Lee v. Geiger, AG-306
| Decision Date | 14 September 1982 |
| Docket Number | No. AG-306,AG-306 |
| Citation | 419 So.2d 717 |
| Court | Florida District Court of Appeals |
| Parties | W. D. LEE, individually, and City of Jacksonville, a municipal corporation, Appellants, v. Ralph P. GEIGER, Appellee. |
Dawson A. McQuaig, Gen. Counsel, William Lee Allen, and Grady W. Martin, Asst. Counsels, Jacksonville, for appellants.
Fred T. Stapp of Williams & Stapp, Jacksonville, for appellee.
This is an appeal from a judgment entered upon a jury verdict for malicious prosecution and false imprisonment. The appellants, defendants below, contend that the trial judge erred in failing to direct a verdict for them at the close of all the evidence in both the malicious prosecution and false arrest actions. We agree and reverse.
The appellee was arrested by appellant, Detective Lee of the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office, and was subsequently charged by information with burglary and attempted sexual battery.
Appellee then filed a complaint against Detective Lee and the City of Jacksonville (the City) for malicious prosecution and false imprisonment, alleging that Lee and the City failed to properly investigate the charge and arrested appellee without probable cause.
The alleged victim of the attempted sexual battery was a 15-year-old who was living at home with her mother at the time of the incident. She testified that she woke up about 3:00 a. m. when she realized there was a man lying on top of her and fondling her breasts. She stated that the episode took five minutes at the most and that she was hysterical. Although she never saw the assailant's face, she recognized the man's voice as being that of the appellee. She had previously worked as a babysitter for appellee and had gone to his place of business once. She was very certain about the voice identification.
The police were called and an investigation and report were made by the investigating police officer. Two days later when Detective Lee went to the alleged victim's house, she made an absolute identification of the appellee as being the person in her bedroom. The next day Detective Lee arrested appellee and placed him in jail. The following day the appellee appeared before Judge Giles P. Lewis at a hearing for a determination of probable cause. On January 10, 1979, Judge Lewis entered an order finding that there was probable cause to detain the appellee pending further proceedings. The charges against appellee were dropped when the victim later found out she was pregnant by her boyfriend and apparently refused to testify.
Appellee contends there are a number of things which Detective Lee could have done and should have done, including investigating his alibi and accepting his offer to take a polygraph test which would have shown no probable cause to arrest or detain. Although appellee offered an alibi for his whereabouts at 3:00 a. m., the arrest report reflected the assault took place at 4:00 a. m. Detective Lee admitted appellee volunteered to take a polygraph examination but said that he gave appellee his card and told appellee to call him when he was ready to take the examination but never heard from him. It is obvious from the record in this case that the investigation performed was not a textbook example of proper investigation of a crime. However, an imperfect criminal investigation is not a...
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