 490 So.2d 943 (Fla. 1986). Lucas' second jury, as did his first, recommended that he receive the death penalty, which the trial court imposed, thereby prompting the instant appeal.

Lucas raises numerous issues[2] and first argues that certain prosecutorial comments during voir dire and closing argument tainted the jury and misled it in considering the mitigating evidence. During voir dire, the prosecutor asked prospective jurors whether they believed an intoxicated person should be held accountable. We do not see how these questions could have misled the jury into believing that alcohol and drug use could not be considered in mitigation. The court properly instructed the jury on the consideration of mitigating evidence, and we find no error here.

During closing argument, the prosecutor urged the jury to reject the mitigating factor of no significant prior history of criminal activity because Lucas had been convicted of two counts of attempted first-degree murder. In Scull v. State, 533 So.2d 1137, *21 1143 (Fla. 1988), cert. denied, 490 U.S. 1037, 109 S.Ct. 1937, 104 L.Ed.2d 408 (1989), we stated that "we do not believe that a `history' of prior criminal conduct can be established by contemporaneous crimes" and receded from our holding in Ruffin v. State, 397 So.2d 277 (Fla.), cert. denied, 454 U.S. 882, 102 S.Ct. 368, 70 L.Ed.2d 194 (1981), to the contrary. While such an argument should not be made now, it could be made at the time of Lucas' resentencing. Lucas did not object to the argument, however, and, because we do not find fundamental error to be involved, this issue has not been preserved for appeal.

In arguing against the applicability of the mitigating factor of impaired capacity to appreciate the criminality of one's conduct the prosecutor said that Lucas knew right from wrong. Defense counsel objected that the standard for insanity did not apply, but the court overruled the objection, finding the remark to be a fair comment on the evidence. On direct examination the defense's psychiatrist testified that Lucas "probably knew the difference between right and wrong." On cross-examination this witness testified that Lucas suffered from no serious mental illnesses and reiterated that Lucas knew right from wrong at the time of the murder in spite of the drugs and alcohol he had ingested. We agree with the trial court that the prosecutor's remark constituted a fair comment and disagree with Lucas' claim that the remark misled the jury.

The two victims who survived Lucas' attack testified at the resentencing proceeding. Lucas now claims that their recounting the episode unduly prejudiced him and misled and confused the jury because their physical and mental suffering became a feature of the trial. We disagree. Testimony by the victims, or others, about prior crimes is admissible if the defendant is given the opportunity to confront the witness. Rhodes v. State, 547 So.2d 1201 (Fla. 1989); Mann v. State, 453 So.2d 784 (Fla. 1984), cert. denied, 469 U.S. 1181, 105 S.Ct. 940, 83 L.Ed.2d 953 (1985); Elledge v. State, 346 So.2d 998 (Fla. 1977). Moreover, "[b]ecause a jury cannot be expected to make a decision in a vacuum, it must be made aware of the underlying facts." Chandler v. State, 534 So.2d 701, 703 (Fla. 1988), cert. denied, ___ U.S. ___, 109 S.Ct. 2089, 104 L.Ed.2d 652 (1989). Defense counsel cross-examined these witnesses, and we do not find that their testimony unduly prejudiced Lucas. Additionally, their testimony was not the type of victim impact evidence prohibited by Booth v. Maryland, 482 U.S. 496, 107 S.Ct. 2529, 96 L.Ed.2d 440 (1987).

Subsection 921.141(1), Florida Statutes (1985), permits the introduction of hearsay if the opposing party is given the opportunity to rebut it. Lucas now claims that the state should not be allowed to present hearsay evidence in penalty proceedings. We have rejected similar claims before, Chandler; King v. State, 514 So.2d 354 (Fla. 1987), cert. denied, 487 U.S. 1241, 108 S.Ct. 2916, 101 L.Ed.2d 947 (1988), and do so again here.

The instant claim is based on the state's eliciting from one of its witnesses the victim's telling him of threats made toward her by Lucas. As the state points out, however, the record discloses that on direct examination it questioned the witness only about a threat to the victim that Lucas made to that witness. On cross-examination the defense questioned the witness, over the state's objection, about threats against Lucas made by the victim. Only on redirect examination did the state ask about the victim's telling the witness about threats made against her. The defense opened the door to this line of questioning, and we find no error here.

As another part of this issue, Lucas claims that the trial court erred in not allowing him to introduce hearsay. Much of Lucas' mitigating evidence dealt with his drug and alcohol use the day of the killing. On the day in question he purchased drugs from a woman from Miami who was visiting his neighbor. The neighbor testified for the defense and admitted that she did *22 not know if the drug was THC or PCP.[3] The court sustained the state's objection to the defense's asking the neighbor what the Miami woman told her the drug was.

The defense did not proffer what the witness would have said if allowed to answer the question. A proffer is necessary to preserve a claim such as this because an appellate court will not otherwise speculate about the admissibility of such evidence. Salamy v. State, 509 So.2d 1201 (Fla. 1st DCA 1987); Phillips v. State, 351 So.2d 738 (Fla. 3d DCA 1977), cert. denied, 361 So.2d 834 (Fla. 1978).

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Bluebook (online)
568 So. 2d 18, 1990 WL 141432, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/lucas-v-state-fla-1990.