Case Name: Yaite GONZALEZ-VALDES, Appellant, v. The STATE of Florida, Appellee
Court: Florida District Court of Appeal
Jurisdiction: Florida
Decision Date: 2003-01-22
Citations: 834 So. 2d 933
Docket Number: No. 3D00-2972
Parties: Yaite GONZALEZ-VALDES, Appellant, v. The STATE of Florida, Appellee.
Judges: Before LEVY, GERSTEN, and GODERICH, JJ.
Reporter: Southern Reporter, Second Series
Volume: 834
Pages: 933–938

Head Matter:
Yaite GONZALEZ-VALDES, Appellant, v. The STATE of Florida, Appellee.
No. 3D00-2972.
District Court of Appeal of Florida, Third District.
Jan. 22, 2003.
Bennett H. Brummer, Public Defender, and Roy A. Heimlich, Assistant Public Defender, for appellant.
Charlie Crist, Attorney General, and Paulette R. Taylor, Assistant Attorney General, for appellee.
Before LEVY, GERSTEN, and GODERICH, JJ.

Opinion:
ON MOTION FOR REHEARING
PER CURIAM.
The appellant's motion for rehearing is denied. This Court's opinion filed September 25, 2002, is withdrawn sua sponte, and the following opinion is substituted for clarification.
Yaite Gonzalez-Valdes ("defendant") appeals her conviction of second degree murder, claiming the trial court erred in denying her motion for mistrial, by permitting the victim's ex-wife's testimony as to absence of abuse, and by permitting the prosecution to make improper remarks during closing. We affirm.
The defendant was arrested and charged with first-degree murder after she shot and killed her live-in boyfriend, Jesus Robaina-Viera ("Robaina"). At trial, the defendant testified that she was 21-years old when she met the then 48-year old Robaina. Robaina was visiting relatives in Cuba and picked her up on the side of the road. The two became romantically involved, and Robaina successfully made arrangements to get the defendant into the United States.
According to the defendant, after she started living with Robaina, he began to physically and emotionally abuse her. However, a neighbor who visited the couple weekly testified he never witnessed any abuse or verbal arguments. Similarly, Robaina's brother testified he never saw Robaina strike the defendant and never saw any signs of abuse. Robaina's ex-wife testified that she was married to Robaina for 29 years and that he never raised his hand to her and never physically or sexually abused her.
On the evening of the shooting, the defendant claimed Robaina had been drinking heavily, and became verbally and physically abusive. She testified that Robaina called her a whore and threatened to kill her with a shotgun. Because the shotgun would make too much noise, Robaina set it down and went to the kitchen where he kept poisonous syringes. The defendant claimed she believed Robaina was going to kill her, so she picked up the shotgun, found Robaina in the bathroom, and shot him in the back as he was urinating into the toilet. The defendant shot Robaina three more times when he fell to the floor. She then went back to the bedroom, reloaded the shotgun, and 20 minutes later called a neighbor. Shortly thereafter, the defendant was arrested. She was found guilty of second-degree murder with a firearm as a lesser included offense of the first-degree premeditated murder charged in the indictment.
We find no merit in the several issues raised by the defendant in this appeal. First, the trial court did not err in admitting the testimony of Robaina's ex-wife. The defendant's theory of defense at trial was self-defense. She claimed that she killed Robaina rather than leave him because she suffered from battered woman's syndrome. A defense expert witness testified on behalf of the defendant and opined the defendant had battered woman's syndrome. The expert based her opinion upon meetings with the defendant and the defendant's statement that Robai-na first abused the defendant by allegedly punching her in the eye. Taking these statements as true, the defense expert further stated that Robaina was a chronic abuser and had been violent before.
On rebuttal, in addition to the testimony of Robaina's brother who stated Robaina never struck the defendant, the prosecution presented the testimony of Robaina's ex-wife. The ex-wife testified she was married to Robaina for 29 years and that he never raised his hand to her and never physically or sexually abused her. This testimony had a direct bearing on the validity of the expert's opinion concerning the defendant's alleged battered woman's syndrome defense.
