Tate v. State

136 So. 3d 624, 2013 WL 5951702, 2013 Fla. App. LEXIS 17908
District Court of Appeal of Florida·Decided November 8, 2013·No. No. 2D11-3089·Published·Cited by 3 cases

Opinion

MORRIS, Judge.

Appellant’s motion for written opinion is granted. We withdraw this court’s per curiam affirmance issued on May 29, 2013, and substitute it with the following opinion.

Eric Tate appeals his convictions for felony murder and aggravated child abuse. On appeal, Tate argues that the trial court erred in denying his motion for judgment of acquittal and that the trial court erred in answering the jury’s question regarding access to transcripts of witness testimony. We conclude that neither error was preserved and that neither error amounts to fundamental error.

I. Motion for judgment of acquittal

Tate first claims that the trial court erred in denying his motion for judgment of acquittal because the State failed to present evidence that he knowingly, intentionally, and purposefully intended to harm the victim, H.R. Tate argues that the State failed to present evidence that was inconsistent with his reasonable hypothesis of innocence that H.R. accidentally fell off the couch.

At the conclusion of the State’s case, defense counsel made a boilerplate motion for judgment of acquittal by arguing that “the State has failed to make a prima facie case as it relates to either Count One or Count Two.” This was in[626] sufficient to preserve the alleged error for appellate review.1 Miller v. State, 712 So.2d 451, 452 (Fla. 2d DCA 1998). However, this court may consider the issue, under the fundamental error doctrine, if “the evidence [was] insufficient to show that a crime was committed at all.” F.B. v. State, 852 So.2d 226, 230 (Fla.2003). The only issue is whether H.R.’s injuries were accidental or inflicted by Tate; therefore, the analysis is the same regardless of whether the issue was preserved.

“ ‘Where the only proof of guilt is circumstantial, no matter how strongly the evidence may suggest guilt, a conviction cannot be sustained unless the evidence is inconsistent with any reasonable hypothesis of innocence.’ ” Darling v. State, 808 So.2d 145, 155 (Fla.2002) (quoting State v. Law, 559 So.2d 187, 188 (Fla.1989)).2 “ ‘A motion for judgment of acquittal should be granted in a [wholly] circumstantial evidence case if the state fails to present evidence from which the jury can exclude every reasonable hypothesis except that of guilt.” Id. at 155-56 (quoting Law, 559 So.2d at 188). The “[c]ireumstantial evidence must lead ‘to a reasonable and moral certainty that the accused and no one else committed the offense charged.’ ” Cox v. State, 555 So.2d 352, 353 (Fla.1989) (citing Hall v. State, 90 Fla. 719, 107 So. 246, 247 (1925)).

In order to prove the offense of aggravated child abuse and the offense of felony murder resulting from the aggravated child abuse, the State proceeded under the theory that Tate knowingly or willfully abused H.R., causing her great bodily harm, permanent disability, or permanent disfigurement. See § 827.03(l)(a)(3), Fla. Stat. (2006). The defense presented the theory that H.R., who was then two and one-half years old, died from brain injuries she sustained from an accidental fall from the couch while in the sole care of Tate. In support of that defense, the defense presented the detailed testimony of Dr. Edward Willey, a physician and pathologist who had performed approximately 900 autopsies between 1963 and 1967 and who was board certified in anatomical pathology. For the past twenty-six years, he has served as a professional consultant, sometimes performing private autopsies. Dr. Willey testified that H.R.’s bruises did not suggest abuse and could have been caused by a clotting issue brought on by the brain injuries she suffered and that H.R.’s optic and retinal hemorrhages were not obvious indicators of abuse. Dr. Willey testified that H.R.’s injuries could have been caused by a fall from a couch as reported by Tate and that he [Dr. Willey] could not say that H.R. “could have only” died from inflicted trauma. He admitted that H.R.’s injuries could have been inflicted.

The defense also presented the detailed testimony of Chris Van Ee, a biomedical engineer who conducts research in impact and orthopedic biomechanics. He studies how injuries are caused and how they can be prevented. He conducted a reconstruc[627] tion of the fall as reported by Tate and testified that the fall could have caused serious and even fatal head injury. He testified that a study showed that children can suffer subdural hematomas and retinal hemorrhages and die from short falls, citing specific instances of falls resulting in such injury and death. However, he said that it is not a common occurrence and that it is rare. He also did not take into account the bruising on H.R.’s body.

The State presented evidence that H.R.’s injuries were inflicted and not the result of a fall. The State presented detailed medical testimony that is summarized as follows: Dr. Maximo Luque specializes in pediatric emergency medicine at St. Joseph’s Hospital. He is board certified in adult emergency and pediatric medicine and in the subspeciality area of pediatric emergency medicine. He has been working exclusively in pediatric emergency medicine since 1984. He has treated approximately 200,000 children in twenty-eight years.

Dr. Luque treated H.R. when she was brought into St. Joseph’s emergency room. He testified that the victim had “some bruising on both earlobes and also bruising in the lower back,” which was not caused by the lifesaving measures. H.R. had significant brain injuries (a subdural hemato-ma and herniation) and retinal hemorrhages that were likely caused by significant deceleration force. A short fall from a couch was “absolutely not” consistent with H.R.’s injuries, based on Dr. Luque’s years of experience in the pediatric emergency room setting. He opined that “this was a non-accidental injury, it was an inflicted injury to the child.” Dr. Luque testified that he remains current and reads literature in the field of short and longer fall injuries, and he was currently the codirector of the Child Abuse Initiative at St. Joseph’s. The bruises on H.R.’s earlobes also contributed to his opinion that her injuries were inflicted.

Dr. Luque testified in detail that brain injuries do not “produce abnormalities” in blood clotting and that H.R.’s blood work was slightly above normal, which was of no consequence. H.R.’s bruising was not caused by a clotting problem, and Dr. Lu-que did not believe that H.R. developed a clotting condition due to the injury. Dr. Luque testified that intracranial pressure can cause retinal hemorrhaging and that it was significant that H.R. had the retinal hemorrhages. He opined that there are many ways to get them but “[f]rom trauma specifically you require a significant injury, much more ... than falling off a sofa.” A person can also get them by being shaken.

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Tate v. State, 136 So. 3d 624, 2013 WL 5951702, 2013 Fla. App. LEXIS 17908 (Fla. Ct. App. 2013).

136 So. 3d 624 (Tate v. State) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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