Hernandez v. State, O--427
| Decision Date | 20 February 1973 |
| Docket Number | No. O--427,O--427 |
| Citation | 273 So.2d 130 |
| Parties | Carlos Junior HERNANDEZ, Appellant, v. STATE of Florida, Appellee. |
| Court | Florida District Court of Appeals |
Richard W. Ervin, III, Public Defender, and Michael J. Minerva, Asst. Public Defender, for appellant.
Robert L. Shevin, Atty. Gen., and William W. Herring, Asst. Atty. Gen., for appellee.
MILLS, E. R., Jr., Associate Judge.
Appellant has appealed from a conviction of first degree murder contending the trial court committed the following errors:
1. by admitting into evidence Appellant's confessions though Appellant, who was 14 years of age at the time he made the confessions, had not been brought before a Juvenile Judge as required by Section 39.03(3), Florida Statutes, F.S.A., prior to making the confessions; and had not been afforded a preliminary hearing as required by Section 902.01, Florida Statutes, and Rule 1.122, Rules of Criminal Procedure, 33 F.S.A.
2. by refusing to allow Appellant's counsel to conduct a full examination into and by failing to rule on the voluntariness of the confessions at a suppression hearing held out of the presence of the jury.
3. by denying Appellant's Motion for New Trial based on the ground that the evidence was insufficient to support the jury's verdict that the homicide was committed with a premeditated design to effect the death of the victim.
In addition, Appellant contends that fundamental error exists because the State suppressed material evidence which might have been beneficial to Appellant.
The record in this case reveals the following:
On 11 March 1970, the victim, a 12-year-old female, was stabbed to death. At approximately 6:45 a.m., the victim's mother sent her to the neighborhood grocery store to purchase a pack of cigarettes. The victim arrived at the store at approximately 7:00 a.m., purchased the cigarettes and started home. At the time the victim was in the store, the Appellant was also there. Appellant left the store several minutes after the victim, returning several minutes later to inform the grocery store owner that the victim was dead in the woods. An ambulance was called and the victim was taken to a hospital where she died at approximately 9:20 a.m. on the same date.
The victim was found about 100 to 150 yards from the store in the woods. Her clothes were saturated with blood and the attending physician found 14 stab wounds, mostly on her back. Scrapings were taken from beneath the victim's fingernails but prior to trial were lost or misplaced by the police prior to analysis.
At approximately 4:00 p.m. on 11 March 1970 while the sheriff was enroute to Appellant's home, he received a message that Appellant and his father were at the police station. Upon his return to the police station, the sheriff was advised by Appellant's father that he had brought the Appellant in because he had received a number of telephone calls about the murder and wanted to know what was going on. In the presence of the father, Appellant was informed that he was a suspect, was fully informed of his constitutional rights and he and his father signed a waiver of these rights.
Following several conversations between the sheriff, Appellant and his father, Appellant admitted to the stabbing of the victim. As Appellant was embarrassed to discuss the matter further in the presence of his father, the father left the room and subsequently detailed confessions were obtained from the Appellant both verbal and by a court reporter. Appellant admitted stabbing the victim with a knife belonging to his mother which he then threw upon the grocery store roof where it was found.
At the trial Appellant testified that he found the victim after she had been stabbed and that several days before the stabbing he had accidentally thrown the knife upon the grocery store roof. Concerning the confessions, Appellant testified that he did not recall the interrogation by the sheriff nor if he was mistreated in any way.
Prior to trial, Appellant filed a Motion to Suppress the confessions on the grounds that the confessions were obtained in violation of Appellant's privilege against self incrimination and right to counsel, and the confessions were not freely and voluntarily given.
Prior to trial and in the absence of the jury, the trial court heard testimony from the sheriff concerning the voluntariness of Appellant's confessions. The sheriff was the only witness produced by the State or the Appellant. Testimony was given by the sheriff concerning the circumstances, conditions and surroundings under which the confessions were made which included the age, sex, disposition, experience, character, education, intelligence, previous training and the mental condition of the Appellant. The trial court permitted full cross examination by Appellant's counsel with the exceptions of it did not permit Appellant's counsel to inquire as to what the Appellant told the sheriff his feelings were just prior to stabbing the victim and did not permit the sheriff to state if he knew of any mental disturbances in Appellant's family.
At the conclusion of the suppression hearing, the trial court announced that the grounds of Appellant's Motion to Suppress the confessions were denied.
At the conclusion of the State's case in chief and of all the evidence, Appellant moved for a directed verdict on the grounds that the State had failed to establish the corpus delicti, premeditated design of intent to kill and a prima facie case. The trial court denied these motions.
Following trial, Appellant filed a Motion for New Trial on the ground that the verdict was contrary to the law and the weight of the evidence. The trial court denied this motion.
Subsequently, Appellant filed Assignment of Errors contending the trial court erred in denying the motions to suppress, for a directed verdict, and for a new trial.
1. As Appellant failed to raise in the trial court that Appel...
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...level in order to preserve the question for appellate review. Wright v. State, 309 So.2d 215 (Fla. 3d DCA 1975); Hernandez v. State, 273 So.2d 130, 133 (Fla. 1st DCA 1973); Blatch v. State, 216 So.2d 261, 264 (Fla. 3d DCA 1968); Simpson v. State, 211 So.2d 862, 867 (Fla. 3d DCA 1968); Grego......
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Porter v. State
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...materiality); Ludwick v. State, 336 So.2d 701 (Fla. 4th DCA 1976) (inadequate record to demonstrate prejudice); and Hernandez v. State, 273 So.2d 130 (Fla. 1st DCA 1973) (no showing of favorability). See generally Annot., 34 A.L.R.3d 16 Additionally, we note that a trial court's order denyi......
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