Case Name: Samuel WILLIAMS, a/k/a Samuel Williams Ali, Appellant, v. STATE of Florida, Appellee
Court: Florida District Court of Appeal
Jurisdiction: Florida
Decision Date: 1979-12-05
Citations: 377 So. 2d 255
Docket Number: No. 79-1444
Parties: Samuel WILLIAMS, a/k/a Samuel Williams Ali, Appellant, v. STATE of Florida, Appellee.
Judges: SCHEB, Acting C. J., DANAHY, J., and RAWLINS, ROBERT W., Jr., Associate Judge, concur.
Reporter: Southern Reporter, Second Series
Volume: 377
Pages: CCCXXXV–CCCXXXVI

Head Matter:
Samuel WILLIAMS, a/k/a Samuel Williams Ali, Appellant, v. STATE of Florida, Appellee.
No. 79-1444.
District Court of Appeal of Florida, Second District.
Dec. 5, 1979.
Jack 0. Johnson, Public Defender, and Howard L. Dimmig, II, Asst. Public Defender, Bartow, for appellant.
Jim Smith, Atty. Gen., Tallahassee, and William I. Munsey, Jr., Asst. Atty. Gen., Tampa, for appellee.

Opinion:
PER CURIAM.
Samuel Williams was convicted of burglary and grand theft. Williams appeals contending that the trial judge erred when he refused to grant Williams a mistrial following improper comment before the jury on Williams' exercise of his right to remain silent. We agree and reverse. Although neither comment in question appears to have been elicited by the prosecuting attorney, both comments were nonetheless made in the presence of the jury. Williams made a timely motion for mistrial in each instance, and the trial judge erred in denying those motions. Clark v. State, 363 So.2d 311 (Fla.1978).
Reversed and remanded for a new trial.
SCHEB, Acting C. J., DANAHY, J., and RAWLINS, ROBERT W., Jr., Associate Judge, concur.