Waddy v. State, EE-311
| Decision Date | 24 February 1978 |
| Docket Number | No. EE-311,EE-311 |
| Parties | Tony WADDY, Appellant, v. STATE of Florida, Appellee. |
| Court | Florida District Court of Appeals |
Michael J. Minerva, Public Defender, Margaret Good, Asst. Public Defender, for appellant.
Robert L. Shevin, Atty. Gen., Raymond L. Marky, Asst. Atty. Gen., for appellee.
A jury convicted Waddy of a charge of aggravated child abuse occurring on 2 May 1976. He appeals contending the trial court committed numerous errors, among them being: application of the Williams Rule, admitting evidence adduced at a prior trial based on a charge of subsequent child abuse, admitting into evidence a transcript of a tape recorded statement made by him, failing to strike the testimony of witness Barnhill, denying his motion for a mistrial, allowing the State to exhibit the victim to the jury, and denying his motions for judgment of acquittal.
Evidence was adduced by the State at the trial that Waddy, who was living with the child's mother, committed a number of acts of battery on the child on 2 May. He hit her in the chest and stomach with his fist, he threw her on the couch several times, he threw her against the mobile home wall, he kicked her and he threw a lamp on her. As a result, the child was bruised and her lip was cut. Testimony was permitted of many other batteries which occurred prior to and subsequent to 2 May.
Waddy, the child and her mother left Marion County for Holmes County on 14 May to avoid investigation by the Department of Family Services. On 15 May, Waddy was arrested and charged with aggravated child abuse in Washington County. At his trial there, which took place before the one in Marion County, the jury found Waddy guilty of the lesser included offense of simple assault.
While in jail in Washington County, a deputy there took a tape recorded statement from Waddy which was transcribed by an unidentified stenographer. There were numerous asterisks and underlinings on the statement. The deputy stated that he placed the underlinings on the statement and had a stenographer correct those portions of the statement after transcription. Over Waddy's objection, the transcript of the statement was admitted into evidence and taken by the jury into the jury room during its deliberations. The deputy took photographs of the child while she was in the hospital in Holmes County on 15 May. Over Waddy's objection, they were received into evidence. The mother of the child used the child to point out to the jury where the child had bruises before leaving Marion County for Holmes County. Waddy's objection because the child had three unrelated scars on her face was overruled. The court instructed the jury to disregard the scars. Later during oral argument, the assistant state attorney commended upon the scars.
The testimony of witness Barnhill which was rambling and unresponsive was not relevant and the court should have granted Waddy's motion to strike. The witness' testimony concerning injury to another child's face had no relevancy or materiality to the crime charged. All it could do was to prejudice Waddy. He was not charged with child abuse as to this child.
The mother of the child abused was granted immunity in this case, as well as the Washington County case, in exchange for her testimony against Waddy. She testified that Waddy committed the batteries upon...
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Golden v. State, s. AF-322
...evidentiary material, the tapes. Golden extracts these arguments from Grimes v. State, 244 So.2d 130 (Fla.1971); Waddy v. State, 355 So.2d 477 (Fla. 1st DCA 1978), cert. denied, 362 So.2d 1056 (Fla.1978); Carrizales v. State, 345 So.2d 1113 (Fla. 2d DCA 1977), rev'd on other grounds, 356 So......
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Rhames v. State, BA-163
...the tape itself, and further erred in allowing the jury to take copies of the transcript into the jury room, citing Waddy v. State, 355 So.2d 477 (Fla. 1st DCA 1978), cert. den., 362 So.2d 1056 (Fla.1978), and Duggan v. State, 189 So.2d 890 (Fla. 1st DCA 1966). While we agree with appellant......
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Herbert v. State
...hit him on the back with a belt, pushed him up against the wall, and picked him up off the floor by his ears. See also Waddy v. State, 355 So.2d 477 (Fla. 1st DCA 1978). While it is probably true that a parent's use of a belt to spank a child, not unlike the corporal punishment approved for......
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McGriff v. State, 81-149
...including aggravated and simple assaults, evidence that the assaulted person suffered great pain is not immaterial]; Waddy v. State, 355 So.2d 477 (Fla. 1st DCA), cert. denied, 362 So.2d 1056 (Fla.1978) [no error in showing victim to jury in defendant's prosecution for child abuse]. The pre......