WAYNE DWIGHT FARR v. STATE OF FLORIDA

230 So. 3d 30
CourtDistrict Court of Appeal of Florida
DecidedNovember 8, 2017
Docket4D16-3814
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 230 So. 3d 30 (WAYNE DWIGHT FARR v. STATE OF FLORIDA) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court of Appeal of Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
WAYNE DWIGHT FARR v. STATE OF FLORIDA, 230 So. 3d 30 (Fla. Ct. App. 2017).

Opinion

Leviné, J.

The issue presented for our review is whether the trial court erred in allowing the state to bring out the nature of appellant’s prior convictions in cross-examination after appellant testified to the year in which he was charged for those crimes. We find that the trial court erred and as a result we reverse; 1

■ Appellant was charged with possession of cocaine and drug paraphernalia. Police officers conducted a traffic stop oil appellant’s vehicle. After appellant refused consent to search the vehicle, 'the officers called for a K-9 unit» Subsequently, the dog alerted to the rear passenger side of the vehicle. The officers discovered a glue tube with thirty-three crack cocaine rocks on the floorboard behind the driver’s seat within arm’s reach' of appellant. After receiving his Miranda warnings, appellant denied owning the vehicle.

Appellant testified in his defense. The parties agreed appellant had been previously convicted of a felony or crime of dishonesty four times. ■ Before appellant testified, the trial court instructed appellant that when asked how many times he had been convicted of a felony or crime of dishonesty,-- appellant was to- answer “four.” He was told that if he answered differently, he would open the door to allowing the state to put the prior convictions in. .

- The following exchange ensued when appellant testified:

Q Okay, And you’ve had four, uh, felony crimes or crimes of dishonesty ?
A Yes sir, in 2010,.
Q Okay, Well -
[THE STATE]: Uh, Your Honor, may we approach?.
THE COURT: Yeah.
(Bench conference}
[THE STATE]: He got out of DOC in 2013.
THE COURT: Now he’s opened the , door.
[THE STATE]: Thank you.
{End of bench conference)
THE COURT: Any more questions?
[DEFENSE COUNSEL]: One moment, Judge. (Pause)
BY [DEFENSE COUNSEL]:
Q Okay Mr. Farr, I know we asked you some questions about your past. That case originated in 2010?
A Yes sir.
Q Okay. And there’s two separate cases?
A Yes sir.
Q Okay. And they each had two separate felonies each?
A Yes sir.
Q Or crimes of dishonesty?
A Yes sir.
Q For a total of four?
A Yes sir.
Q And those two cases were in 2010, that’s when they started, correct?
A Yeah. '
[THE STATE]: Judge, objection, leading.
THE COURT: Uh, sustained.
BY [DEFENSE COUNSEL]: ,
Q What year were those cases initiated?
A Uh, one was in—well, they both was in 2010.

(emphasis added).

During cross-examination, the state' elicited testimony as to the nature of appellant’s prior convictions:

Q Uh, 2010, I want to refresh your recollection.
A Yes ma’am.
Q Actually it’s 2013—I’m showing- you what’s—these are what’s called judgment and sentences, they’re certified copies, if you can see at the bottom. Do you know what that means?
A No, I’m not a lawyer.
Q That’s okay, I’m gonna explain it to you.
A Okay.
Q These certified copies of judgment and sentences show that your convictions are in 2013.
A Okay. I—I know I caught my charges in 2010, I was done with my sentence in 2013.
Q And what were those charges for?
A Uh, one was -
[DEFENSE COUNSEL]: Judge, objection. Asked and answered. Direct—direct did not open the door that far.
THE COURT: I’ll overrule the objection.
BY [THE STATE]:
Q What were those convictions for?
A Uh, I had burglary of a dwelling unoccupied, I had, uh, grand theft, and I had a—no, I had two, burglaries of a grand-—of an unoccupied dwelling and I had two grand thefts.
Q In 2013?
A I was done with my sentence ■ in 2013. .

The jury ultimately found appellant guilty as charged. Appellant moved for a new trial, asserting that the trial court erred in allowing the state to inquire into the nature of his prior convictions because he did not mislead the jury when testifying about his prior crimes. The trial court denied the motion and adjudicated appellant guilty. This appeal follows,

We review evidentiary rulings concerning a.defendant’s prior convictions for abuse of discretion.' Tilus v. State, 121 So.3d 1145, 1149 (Fla. 4th DCA 2013).

Generally, impeachment by prior convictions “is restricted to determining, if the witness has previously been convicted of a crime, and if so, how many times.” Ross v. State, 913 So.2d 1184, 1186 (Fla. 4th DCA 2005); see also .§ 90.610, Fla. Stat. (2016). The prosecutor is generally “not allowed to delve into the nature of a defendant’s prior convictions or the circumstances surrounding them.” Ross, 913 So.2d at 1186. “An exception exists, however, when the defendant attempts to mislead the jury about the prior convictions by, for example, trying to minimize them. In such a case, the state is entitled to inquire further regarding the convictions to dispel any false impression given.” Id. at 1187. See also Baker v. State, 102 So.3d 756, 759 (Fla. 4th DCA 2012) (“When a defendant tries to characterize his or her prior convictions in a favorable light at trial, the defendant is considered to have ‘opened the door’ and the state is ‘entitled to inquire further regarding the convictions to attempt to dispel any misleading impression.’ ”) (quoting Rogers v. State, 964 So.2d 221, 223 (Fla. 4th DCA 2007)).

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
230 So. 3d 30, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/wayne-dwight-farr-v-state-of-florida-fladistctapp-2017.