Sweet v. State

624 So. 2d 1138, 1993 WL 290340
CourtSupreme Court of Florida
DecidedAugust 5, 1993
Docket78629
StatusPublished
Cited by37 cases

This text of 624 So. 2d 1138 (Sweet 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
Sweet v. State, 624 So. 2d 1138, 1993 WL 290340 (Fla. 1993).

Opinion

624 So.2d 1138 (1993)

William Earl SWEET, Appellant,
v.
STATE of Florida, Appellee.

No. 78629.

Supreme Court of Florida.

August 5, 1993.
Rehearing Denied October 14, 1993.

*1139 Nancy A. Daniels, Public Defender, and David A. Davis, Asst. Public Defender, Second Judicial Circuit, Tallahassee, for appellant.

Robert A. Butterworth, Atty. Gen., and Mark C. Menser, Asst. Atty. Gen., Tallahassee, for appellee.

PER CURIAM.

William Sweet appeals his convictions for first-degree murder, three counts of attempted first-degree murder, and burglary, and his sentence of death. We have jurisdiction under article V, section 3(b)(1) of the Florida Constitution.

On June 6, 1990, Marcine Cofer was attacked in her apartment and beaten and robbed by three men. She could identify two of the men by their street names. On June 26, 1990, she was taken by Detective Robinson to the police station to look at pictures to attempt to identify the third assailant. When Robinson dropped Cofer off at her apartment, William Sweet was standing nearby and saw her leave the detective. Unknown to Cofer, Sweet had previously implicated himself in the robbery by telling a friend that he had committed the robbery or that he had ordered it done. Cofer asked her next-door neighbor, Mattie Bryant, to allow the neighbor's daughters, Felicia, thirteen, and Sharon, twelve, to stay with Cofer in her apartment that night. Mattie agreed, and the children went over to Cofer's apartment around 8 p.m.

At approximately 1 a.m. that evening, Sharon was watching television in the living room of Cofer's apartment when she heard a loud kick on the apartment door. She reported this to Cofer, who was sleeping in the bedroom, but because the person had apparently left, Cofer told Sharon not to worry about it and went back to sleep. Shortly thereafter, Sharon saw someone pulling on the living room screen. She awakened Cofer. The two then went to the door of the apartment, looked out the peephole, and saw Sweet standing outside. Sweet called Cofer by name and ordered her to open the door.

At Cofer's direction, Felicia pounded on the bathroom wall to get Mattie's attention in the apartment next door, and a few minutes later Mattie came over. The four then lined up at the door, with Cofer standing in the back of the group. When they opened the door to leave, Sweet got his foot in the door and forced his way into the apartment. Sweet's face was partially covered by a pair of pants. He first shot Cofer and then shot the other three people, killing Felicia. Six shots were fired. Cofer, Mattie, and Sharon were shot in the thigh, ankle and thigh, and buttock, respectively, and Felicia was shot in the hand and in the abdomen.

Sweet was convicted of first-degree murder, three counts of attempted first-degree murder, and burglary. The jury recommended a sentence of death by a vote of ten to two, and the trial court followed this recommendation.

Sweet's first argument on appeal is that the trial court erred by failing to adequately inquire into whether Sweet wanted to represent himself. Sweet was arrested on June 28, 1990. During a pretrial hearing, Sweet objected to his counsel's request for a continuance and stated that he wanted to go to trial immediately.[1] The conversation proceeded as follows:

*1140 THE DEFENDANT: I don't want to file for continuance. You told me on the 24th that this was going to be my trial. I want to make sure — I want to go to trial this week with Mr. Gazaleh. I'm not — he filed motions to continue. I'm not willing to. I want to go ahead and go to trial.
THE COURT: You have the right to represent yourself. You don't have to have a lawyer. If you want to represent yourself and you say you're ready to try the case this week we could do it.
THE DEFENDANT: Can't he go with me?
THE COURT: He's not ready.
THE DEFENDANT: If I get convicted — I don't have anybody if I get convicted? The law says you can't go to trial unless your lawyer is —
THE COURT: You're talking about your life here, Mr. Sweet.
THE DEFENDANT: I know that. I want to go to trial. I want to pick the jury.
THE COURT: Well, your lawyer is not ready.
THE DEFENDANT: Yes, sir. I want to pick the jury today and go to trial sometime this week.
THE COURT: And face the electric chair?
THE DEFENDANT: Yes, sir.
THE COURT: The law is very clear. If he is not ready to go to trial I can't make him. If you want to fire him and represent yourself that's your privilege. But I think it's probably a short walk to the electric chair to do that and that you're going to have lawyers working against you.
THE DEFENDANT: If that's the case I want to go ahead and pick the jury today and go ahead and elect Mr. Gazaleh.
THE COURT: Then you can do that.
THE DEFENDANT: Let's pick the jury then, Your Honor.
THE COURT: You want Mr. Gazaleh or do you —
THE DEFENDANT: If he don't want to represent me today and go to trial then I'll take my chances and just go ahead and go to trial.
THE COURT: Why do you want to go to trial today as opposed to a few weeks from now?
THE DEFENDANT: I want to make sure — they've left me sitting down where I ain't got no business down here. They've got me sitting down here —
... .
THE COURT: Do you have any witnesses subpoenaed to testify for you, Mr. Sweet?
THE DEFENDANT: I have no witnesses.
THE COURT: Do you know who the State is going to call as witnesses against you?
THE DEFENDANT: The State ain't got no witnesses. They haven't took no depositions who they going to put on. They haven't, who they going to put.
THE COURT: They don't have to take depositions.
THE DEFENDANT: I have got the right to meet my accused. Who are they going to put on the stand?
THE COURT: They have got a whole bunch of police officers and detectives.
THE DEFENDANT: Police officers ain't the ones that initiated and orchestrated this crime. They ain't got no key witnesses. They ain't got —
THE COURT: They don't have to have depositions to go to trial. Depositions are for the defense, not for the State.
THE DEFENDANT: Then go to trial.
THE COURT: Well, Mr. Sweet, I don't think you're capable of representing yourself because you don't understand anything that happens at a trial, do you? Have you been through a jury trial before?
... .
THE DEFENDANT: I went all the way through trial but it was mistrial. The jury *1141 had deliberated. They didn't come up with a verdict.
THE COURT: Mr. Sweet, under the circumstances I'm afraid that if I don't grant Mr. Gazaleh's motion for continuance and proceed to trial I'm going to waste everybody's time because the Supreme Court is going to send it right back here to be tried again and you're not going to get this thing disposed. It's going to take longer.
... .
THE COURT: Hear me out. I listened to you, you listen to me.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
624 So. 2d 1138, 1993 WL 290340, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/sweet-v-state-fla-1993.