Decisions as to the admissibility of evidence are within the discretion of the trial court and will not be reversed absent a clear showing the trial court abused its discretion. See White v. State, 817 So.2d 799 (Fla.2002); Ray v. State, 755 So.2d 604 (Fla.2000). The ex-wife's testimony that Robaina had never abused her in their 29 years of marriage was unquestionably relevant since the expert's opinion was based upon her conclusion that Robaina was a chronic abuser who had been abusive in other relationships. See e.g. Mims v. United States, 375 F.2d 135 (5th Cir.1967)(expert opinion evidence may be rebutted by showing incorrectness or inadequacy of factual assumptions upon which opinion is based); Balfour v. State, 768 So.2d 1227 (Fla. 3d DCA 2000)(lay testimony adequately rebutted expert testimony). We find no abuse of discretion in the admission of this relevant testimony to rebut the factual assumptions upon which the expert's opinion was based.
Similarly, we find no abuse of discretion in the trial court's denial of the defendant's motion for mistrial. Prior to trial, the trial court granted the defendant's motion in limine to prohibit the prosecution from eliciting testimony which suggested the defendant was a prostitute in Cuba. During trial, the prosecution cross-examined the defendant about why Robaina called her a whore, asking "What did he know that we don't know?" and "He gave you money?" Defense objections were sustained and subsequently the defendant moved for a mistrial. The trial court denied the motion finding no prejudice, and rebuked the prosecutor.
Thereafter during cross-examination of one of the defendant's friends, the prosecutor asked "Are you aware of the fact that [the defendant] had several relationships with men?" and "Are you aware of the fact that [the defendant] had a child at a young age?" The trial court again sustained a defense objection finding probative value was outweighed by prejudicial effect, and denied the defendant's motion for mistrial. The defendant's renewed motion for mistrial after the defense rested, based on the cumulative effect of the prosecutor's questions, was also denied.
The prosecution's closing argument asserted the defendant's testimony was not credible and focused on the inconsistencies between the defendant's initial statement to the police and her subsequent trial testimony. The prosecution further pointed out that most of the facts the expert relied upon in order to conclude the defendant had battered woman's syndrome were not initially mentioned to the police. The defendant only revealed these facts after she sat down and talked to the expert. The trial court again denied defense counsel's motion for mistrial based on the alleged "character attack," and the case proceeded to the jury.
A trial court's ruling on a motion for mistrial is presumed correct and will not be reversed on appeal absent a clear showing of abuse of discretion and that a mistrial was necessary to ensure the defendant a fair trial. See Hamilton v. State, 703 So.2d 1038 (Fla.1997); Cole v. State, 701 So.2d 845, 853 (Fla.1997). The cases cited by the defense are distinguishable by the severity and nature of the comments made, and there is nothing in the record before us which indicates the defendant's trial was unfair. See Power v. State, 605 So.2d 856 (Fla.1992).
The prosecutor's questions regarding the defendant's relationships were not unduly prejudicial, defense counsel objections were sustained before any answers were provided, and the issues raised by these questions involved evidence that was already before the jury. Cf. Gore v. State, 719 So.2d 1197, 1199 (Fla.1998) (collateral crime evidence of defendant's "reprehensible action of leaving a two-year-old child naked in a burned and abandoned house in thirty-degree weather" had no relevance in trial, was highly prejudicial and presumed harmful); Halsell v. State, 672 So.2d 869 (Fla. 3d DCA 1996) (reference to unrelated prior conviction and lack of other sufficient evidence of guilt required mistrial). Thus we find no abuse of discretion in the trial court's denial of the defendant's motion for mistrial and that any potential error was not "so prejudicial as to vitiate the entire trial." See Hamilton v. State, 703 So.2d at 1041.
Moreover, we note that a careful review of the record clearly reveals that the evidence of guilt against the defendant was overwhelming. See State v. DiGuilio, 491 So.2d 1129 (Fla.1986). The defendant's own testimony negated any claim that she was in fact acting in self-defense, and the defendant made no attempt to retreat. See Weiand v. State, 732 So.2d 1044 (Fla.1999)(domestie violence victim has duty to retreat where reasonably possible before using deadly physical force). Instead, she armed herself with a shotgun, sought out the defendant to kill him, and repeatedly shot him in the back while he was standing naked in his bathroom urinating in the toilet.
In conclusion, we find no abuse of discretion in the trial court's rulings and that the defendant's right to a fair trial was not violated. See Goodwin v. State, 751 So.2d 537 (Fla.1999). Accordingly, we affirm the defendant's conviction and sentence below.
Affirmed.
GERSTEN and GODERICH, JJ., concur.