Dennis v. State, 649 So. 2d 263 (Fla. 5th DCA 1994). · Go Syfert
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Dennis v. State, 649 So. 2d 263 (Fla. 5th DCA 1994). Cases Citing This Book View Copy Cite
5 citation events (1 in the last 25 years) across 2 distinct courts.
Strongest positive: Eaton Corp. v. Votour (fladistctapp, 2005-02-07)
Top citers, strongest first. 3 distinct citers. How cited ↗
cited Cited "see" Eaton Corp. v. Votour
Fla. Dist. Ct. App. · 2005 · signal: see · confidence high
See Dennis v. State, 649 So.2d 263 (Fla. 5th DCA 1994); Hansen v. State, 585 So.2d 1056 (Fla. 1st DCA 1991).
cited Cited "see" Glee v. State
Fla. Dist. Ct. App. · 1999 · signal: see · confidence high
See Dennis v. State, 649 So.2d 263 (Fla. 5th DCA 1994), rev. denied, 666 So.2d 142 (Fla.1995).
discussed Cited "see" State v. Green
Fla. · 1995 · signal: see · confidence high
See Dennis v. State, 649 So.2d 263 (Fla. 5th DCA 1994) (videotaped deposition of child was properly admitted as substantive evidence under section 90.801(2)(a) after child appeared at trial and recanted prior statements), dismissed, 666 So.2d 142 (Fla.1995); Holmon v. State, 603 So.2d 111 (Fla. 4th DCA 1992) (prior deposition testimony was admissible both as impeachment and as substantive evidence under section 90.801(2)(a)).
Retrieving the full opinion text from the archive…
Yakob DENNIS, Appellant,
v.
STATE of Florida, Appellee.
94-58.
District Court of Appeal of Florida, Fifth District.
Dec 30, 1994.
649 So. 2d 263
Thompson.
Cited by 4 opinions  |  Published

James B. Gibson, Public Defender, and Brynn Newton, Asst. Public Defender, Daytona Beach, for appellant.

Robert A. Butterworth, Atty. Gen., Tallahassee and Carmen F. Corrente, Asst. Atty. Gen., Daytona Beach, for appellee.

THOMPSON, Judge.

Yakob Dennis appeals his conviction and sentence for attempted sexual battery on a[*264] child under 12 years of age[1] in count I and capital sexual battery[2] in count II. He was sentenced to consecutive terms of life, including a 25-year mandatory minimum term, and 17 years in prison. We affirm his conviction and his sentence.

The only issue on appeal is whether the trial court erred by allowing a redacted prior inconsistent videotaped deposition of the minor child to be shown to the jury over the objection of Dennis. Prior to the trial, the minor child gave a videotaped deposition. She was under oath and examined and cross-examined by the attorneys. In the videotaped deposition, the child said that Dennis had touched her in her private area with his private area. At trial, the child appeared in person and testified before the jury. The child appeared distraught and recanted her entire statement and said that Dennis never touched her. The state used the redacted videotaped deposition to impeach the child's in court testimony. The state was permitted to play the videotaped deposition for the jury, excising only those portions referring to misconduct alleged to have occurred prior to the crimes charged in the information.

The video tape testimony was admissible for impeachment and substantive purposes because the minor child testified in court. See § 90.801(2)(a), Fla. Stat. (1991). Section 90.801(2)(a) reads in pertinent part:

(2) A statement is not hearsay if the declarant testifies at the trial or hearing and is subject to crossexamination concerning the statement and the statement is:
(a) Inconsistent with [the declarant's] testimony and was given under oath subject to the penalty of perjury at a trial, hearing, or other proceeding or in a deposition; (emphasis added).

§ 90.801(2)(a), Fla. Stat. (1991); see also Moore v. State, 452 So.2d 559 (Fla. 1984) (evidence admitted pursuant to this statute is not hearsay and may be admitted into evidence not only for impeachment purposes, but also as substantive evidence on material issues of fact). Once the child recanted her testimony, the state had the right to impeach her.

The harmless error analysis applies to this case. State v. DiGuilio, 491 So.2d 1129 (Fla. 1986). Dennis confessed to a police officer that he rubbed his penis against the victim's vaginal area. This confession was admitted as evidence. At the trial, Dennis took the stand to testify in his own behalf and tried to explain why he confessed. He told the jury that he confessed so he could receive the death penalty. He also admitted that he had contracted gonorrhea in the past. This admission was very important because the victim contracted gonorrhea during the same time that Dennis was her babysitter. There was corroborating evidence to convict Dennis without the videotape used as impeachment.

A review of the record demonstrates that Dennis has not shown that the trial court abused its discretion in admitting the videotaped deposition. See Hansen v. State, 585 So.2d 1056 (Fla. 1st DCA), review denied, 593 So.2d 1052 (Fla. 1991).

AFFIRMED.

HARRIS, C.J., and PETERSON, J., concur.

1 § 794.011(2), Fla. Stat. (1991).
2 § 794.011(2), Fla. Stat. (1991).