State v. Gibson

12 Fla. Supp. 2d 1
CourtCircuit Court for the Judicial Circuits of Florida
DecidedJuly 15, 1985
DocketCase Nos. 84-4824 CF and 84-4825 CF
StatusPublished

This text of 12 Fla. Supp. 2d 1 (State v. Gibson) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Circuit Court for the Judicial Circuits of Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Gibson, 12 Fla. Supp. 2d 1 (Fla. Super. Ct. 1985).

Opinion

OPINION OF THE COURT

CARL H. HARPER, Circuit Judge.

On August 1, 1984, the State Attorney filed an information in case number 84-4824 CF charging the defendant, Timothy Gibson, with second degree murder of Rex Inman. Inman was a 21 year old black [2]*2male whose body was discovered on March 31, 1984 in an abandoned house located at 6496 Belvedere Road, Palm Beach County.

On August 23, 1984, the grand jury filed its indictment in case number 84-4825 CF charging Timothy Gibson, Christopher Dority and Clyde Woods with first degree murder in count one; burglary of a dwelling in count two; sexual battery upon a victim helpless to resist in count three; and kidnapping in count four. The crimes are alleged to have been committed between January 29, 1984 and February 3, 1984. The victim of all four crimes was Meriam Bruno, a seventy-one year old white woman who lived at 1404 Skees Road in Palm Beach County.

On October 10, 1984, the defendant, Clyde Woods, filed his Motion to Suppress Confession and Admissions. The motion came on for lengthy evidentiary hearings on November 8, 1984 and November 20, 1984. Woods, who was 14 years of age at the time, had been taken to the Palm Beach County Sheriffs Office on July 24, 1984 where he was questioned by three officers from about 11 a.m. until about 7 p.m. On December 28, 1984, this court entered its 23 page written order granting the motion to suppress filed by Woods. The State Attorney filed an appeal to the District Court of Appeal, Fourth District, on January 7, 1985. However, on May 31, 1985, the Attorney General’s office in West Palm Beach filed a Notice of Voluntary Dismissal of the appeal, apparently because the appeal had no merit. The appeal was dismissed by the appellate court on June 5, 1985. In turn, the State Attorney dropped the charges as to Woods in a written nolle prosse filed on June 13, 1985.

On January 21, 1985, a Motion to Suppress Confession and Admissions was filed on behalf of Christopher Dority in case number 84-4825 CF by his attorney, Douglas N. Duncan. On January 29, 1985, a Motion to Dismiss the sexual battery charge in count three was filed pursuant to Rule 3.190(c)(4) on behalf of Dority by his attorney. Both motions came on for a full day evidentiary hearing on April 1, 1985. At the outset of the hearing, the parties stipulated into evidence a Miranda rights card as exhibit 1; four cassette tapes as exhibits 2-5; a videotape as exhibit 6, as they relate to the motion to suppress; and pages 31-37, 56-58, 59-60 of a deposition given by Dr. John Marraccini, Associate County Medical Examiner of Palm Beach County, as it relates to the motion to dismiss count three. Furthermore, Duncan candidly acknowledged that paragraph 2(g) of the motion to suppress should be denied on the authority of State v. S.L.W., 10 FLW 171 (Fla. 1985). At the conclusion of the hearing, this court orally granted the motion to dismiss count three for the same reasons that- the same [3]*3count had been dismissed as to Timothy Gibson, as will be discussed hereinafter. No appeal has been taken by the State Attorney from the oral dismissal. As to the motion to suppress, the court deferred ruling for entry of this written order and requested counsel to submit proposed orders within 10 days. Mr. Duncan belatedly submitted his proposed order on May 23, 1985. The prosecutor, Frank Scott, belatedly submitted his proposed order on May 23, 1985.

On October 30, 1984, a Motion to Dismiss Count Three pursuant to Rule 3.190(c)(4) was filed in case number 84-4825 CF on behalf of Timothy Gibson by his attorney, Nelson Bailey. The state filed its Reply and Traverse on January 8, 1985. That motion was heard on January 10, 1985. On January 14, 1985, this court filed its written order granting the motion for the reasons stated therein. The State Attorney filed an appeal to the District Court of Appeal, Fourth District, on January 22, 1985. However, the Attorney General’s office in West Palm Beach filed a Notice of Voluntary Dismissal of the appeal on March 25, 1985, apparently because the appeal had no merit. The appellate court dismissed that appeal on March 27, 1985.

On January 24, 1985, a Motion to Suppress Confession or Admissions was filed on behalf of Timothy Gibson in case number 84-4825 CF by his attorney, Nelson Bailey. That motion came on for an evidentiary hearing held on January 29 and 30, 1985, but the parties were not able to conclude the hearing within the time they reserved. Therefore, on March 5, 1985, a Motion to Suppress Confession, Admissions and Tangible Physical Evidence was filed on behalf of Timothy Gibson in case number 84-4824 CF by his attorney, Stephen Koons. The evidentiary hearing on all the motions then pending in both cases resumed on April 4, 1985, lasting all day, and on April 5, 1985 for 3 hours in the afternoon, but without conclusion. The hearing resumed again on June 3, 1985 at 9:30 a.m. and the presentation of the evidence finally concluded about noon. The attorneys were instructed to present proposed orders within three weeks. Mr. Bailey submitted his proposed order on June 24, 1985. Mr. Koons submitted his proposed order on June 28, 1985. Mr. Scott submitted his proposed order on July 1, 1985.

All of the above mentioned evidentiary hearings were duly reported. A transcript of the evidentiary hearings held on the motions filed by Gibson in both cases has already been transcribed, consisting of 826 typewritten pages contained in 6 volumes (hereinafter referred to as hearing transcript). This court has used the hearing transcript, as supplemented by the court’s handwritten notes made during the hearing, to prepare this order. All page numbers listed herein refer to [4]*4the hearing transcripts. However, it should be pointed out that the videotapes were not presented to the court in the same chronological sequence that the videotapes were made, resulting in some confusion. There is no transcript of the evidentiary hearing on the motions filed by Dority. Likewise, there is no transcript of the cassette and videotapes made during Dority’s interrogation. Therefore, this court used its handwritten notes taken during the hearing to prepare this order.

All together, this court has seen and heard approximately 20 hours of videotapes and cassette tapes made by all three defendants. All the videotapes were surreptitiously made by the use of a television camera concealed behind plexiglass in the ceiling of a small interview room at the Sheriffs Administration Building. None of the defendants were aware of the videotaping and had not consented thereto, except as noted hereinafter. All the videotapes and cassette tapes are in evidence and constitute the best evidence of what was said by the defendants and the circumstances under which it was said.

Because of the gravity of the charges in the two cases before this court, this comprehensive, time consuming order is warranted. The Inman and Bruno families, the state, the defense and the public in general deserve to precisely know this court’s rationale and reasons for suppressing the confessions. Furthermore, the investigating officers certainly deserve to know so they may avoid the same errors in the future. In doing so, this court will highlight in detail the egregious interrogations that took place in clear violations of the Fifth and Sixth Amendments of our constitution, denying Gibson and Dority due process of law. Anyone who will take the time to view the lengthy videotapes in evidence will readily understand why our founding fathers provided such protections in the constitution.

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Bluebook (online)
12 Fla. Supp. 2d 1, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-gibson-flacirct-1985.