Kyle v. State
| Decision Date | 01 February 1995 |
| Docket Number | No. 93-3607,93-3607 |
| Citation | 650 So.2d 127 |
| Parties | 20 Fla. L. Weekly D298 Timothy KYLE, a/k/a Cecil German, Appellant, v. STATE of Florida, Appellee. |
| Court | Florida District Court of Appeals |
Richard L. Jorandby, Public Defender, and Mallorye G. Cunningham, Asst. Public Defender, West Palm Beach, for appellant.
Robert A. Butterworth, Atty. Gen., Tallahassee, and Melynda L. Melear, Asst. Atty. Gen., West Palm Beach, for appellee.
We reverse appellant's convictions for strong-arm robbery and resisting arrest without violence because the prosecutor brought out that he had previously pled guilty to battery on a law enforcement officer.
After being observed by officers who had been called to the scene of the crime, appellant first ran, but was eventually apprehended. When questioned about his flight on cross-examination, appellant said that he had "been jumped on by the police before." The prosecutor then asked him whether he had a felony conviction for battery on a law enforcement officer as a result of a guilty plea. The prosecutor followed this with "you did time for that right?".
In Herman v. State, 341 So.2d 1010, 1011 (Fla. 4th DCA 1977), we said:
The law is well settled that when a defendant testifies in his own behalf he may be asked if he has ever been convicted of a crime [citation omitted]. If he admits such conviction, he may be asked how many times he has been convicted. If he denies the conviction, the opposing party may produce the record of the conviction. In either event, the inquiry must stop at that point. The matter may not be pursued to the point of naming the crime. Whitehead v. State, 279 So.2d 99 (Fla. 2d DCA 1973); Morton v. State, 205 So.2d 662 (Fla. 2d DCA 1968); Mead v. State, 86 So.2d 773 (Fla.1956). (Emphasis added).
See also Bobb v. State, 647 So.2d 881 (Fla. 4th DCA 1994).
In the present case, the trial court permitted the prosecutor's inquiry because he concluded that appellant had opened the door to it. We cannot agree. While appellant's statement that he had been "jumped on by police before" may have opened the door slightly, it could not possibly have opened it wide enough to allow in the state's naming the crime and pointing out that appellant had been incarcerated for it, nor does the state cite any authority for such a proposition.
The court also erred in giving the following jury instruction on the charge of resisting arrest:
Officer Robert Bart is a law enforcement officer within the meaning of the law. And the Court further instructs you that the arrest and detention of Cecil German constitutes the lawful execution of a legal duty.
While it is not an error for a trial...
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Mosley v. State, 98-1502.
...either event, the inquiry must stop at that point. The matter may not be pursued to the point of naming the crime." Kyle v. State, 650 So.2d 127, 127 (Fla. 4th DCA 1995). An exception to the general rule occurs when a defendant opens the door to a broader inquiry.3 In Fotopoulos v. State, 6......
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Davis v. State, 4D05-3301.
...the inquiry must stop at that point. The matter may not be pursued to the point of naming the crime.'" Id. (quoting Kyle v. State, 650 So.2d 127, 127 (Fla. 4th DCA 1995)). Here, on direct examination, the defendant admitted to two or three prior felony convictions. He reaffirmed this inform......
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Thomas v. State
...that an erroneous instruction regarding the resisting arrest instruction does not constitute fundamental error. See Kyle v. State, 650 So.2d 127, 128 (Fla. 4th DCA 1995) (reversing appellant's conviction for resisting arrest without violence on other grounds, but noting that while the trial......
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Jones v. State, 96-01990
...court, in effect, took the issue of the lawfulness of his arrest from the jury and directed a verdict for the State. See Kyle v. State, 650 So.2d 127 (Fla. 4th DCA 1995), review denied, 659 So.2d 1089 (Fla.1995); Royster v. State, 643 So.2d 61 (Fla. 1st DCA 1994); Hierro v. State, 608 So.2d......