Hayes v. State
| Decision Date | 22 June 1995 |
| Docket Number | No. 79997,79997 |
| Citation | 660 So.2d 257 |
| Parties | 20 Fla. L. Weekly S296 Robert HAYES, Appellant, v. STATE of Florida, Appellee. |
| Court | Florida Supreme Court |
Richard L. Jorandby, Public Defender and Richard B. Greene, Asst. Public Defender, West Palm Beach, for appellant.
Robert A. Butterworth, Atty. Gen. and Sara D. Baggett, Asst. Atty. Gen., West Palm Beach, for appellee.
This is an appeal by Robert Hayes from a conviction of first-degree murder and a sentence of death imposed by the trial judge in accordance with the jury's recommendation. We have jurisdiction. Art. V, Sec. 3(b)(1), Fla. Const. While the record contains evidence suggesting that Hayes committed the homicide in this case, it also contains objective physical evidence suggesting that someone other than Hayes was responsible. We find that the errors committed during Hayes' trial were not harmless and, for the reasons detailed in this opinion, we conclude that Hayes' conviction of first-degree murder must be reversed, his death sentence vacated, and this case remanded for a new trial. In this opinion, this Court addresses for the first time how deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) test results may be admitted in the trial courts of this State.
The record reveals that, on the morning of February 20, 1990, the victim, a female groom at the Pompano Harness Track, failed to show up for work. Security guards at the track went to the victim's room in a dormitory near the track where the victim and other female grooms lived. After opening the locked door, the security guards found the victim's body on the floor of her room. She was wearing only blue jeans and a T-shirt. A tank top shirt was found lying on the floor. An investigation of the homicide led to the arrest of Robert Hayes, an African-American groom who also worked at the harness track.
At Hayes' trial, a medical examiner testified that the victim was killed by manual strangulation and explained that she had bruises on both sides of her head and her upper lip. He also testified that he found no bruising to the vaginal or anal area and that the victim had light brown hair clutched in one of her hands. The State presented the testimony of a serologist concerning tests conducted on a vaginal swab taken from the victim, as well as on samples cut from the tank top found on the floor of the victim's room. The serologist's testimony revealed that seminal fluid was present on both the tank top and the vaginal swab. However, no seminal fluid was found on the victim's blue jeans.
A technician from Life Codes, a DNA testing company, testified that she performed DNA testing on samples taken from the victim, the defendant, the vaginal swab, and the tank top. She explained that in doing her testing she worked without anyone watching her and that she also ran tests on another case at the same time. She stated that testing on the vaginal swab produced a seven-band DNA match with the blood sample taken from the defendant and that testing on the tank top sample produced a three-band match. On cross-examination, counsel for the appellant challenged the testing methods used by the technician. Defense counsel also presented expert testimony challenging the DNA test results.
The prosecutor also presented the testimony of several of the victim's co-workers. One of the co-workers testified that she saw a man, whom she later identified as Hayes, at the door of the victim's room at about 8:45 on the evening of the murder. She testified that she heard the victim telling Hayes that she was going into her room to go to sleep and that [Hayes] was not going to come in. Another co-worker testified as follows:
Q [Prosecutor] The police came to you? The detectives came to you and asked you ultimately what you had heard?
A No, no. What happened was somebody told me that works for the track that [the victim] had been murdered and I called John Beatrice, which is security, and told him I know who did it.
Q Okay.
....
Q You gave Bob, a name of the defendant; is that correct?
A Yes.
Defense counsel preserved the issue for review through a proper objection. It was later determined that this witness had no direct knowledge that Hayes was involved in the crime.
The State also presented the testimony of another female groom who stated that she was attacked by Hayes approximately eighteen months prior to this offense at a racetrack in New Jersey. She testified that she and Hayes had gone out for dinner, then to a bar for drinks, and then to her dormitory room where they talked. She stated that, while they were so engaged, Hayes attacked her, got her down on the floor on her stomach, and proceeded to choke her. She finally got him to release her and allow her to go to the rest room down the hall. She called a security officer and Hayes was arrested for simple assault. The charge was later dropped. No evidence was presented at trial that this was a sexual assault.
