(DOWNLOAD) "State v. Martinez" by In the District Court of Appeal of Florida Second District # eBook PDF Kindle ePub Free
eBook details
- Title: State v. Martinez
- Author : In the District Court of Appeal of Florida Second District
- Release Date : January 15, 2003
- Genre: Law,Books,Professional & Technical,
- Pages : * pages
- Size : 55 KB
Description
The State petitions this court to issue a writ of certiorari and quash the trial court's order granting Oscar Martinez's motion in limine. Relying on Dixon v. State, 812 So. 2d 595 (Fla. 1st DCA 2002), the trial court held that the traffic citation Martinez is accused of forging cannot be introduced into evidence pursuant to section 316.650(9), Florida Statutes (2002). The trial court also excluded any reference to the citation, absent any other asserted basis for independent relevance. Because the trial court departed from the essential requirements of the law when it excluded any reference to the traffic citation, we grant the State's petition and quash the trial court's order to the extent that it exceeds both the statutory requirements and Dixon. Where there is no adequate remedy by appeal, an interlocutory pretrial order in a criminal case excluding evidence is subject to certiorari review when the order departs from the essential requirements of the law. Trepal v. State, 754 So. 2d 702 (Fla. 2000); State v. Pettis, 520 So. 2d 250 (Fla. 1988); State v. Busciglio, 426 So. 2d 1233 (Fla. 2d DCA 1983). ""A petition for writ of certiorari can only be properly granted when the trial court's ruling departed from the essential requirements of the law."" Coulombe v. State, 837 So. 2d 506, 507 (Fla. 5th DCA 2003) (citing Pettis, 520 So. 2d at 250). The State must also demonstrate that the trial court's departure resulted in a miscarriage of justice. See Ivey v. Allstate Ins. Co., 774 So. 2d 679, 683 (Fla. 2000) (quoting Stilson v. Allstate Ins. Co., 692 So. 2d 979, 982-83 (Fla. 2d DCA 1997)); see also Pettis, 520 So. 2d at 254. Here, this standard has been met. On January 8, 2002, Oscar Martinez was stopped by an officer with the Clearwater Police Department for speeding. Martinez told the officer that his name was ""Henry Martinez."" The officer issued two traffic citations to ""Henry Martinez""; one ticket was for speeding and the other was for failing to carry a driver's license. Martinez signed both citations as ""Henry Martinez."" He then gave the officer consent to search the vehicle. The officer saw an organizer on the front seat. Inside the organizer, the officer found a Universal Studios card with Martinez's name and picture. Martinez then admitted that he had given the officer a false name. He was charged with forgery under section 831.01, Florida Statutes (2002). Martinez filed a motion in limine to exclude the forged traffic citation based on Dixon v. State, 812 So. 2d 595 (Fla. 1st DCA 2002).