Hager v. State
| Decision Date | 26 October 1983 |
| Docket Number | No. 82-2291,82-2291 |
| Citation | 439 So.2d 996 |
| Parties | Billy Marshall HAGER, Appellant, v. STATE of Florida, Appellee. |
| Court | Florida District Court of Appeals |
Richard L. Jorandby, Public Defender, Ellen Morris and Richard Greene, Asst. Public Defenders, West Palm Beach, for appellant.
Jim Smith, Atty. Gen., Tallahassee, and Marlyn J. Altman, Asst. Atty. Gen., West Palm Beach, for appellee.
This case involves the trial court's refusal to allow appellant, Billy Marshall Hager, to adduce evidence of both the victim's reputation for violence and specific acts of violence in support of his theory of self defense.
Hager was charged with and convicted of the first degree murder of his neighbor, David Leo Brown. On the day in question, Brown was jump-starting his motorcycle, a Harley Davidson Police Special. Apparently, Hager had called to the victim to quiet it down, and the victim cursed Hager and all the members of his family in a very obscene fashion. In addition, the victim grabbed the top of a fence between their property and began to shake it violently, jumping up and down and cursing Hager. The victim suggested they go out in the street and settle their difference. The victim also said he was going to stomp Hager's ass into the sand. Hager was 61 years old, disabled and given to heavy drinking. The victim was 27 years of age and Hager knew him to be very agile. In addition, Hager knew the victim had a reputation for violence. Hager also had personal knowledge of specific violent acts. Becoming apprehensive about the cursing, fence shaking and threatening posture of the victim, Hager got a firearm from his house and went outside. Hager testified that when the victim saw him, he said, "Shoot me, you old son of a bitch," and turned and started for Hager. Whereupon, Hager became frightened and, believing Brown was going to beat him, Hager shot and killed the victim.
During the trial Hager attempted to present witnesses to testify to the victim's reputation for violence. In addition, he attempted to adduce proof of specific acts of violence. However, the trial court refused to allow him to introduce such evidence. Nevertheless, among the instructions that the jury received was one on justifiable homicide.
Lest the foregoing recitation of the evidence mislead, we hasten to add that there was other evidence that Hager had made prior threats to kill the victim and that the victim did not come toward Hager in a life threatening manner. However, Hager's theory of the case was self defense and the excluded evidence tended to support that theory. Consequently, we think the trial court erred in excluding it.
Evidence of a deceased's violent character is admissible when self defense is asserted if there is an issue as to either the conduct of the deceased or the reasonableness of the defendant's belief as to imminent danger from the deceased. Garner v. State, 28 Fla. 113, 9 So. 835 (1891); Fine v. State, 70 Fla. 412, 70 So. 379 (1915); Copeland v. State, 41 Fla. 320, 26 So. 319 (1899); Williams v. State, 252 So.2d 243 (Fla. 4th DCA 1971).
Banks v. State, 351 So.2d 1071, 1072 (Fla. 4th DCA), cert. denied, 354 So.2d 986 (Fla.1977). Before a defendant can adduce evidence of the victim's violent character, he must lay an adequate predicate, i.e., showing that the circumstances of the homicide are such that they would tend to support a case of self defense.
An interesting analogy is found in Anderson v. State, 362 So.2d 361 (Fla. 4th DCA 1978), wherein this court...
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Smith v. State
...erroneously precluded from offering reputation and specific-act evidence relative to self-defense claim). See also Hager v. State, 439 So.2d 996, 997 (Fla. 4th DCA 1983); Banks v. State, 351 So.2d 1071, 1072 (Fla. 4th DCA), cert. denied, 354 So.2d 986 (Fla.1977); Williams v. State, 252 So.2......
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E.B. v. State
...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 12......
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Quintana v. State
...of each case. Two recent cases, however, persuade us that the predicate laid by Quintana was sufficient. First, in Hager v. State, 439 So.2d 996 (Fla. 4th DCA 1983), when an elderly defendant, having been subjected to verbal abuse and threats by his young neighbor, armed himself, the latter......
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Hudak v. State, 83-2212
...for violence, a fact known by the defendant which allegedly created a substantial apprehension for his own safety. Hager v. State, 439 So.2d 996 (Fla. 4th DCA 1983); Smith v. State, 410 So.2d 579 (Fla. 4th DCA 1982); Williams v. State, 252 So.2d 243 (Fla. 4th DCA 1971), cert. denied, 255 So......