Another prosecution witness testified concerning an altercation between Hayes and the victim one month before the homicide. The prosecution next presented various statements Hayes made after his arrest. Hayes had told the police immediately after his arrest that he last saw the victim around 5:30 on the evening of the murder. Later, after being confronted with the statement of an eyewitness who had seen Hayes with the victim later in the evening, Hayes changed his story and admitted speaking to the victim after 5:30 p.m.; however, he denied ever going into the victim's room. The prosecution also presented a jailhouse informant who testified that Hayes admitted to him the raping and strangling of the victim.
Hayes presented evidence by several witnesses. The lead investigator in the case testified that, although the police had found hair samples and fingerprints at the crime scene, none matched Hayes'. A hair analyst from the sheriff's office testified that the hair found clutched in the victim's hand was inconsistent with Hayes' hair. Hayes also presented expert testimony that substantially challenged the procedures used by the company that conducted the DNA tests. Finally Hayes presented the testimony of another female groom who stated that she had spoken with the victim at ten o'clock on the evening of the murder, approximately an hour after Hayes was last seen speaking with the victim, and that the victim was not distressed in any way.
The jury found Hayes guilty of first-degree murder and the judge sentenced him to death. Hayes then brought this appeal in which he raises multiple claims of error. We find that the following four issues merit discussion: (1) whether error was committed in admitting collateral crime evidence; (2) whether the DNA test results were unreliable because of the laboratory procedures employed; (3) whether a prosecution witness was erroneously allowed to present hearsay evidence of a statement of the victim's and to give her opinion that Hayes committed this offense; and (4) whether the prosecution was improperly allowed, over objection, to place the burden on Hayes to do certain scientific testing.
As previously stated, the prosecution presented collateral crime evidence that Hayes had previously attacked another female groom who was working with Hayes at a racetrack in New Jersey. This incident occurred eighteen months prior to the murder in this case. The victim of this prior offense testified that, after she and Hayes had gone out for drinks and dinner, and while they were talking in her dormitory room, he suddenly jumped on her, held her on the ground on her stomach, choked her, and then released her. The witness stated that Hayes then allowed her to sit up and leave the room to go to the rest room down the hall. Although Hayes was arrested for simple assault, the charge was later dropped. In this case, Hayes sought, by a motion in limine, to exclude this evidence. The trial judge denied the motion but subsequently recognized a continuing objection by Hayes to preserve the issue for appellate review.
The Evidence Code, under section 90.404(2)(a), Florida Statutes (1993), allows a party to introduce similar fact evidence of other crimes when it is relevant to prove a material fact in issue. In Drake v. State, 400 So.2d 1217 (Fla.1981), we set forth the principles of how this evidentiary provision should be applied. See also Thompson v. State, 494 So.2d 203 (Fla.1986); Peek v. State, 488 So.2d 52 (Fla.1986). In Drake, we stated:
Williams v. State [110 So.2d 654 (Fla.), cert. denied, 361 U.S. 847, 80 S.Ct. 102, 4 L.Ed.2d 86 (1959) ] holds that evidence of similar facts is admissible for any purpose if relevant to any material issue, other than propensity or bad character, even though such evidence points to the commission of another crime. The material issue to be resolved by the similar facts evidence in the present case is identity, which the State sought to prove by showing Drake's mode of operating.
The mode of operating theory of proving identity is based on both the similarity of and the unusual nature of the factual situations being compared. A mere general similarity will not render the similar facts legally relevant to show identity. There must be identifiable points of similarity which pervade the compared factual situations. Given sufficient similarity, in order for the similar facts to be relevant the points of similarity must have some special character or be so unusual as to point to the defendant.
Drake, 400 So.2d at 1219 (emphasis added).
In the instant case, the State sought to prove the identity of the murderer by showing a pattern of allegedly similar behavior by Hayes on a prior occasion. We conclude that, consistent with Drake, there are insufficient points of similarity to the instant offense to warrant admitting evidence of the previous attack. We note that the victim in the prior offense had voluntarily gone out with Hayes before she...
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