Parker v. State
| Decision Date | 06 June 1974 |
| Docket Number | No. S--205,S--205 |
| Citation | 295 So.2d 312 |
| Parties | Robert Lowe PARKER, Appellant, v. STATE of Florida, Appellee. |
| Court | Florida District Court of Appeals |
Richard W. Ervin, III, Public Defender, and Robert C. Parker, Jr., Asst. Public Defender, for appellant.
Rober L. Shevin, Atty. Gen., and Donald K. Rudser, Asst. Atty. Gen., for appellee.
The defendant, appellant, was convicted of rape and sentenced to life imprisonment. He was represented by an assistant public defender. The thrusts of his appeal are essentially that the evidence was insufficient to sustain the conviction and that he was represented by incompetent trial counsel.
Disposing of the latter contention first, it has generally been held that the test as to competency of trial counsel is whether the facts alleged show that the trial was reduced to a mockery or a farce. (Simpson v. State, Fla.App. (3d) 1964, 164 So.2d 224; Potts v. State, Fla.App. (2d) 1971, 242 So.2d 729) Our examination of the record reveals that the trial was neither a mockery nor a farce and that in fact defendant received able representation.
A defendant in a criminal case is entitled to a fair trial, not necessarily a perfect one. (Frazier v. State, Fla.App. (1st) 1974, 294 So.2d 691.
With respect to the sufficiency of the evidence to support a conviction, we have often stated that a jury verdict will not be disturbed unless it is clearly demonstrated to be unsupported by competent and substantial evidence (Ellison v. State Fla.App. (1st) 1971, 254 So.2d 837; Thomas v. State, Fla.App. (1st) 1969, 223 So.2d 118; Phillips v. State, Fla.App. (1st) 1969, 223 So.2d 60)
In a jury trial, whether it be civil or criminal, the jury is the untimate fact finder and, when the evidence is conflicting, if there is substantial credible evidence in the record to sustain the jury's verdict it may not be disturbed on appeal. The Supreme Court of Florida has repeatedly admonished District Courts to beware of substituting appellate factual judgments for those of the trier of facts. (See Westerman v. Shell's City, Inc., Sup.Ct.Fla.1972, 265 So.2d 43; Exchange Bank of St. Augustine, etc. v. Fla. National Bank of Jacksonville, etc., Sup.Ct.Fla.1974, 292 So.2d 361).
The record before us reveals that the rape victim was a barmaid with whom the defendant had been drinking prior to the rape incident. They arranged to meet in the lounge of the motel at which defendant was staying and upon leaving the defendant...
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...3.850. Jackson v. State, 353 So.2d 940 (Fla. 3d DCA 1978); McCrae v. State, 313 So.2d 429 (Fla. 3d DCA 1975); Parker v. State, 295 So.2d 312 (Fla. 1st DCA 1974); Potts v. State, 242 So.2d 729 (Fla. 2d DCA 1971); Meinsen v. State, 240 So.2d 188 (Fla. 2d DCA 1970); Plymale v. State, 182 So.2d......
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...300 (Fla.1966). In any event, the alleged incompetence must be such that the trial was reduced to a mockery or a sham. Parker v. State, 295 So.2d 312 (Fla. 1st DCA 1974); McCrae v. State, 313 So.2d 429 (Fla. 3d DCA 1975); Biggs v. United States, 318 F.Supp. 212 (N.D.Fla.1970). There is noth......
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