Cook v. State
Cook v. State
Opinion of the Court
The appellant, Jerry Joe Cook, was charged with four counts of lewd and lascivious assault in the presence of a child under the age of sixteen. Section 800.-04(3), Fla.Stat. (1987). The jury convicted him on two counts as charged and two counts of the lesser included offense of attempt. We affirm.
At the trial, as each child victim testified, a screen was placed between the witness and the defendant. On appeal Cook argues
This issue has not been preserved. At trial Cook merely made a general objection to the use of the screen, without giving any basis for his objection. In order to preserve this type of challange a specific objection at trial is required. Gibson v. State, 533 So.2d 338 (Fla. 5th DCA 1988).
The appellant’s other points on appeal are without merit.
AFFIRMED.
Dissenting Opinion
dissenting.
The defendant was convicted of lewd acts in the presence of children (§ 800.-04(3), Fla.Stat.). At the trial, the defendant objected when a screen was set up between himself and the child witnesses so that while the jury could see both the defendant and the child witnesses, the witnesses did not see the defendant and the defendant could not see the witnesses as they testified. The trial judge well understood that defense counsel objected to the use of the screen but merely noted defense counsel’s objection and permitted the screen to be used.
. Portions of the trial record in this case (after a short recess), page 85:
THE COURT: Well, we've got the screen up, is there anything that you want me to say about it or just don’t mention it?
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DEFENSE COUNSEL: Well, for the record, Your Honor, I would object to the use of it. I believe the Court's rationalization of where they used it in other trials, but I don’t know why they did.
THE COURT: ... [Y]our objection is noted. ...
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.