January 11, 2008

Lopez, 33 F;W 22. Fla, Good Post-Crawford and Post Davis cases that discuss testimonial evidence vs. excited utterance and pre-trial depositions are not considered cross-examination for 6th A. purposes and court when the defendant is clearly not present at the deposition.

Sellers, 33 FLW 93, 1st DCA, Blood test record admitted into evidence was non-testimonial in nature where blood test was performed only because def emergency room doctor required the test for treatment purposes only and properly diagnose and not ordered by law enforcement or performed in furtherance of a police investigation.

Wilson, 33 FLW 117, 4th DCA, Self-defense, where def claimed self-defense in a fight with victims, court erred in excluding evidence about prior confrontations between the def and the victims, including incident where there was a verbal altercation and victims tried to entice the def into a fight by using provocative racial epithet and fact that victims had driven past the def's house every day for six months leading up to the incident in question

Ratliff, 33 FLW 132, 4th DCA, error to revoke probation where material evidence adduced to prove criminal violations consisted of almost exclusively of inadmissible hearsay-lack of non-hearsay evidence establishing essential elements of criminal offenses of issue, i.e., knowledge, custody and control of drug, and intent to sell, judge abused discretion in revoking probation

Alhindi, 33 FLW 136, 4th DCA, Felony while driving while license suspended or revoked as H.O.-error to grant motion to dismiss on ground that DHSMV illegally placed 5 year revocation-state was not required to prove that DMV lawfully designated defendant Habitual Traffic Offender but merely to introduce def driving record-fact that, after def charged lawyer set aside underlying traffic convictions which rendered him a habitual traffic offender and led to license revocation does not event the state from presenting a prima facie case of felony driving with revoked License as a habitual traffic offender-def remedy was to correct the record upon receiving revocation notice and not ignore the notice of the suspension

Doe, 33 FLW 139, 4th DCA, arresting ofc did not have reasonable suspicion that crime had occurred, or was about to occur, when he stopped the def's vehicle, which was parked in an area that did not have marked spaces and which drove away as officers approached while on foot patrol in area known for drug deals-no traffic violation as pulled out of parking area

Phillips, 33 FLW 148, 2nd DCA, Def was on administrative probation had constructive notice of standard condition of probation requiring submission of random testing to determine presence of controlled substances

White, 33 FLW 151, 4th DCA, trial court improperly admitted testimony that def's conduct displayed a characteristic typical of drug transactions-general criminal behavior based on ofc's experience with other cases is inadmissible as substantive proof of def's guilt