Law Updates for September 9, 2011

Gartner, 36 FLW 9145, 5th DCA, Other crimes, wrongs or acts - Error to allow the State to introduce evidence regarding defendant's alleged commission of two other robberies as relevant to the issue of identity where there were no identifiable points of similarity between the two prior robberies and the charged robbery that had some special character so unusual as to point to the defendant.  Several dissimilar facts in the three robberies also support the conclusion that it was error to admit evidence of the collateral crimes - harmful error.  State took a day to admit evidence of the collateral crimes and failed to establish there was no reasonable possibility that the error contributed to the verdict.  Cites facts in opinion.

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