Hinojosa v. State, 2D02-3787.
| Citation | 857 So.2d 308 |
| Decision Date | 10 October 2003 |
| Docket Number | No. 2D02-3787.,2D02-3787. |
| Parties | Christopher HINOJOSA, Appellant, v. STATE of Florida, Appellee. |
| Court | Court of Appeal of Florida (US) |
James Marion Moorman, Public Defender, and Richard J. Sanders, Assistant Public Defender, Bartow, for Appellant.
Charles J. Crist, Jr., Attorney General, Tallahassee, and Richard M. Fishkin, Assistant Attorney General, Tampa, for Appellee.
Christopher Hinojosa seeks review of the final judgment adjudicating him guilty of obstructing a law enforcement officer with violence and assault on a law enforcement officer. We conclude the trial court erred in preventing Hinojosa's counsel from cross-examining the alleged assault victim, Officer Preyer, on prior complaints and investigations of excessive force lodged against the officer.
The offenses are alleged to have occurred after two officers encountered Hinojosa in the street near his home while investigating a disturbance complaint involving Hinojosa and his roommate. Officer Sandel testified that Hinojosa appeared agitated when he first arrived on the scene, but Officer Sandel spoke to Hinojosa and was able to calm him down. As Officer Sandel, Hinojosa, and a neighbor began walking back toward Hinojosa's house, the scene of the disturbance, Officer Preyer arrived as backup. As the group approached the house, Hinojosa saw his roommate standing outside and again became agitated. The officers testified that they stopped Hinojosa and tried to calm him down, but Hinojosa became belligerent and threatened to strike Officer Preyer. The officers then detained and handcuffed Hinojosa after some struggle. Hinojosa denies the charges, claiming the officers were the aggressors; this defense was supported by the testimony of two eyewitnesses, the neighbor and Hinojosa's roommate.
A trial court has wide discretion in areas concerning the admissibility of evidence, and such rulings will not be disturbed absent an abuse of discretion. Welty v. State, 402 So.2d 1159, 1162-63 (Fla.1981). A court's discretion is limited, however, by the rules of evidence. Nardone v. State, 798 So.2d 870 (Fla. 4th DCA 2001). Section 90.608(2), Florida Statutes (2001), provides that "[a]ny party ... may attack the credibility of a witness by ... showing that the witness is biased." A defendant should be afforded wide latitude to cross-examine in matters relevant to credibility, particularly in the demonstration of bias or possible motive on the part of a witness. Mendez v. State, 412 So.2d 965, 966 (Fla. 2d DCA 1982); Henry v. State, 688 So.2d 963, 966 (Fla. 1st DCA 1997). "The right of full cross-examination is absolute, and the denial of that right may easily constitute reversible error." Mendez, 412 So.2d at 966.
Where there is an issue of whether or not excessive force was used by a law enforcement officer, prior investigations into the officer's use of excessive force in other cases are relevant. Mendez, 412 So.2d at 966; Henry, 688 So.2d at 966 (citing Landry v. State, 620 So.2d 1099 (Fla. 4th DCA 1993)). In Mendez, this court reversed a conviction of attempted second-degree murder of a law enforcement officer where the trial court excluded evidence of the officer's record of numerous internal...
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