Bauza v. State, 85-2108
| Decision Date | 15 July 1986 |
| Docket Number | No. 85-2108,85-2108 |
| Citation | 491 So.2d 323,11 Fla. L. Weekly 1554 |
| Parties | 11 Fla. L. Weekly 1554 Victor BAUZA, Appellant, v. The STATE of Florida, Appellee. |
| Court | Florida District Court of Appeals |
Mel Black, for appellant.
Jim Smith, Atty. Gen., and Richard E. Doran and Michele Crawford, Asst. Attys. Gen., Tallahassee, for appellee.
Before NESBITT, BASKIN and FERGUSON, JJ.
Agreeing that the points presented in furtherance of Defendant Bauza's appeal demonstrate his entitlement to the relief sought, we reverse his convictions and sentences for attempted second degree murder, § 777.04, Fla.Stat. (1983); § 782.04, Fla.Stat. (Supp.1984), shooting or throwing a deadly missile into an occupied building or vehicle, § 790.19, Fla.Stat. (1983), and unlawful possession of a firearm while engaged in a criminal offense, § 790.07, Fla.Stat. (1983). We hold that the trial court erred in several significant respects: 1) determining the voluntariness of Bauza's confession without regard to the circumstances surrounding the confession; 2) excluding photographic evidence without first conducting a full Richardson inquiry, Richardson v. State, 246 So.2d 771 (Fla.1971); 3) failing to prepare a written order stating reasons for the court's departure from sentencing guidelines; and 4) predicating the departure on invalid grounds. We address each of these errors in turn.
First, we consider the trial court's conclusion that Bauza's confession was made voluntarily. Bauza maintains that injuries he sustained at the hands of the police during and shortly after his arrest placed him in fear of additional consequences should he refuse to confess. During the suppression hearing, a registered nurse, who was present at Jackson Memorial Hospital when Bauza was brought in for treatment after the arrest, testified that Bauza had suffered bruises and a broken toe. Bauza also testified, stating that the officers beat him, dragged him down a four-story stairway, and threatened him. Basing its determination that Bauza's testimony was not credible solely on its conclusion that the tone of Bauza's voice in the recorded statement did not sound fearful, the trial court declined to suppress the confession.
We find error in the court's failure to consider all the pertinent circumstances surrounding the giving of the confession. See Crane v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 683, 106 S.Ct. 2142, 90 L.Ed.2d 636 (1986). Before allowing the jury to consider the credibility of a confession, the trial judge renders a decision concerning the voluntariness of the confession. That determination depends on comprehension of the circumstances surrounding the giving of the confession. The trial court admitted that it did not consider the content of Bauza's statement because the confession was made in Spanish, a language the judge does not understand. The purpose of excluding an involuntary confession is to insure that offensive interrogation techniques are not used to secure a conviction, Crane, a goal that cannot be furthered without an examination of the circumstances surrounding the making of a confession. The court's inability to understand the substance of Bauza's statement and its failure to consider the testimony of the nurse and Bauza mandate that we reverse and remand for the trial court to reevaluate the confession after considering all pertinent evidence.
Next, we address the trial court's refusal to permit Bauza's counsel to introduce into evidence photographs of Bauza's injuries to support Bauza's contention that his confession was involuntarily made. The...
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