Law Updates for April 2, 2010

Kurecka et al., 35 FLW 666, 4th DCA, Florida’s implied consent statue does not require police officers to advise persons arrested for DUI that the right to counsel does not attach to their decision to submit to the breath test. The statue only requires that the person be told that the failure to submit will result in suspension of driving privileges, and refusal to submit can be admitted at trial. Refusal to submit based on def’s misconception is not basis for excluding refusal from evidence where confusion was not the fault of law enforcement on any action of the police.

Harrison, 35 FLW 678, 1st DCA, Lewd and Lascivious, expert - Where the trial counsel defended the case by challenging the reliability of the 11 year child’s memory of events, trial court erred in excluding expert testimony of the formation of children’s memories. Abuse of discretion to prevent the expert from testifying because of failure to list expert as a witness until 13 days before trial as state made no objection and court failed to conduct a hearing.

Bellamy, 35 FLW 680, 1st DCA, Peremptory challenges - Trial court erred in failing to determine whether state’s purported race-neutral reasons for striking jurors were genuine or a pretext.

Slack, 35 FLW 690, 1st DCA, 316.1935(1) is a lesser included offense of 316.1935(2) although they are both third-degree felonies: fleeing or attempting to elude a law enforcement officer. No evidence that the vehicle driven by LEO had contained agency insignia and other jurisdictional markings, court should have directed a verdict to the lesser included offense.


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