Summary
In Johnson, the court of appeal concluded that Fla. Stat. § 90.403 barred a tape recording of a stabbing victim's last moments before death from being introduced at trial.
Summary of this case from Valle v. CrosbyOpinion
No. 87-1201.
November 30, 1988. Rehearing Denied January 11, 1989.
Appeal from the Circuit Court, Palm Beach County, Edward Fine, J.
Bert Winkler of Mitchell, Hanser, Schwartz Winkler, West Palm Beach, for appellant.
Robert A. Butterworth, Atty. Gen., Tallahassee, and Mardi Levey Cohen, Asst. Atty. Gen., West Palm Beach, for appellee.
REVERSED. We agree with appellant that the trial court erred in admitting into evidence a tape made by police at the stabbing victim's deathbed which recorded the anguished sounds of the victim in his last moments of life. See § 90.403, Fla. Stat. (1987); Young v. State, 234 So.2d 341 (Fla. 1970). Although the issue is extremely close, we reject appellant's claim that the trial court erred in denying his motion for judgment of acquittal based upon his defense of self-defense.
HERSEY, C.J., and ANSTEAD and GUNTHER, JJ., concur.