|
tazzygirl -> RE: Update on Trayvon Martin case (10/13/2012 9:12:48 AM)
|
Once the proper foundation is laid, the defendant may introduce evidence of the victim's reputation or of specific instances of the victim's conduct. See § 90.405, Fla. Stat. (2009). There are, however, important distinctions and evidentiary requirements between reputation evidence and evidence of specific acts admitted under section 90.404(1)(b). Grace v. State, 832 So.2d 224, 226 (Fla. 2d DCA 2002); Pino, 389 So.2d at 1194.
The purpose of introducing the reputation evidence in a self-defense case is to show that the victim was the initial aggressor. Pino, 389 So.2d at 1194. Reputation evidence is offered to show that the victim acted in conformity with a known character trait. Because reputation evidence relates to the conduct of the victim, the defendant is not required to have had prior knowledge of the victim's reputation in the community. See Dwyer v. State, 743 So.2d 46, 48 (Fla. 5th DCA 1999) (holding that "a defendant who alleges self-defense can show, through the testimony of another witness, that the alleged victim had a propensity for violence, thereby inferring that the alleged victim was the aggressor. A defendant's prior knowledge of the victim's reputation for violence is irrelevant, because the evidence is offered to show the conduct of the victim, rather than the defendant's state of mind.") (citations omitted); Melvin v. State, 592 So.2d 356, 357 (Fla. 4th DCA 1992) (concluding that the trial court erred by excluding testimony that the victim had a reputation as a bully because there was no showing that the defendant had knowledge of the victim's reputation); Marcum v. State, 341 So.2d 815, 817 (Fla. 2d DCA 1977) (holding that where an issue is the identity of the initial aggressor, it is irrelevant whether the defendant was aware of his adversary's reputation).
Conversely, the purpose of specific acts evidence in a self-defense case is to demonstrate the reasonableness of the defendant's fear at the time of the incident. State v. Smith, 573 So.2d 306 (Fla.1990); Sanchez, 445 So.2d at 2; Reddick v. State, 443 So.2d 482 (Fla. 2d DCA 1984); Marcum, 341 So.2d at 817. Because the defendant's state of mind is at issue, before the defendant may introduce specific acts allegedly committed by the victim, he must show that he had prior knowledge of these acts. Pino, 389 So.2d at 1194; Williams v. State, 252 So.2d 243 (Fla. 4th DCA 1971).
Just a couple of things I found while looking for the source of those cases. Interesting stuff!
|
|
|
|
