S.B. v. State
S.B. v. State
Opinion of the Court
S.B. appeals the trial court's finding of delinquency for committing a strong arm robbery on Aleida Cruz. The only issue he raises is that the state improperly shifted *499the burden of proof during its cross examination when it asked S.B. if he had any other witnesses corroborating his testimony that he was somewhere else at the time of the robbery. Finding that the state's cross examination improperly shifted the burden, and that this error was not harmless, we reverse.
On September 6, 2016, Ms. Cruz was walking home from Winn Dixie when someone hit her from behind. As Ms. Cruz turned around, the man hit her again, took her cellular telephone, and ran off. Ms. Cruz saw the man's profile when she turned around, and saw his face again when he ran off. Ms. Cruz had seen the same man a few moments earlier sitting in a car.
Two weeks later, as Ms. Cruz was walking home from her son's school, she saw S.B. and told her husband he was the man who had hit her and taken her cellular telephone. Ms. Cruz's husband told law enforcement, and law enforcement arranged a show up identification where Ms. Cruz pointed out S.B. as the man who robbed her.
S.B. testified that on the afternoon of September 6, 2016, when Ms. Cruz was attacked, he was at band practice at Miami Central High School. The state had this exchange with S.B. on cross examination:
State: ... On the day of this incident you were at band practice, right?
S.B.: Yes, sir.
State: And that band practice was at Miami Central High School?
S.B.: Yes.
State: Is there anyone else here from Miami Central High School Band?
S.B.: No.
State: Do you know the teacher who conducts band or coaches [sic] band at Miami Central High School?
S.B.: Yes.
State: Is he here today?
S.B.: No.
State: When you come from Stellar Academy to Miami Central to do band, or when you were doing that, did you let anybody know that you were there?
S.B.: Yes.
State: Was there like a sign-in sheet, or would you just tell somebody?
S.B.: Just tell somebody.
State: Okay. Who would you tell?
S.B.: Mr. Mac.
State: Who?
S.B.: Mr. Mac. The band director.
State: Okay. Is he here today?
S.B.: No.
State: Do you have friends in that band?
S.B.: Yes.
State: Other students that you know?
S.B.: Yes.
State: Are any of them here today?
S.B.: No.
State: Is there anyone else who was with you at band practice on September 6th who can confirm that you were [t]here, that is here today?
S.B.: No.
Defense Counsel: Judge, I'm going to object to shifting the burden at this point....
Trial Court: Overruled.
The trial court erred in overruling the objection. Asking S.B. if he had any witnesses in court to confirm his testimony about being at Miami Central "may have led the [trier of fact] to believe that [S.B.] had a duty to produce exculpatory evidence." See Warmington v. State,
We "cannot say beyond a reasonable doubt that the error did not affect the verdict." Rodriguez v. State,
It does not matter that the trier of fact was a judge rather than a jury. As the Florida Supreme Court explained in Petion v. State,
When an appellate court is reviewing a bench trial, it should presume that the trial court judge rested its judgment on admissible evidence and disregarded inadmissible evidence, unless the record demonstrates that the presumption is rebutted through a specific finding of admissibility or another statement that demonstrates the trial court relied on *501the inadmissible evidence. When improper evidence is admitted over objection in this context, the trial court must make an express statement on the record that the erroneously admitted evidence did not contribute to the final determination. Otherwise, the appellate court cannot presume the trial court disregarded evidence that was specifically admitted as proper. In addition, the appellate court still must conduct a harmless error analysis to determine whether there is a reasonable possibility that the challenged error affected the final judgment.
Reversed and remanded for a new adjudicatory hearing.
While "the state cannot comment on a defendant's failure to produce evidence to refute an element of the crime, because doing so could erroneously lead the jury to believe that the defendant carried the burden of introducing evidence," there is "a narrow exception to allow comment when the defendant voluntarily assumes some burden of proof by asserting the defenses of alibi, self-defense, and defense of others, relying on facts that could be elicited only from a witness who is not equally available to the state." Jackson v. State,
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.