E.B. v. State

• Decision Date: 11 October 1988
• Docket Number: No. 87-1049,87-1049
• Citation: 531 So.2d 1053,13 Fla. L. Weekly 2310
• Parties: 13 Fla. L. Weekly 2310 E.B., a juvenile, Appellant, v. The STATE of Florida, Appellee.
• Court: Florida District Court of Appeals

Page 1053

531 So.2d 1053

13 Fla. L. Weekly 2310

E.B., a juvenile, Appellant, v. The STATE of Florida, Appellee.

No. 87-1049.

District Court of Appeal of Florida Third District.

Oct. 11, 1988.

Bennett H. Brummer, Public Defender, and Howard K. Blumberg, Asst. Public Defender, for appellant.

Robert A. Butterworth, Atty. Gen., and Richard L. Kaplan, Asst. Atty. Gen., for appellee.

Before SCHWARTZ, C.J., BASKIN, J., and JOSEPH P. McNULTY, Associate Judge.

BASKIN, Judge.

E.B., a juvenile, appeals an order withholding adjudication of delinquency and placing him in a community control program. After hearing the evidence, the trial court found E.B. guilty of aggravated battery. E.B. contends that the trial court erred in precluding him from presenting certain evidence in support of his claim that he acted in self-defense when he hit classmate John Randall with a tree branch and threw an unknown liquid in his eyes. Finding merit in each of the points raised, we reverse.

First, E.B. contends that the trial court erred in sustaining the state's objection to E.B.'s testimony that he was aware that Randall had a reputation as a good fighter and that on a previous occasion Randall had threatened to beat E.B.

A defendant who asserts that he acted in self-defense, § 776.012, Fla.Stat. (1985), must lay a proper foundation before presenting evidence of the victim's character; that evidence is relevant to resolve an issue as to the victim's conduct or as to the reasonableness of the defendant's fear at the time of the incident. Garner v. State, 28 Fla. 113, 9 So. 835 (1891); Burk v. State, 497 So.2d 731 (Fla. 2d DCA 1986) (where defendant pleads self-defense, testimony concerning victim's reputation for violence is admissible to show reasonableness of defendant's belief concerning imminent danger); Sanchez v. State, 445 So.2d 1 (Fla. 3d DCA 1984) (evidence of prior specific acts of violence by victim and character admissible to show reasonableness of defendant's fear); Reddick v. State, 443 So.2d 482 (Fla. 2d DCA 1984) (evidence of specific acts of violence by victim admissible to show defendant's concern for his own safety); Hager v. State, 439 So.2d 996 (Fla. 4th DCA 1983) (sufficient predicate rendered admissible victim's violent reputation and prior violent acts); E.C. v. State, 426 So.2d 1292 (Fla. 3d DCA 1983) (juvenile's awareness of prior violent acts by victim admissible to show juvenile reasonably believed his conduct necessary for self-defense); Campos v. State, 366 So.2d 782, 784 (Fla. 3d DCA 1978) (specific violent act of victim admissible to show defendant's state of mind at time of the incident); §§ 90.404(1)(b)1; 90.803(21), Fla.Stat. (1987). See also C. Ehrhardt, Florida Evidence, § 404.6, at 112 (2d ed. 1984).

The establishment of a proper predicate requires "a showing of some overt act by the [victim] at or about the time of the [incident] that reasonably indicated a need for action by the defendant in self-defense." Sanchez, 445 So.2d at 2; Hager, 439 So.2d at 997 (where defendant attempts to adduce proof of victim's reputation for violence and specific acts of violence "he must lay an adequate predicate, i.e., showing that the circumstances of the [incident] are such that they would tend to support a case of self-defense"). In the case before us, E.B. presented evidence of Randall's overt acts. According to testimony, Randall jumped out of the car, approached E.B., questioned E.B. in an aggressive manner, and made statements that led E.B. to believe that he had a weapon in the car trunk. E.B. testified that he was afraid Randall intended to harm him. These circumstances tend to support E.B.'s self-defense claim. E.B.'s testimony demonstrated the existence of an issue as to E.B.'s state of mind and as to the meaning of Randall's conduct, rendering admissible evidence of Randall's reputation as a good fighter and evidence of his prior threats against E.B. The trial court erred in excluding that testimony.

E.B. also argues that the trial court erroneously sustained an objection to testimony concerning statements made to him by school administrators. Counsel proffered that school administrators advised E.B. to leave school early on the day the incident occurred because his life was in danger. The court excluded the testimony as hearsay and stated that the school administrators were available and should have been subpoenaed and subjected to cross-examination.

Hearsay is defined as "a statement, other than one made by a declarant while testifying at the trial or hearing, offered to prove the truth of the matter asserted." § 90.801(1)(c), Fla.Stat. (1987). Here, the purpose of the statement was not to prove the truth of the matter asserted--that E.B.'s life was in...