Opinion ID: 1960257
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Bruton Error

Text: Looney next argues the trial court erred by refusing to grant a mistrial after the State's witness testified about the hearsay statement by a non-testifying codefendant which incriminated Looney. The State presented the testimony of Robert Hathcock, an inmate who made the acquaintance of Hertz when they shared a cell at the Leon County Jail. [15] Hathcock testified that Hertz told him that  he and two of his codefendants had been involved in two murders in Crawfordville and that they had killed. Counsel for Looney objected and moved for a mistrial, arguing the statement incriminated his client and he was unable to cross-examine Hertz. The State acknowledged that Hathcock's statement should not have come out, but also argued that the mistake was inadvertent and the problem could be solved with a curative instruction. The record reflects that at this point the parties continued presenting arguments to the trial court before the court finally recessed for the evening. The next morning, the trial court instructed the jury to disregard as a matter of law any testimony by Hathcock. Looney argues that the admission of Hertz's statement violated his Sixth Amendment right to confront witnesses as explained in Bruton v. United States, 391 U.S. 123, 88 S.Ct. 1620, 20 L.Ed.2d 476 (1968). In Bruton, the United States Supreme Court held that a defendant's rights under the Confrontation Clause of the Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution were violated by the introduction of a non-testifying codefendant's confession which named and incriminated the defendant at a joint criminal trial. Id. at 126, 88 S.Ct. 1620. The crux of a Bruton violation is the introduction of statements which incriminate an accused without affording him an opportunity to cross-examine the declarant. In the instant case, because Hertz chose not to testify at the defendants' joint trial, Hathcock's testimony regarding Hertz's implication of Looney clearly denied Looney his Sixth Amendment right to confront Hertz. As such, the admission of Hertz's statement to Hathcock was clearly a violation of the standard set in Bruton. Id. The State, however, argues that the trial court's curative instruction, i.e., to disregard Hathcock's testimony, was sufficient to ameliorate any potential error. But the Bruton Court itself held that a jury instruction to the effect that the codefendant's confession must be disregarded in determining the defendant's guilt or innocence is ineffective and cannot overcome the prejudicial effect of the incriminating statement on the jury. Id. at 124, 88 S.Ct. 1620. As such, the trial court's curative instruction in the instant case was insufficient to cure the erroneous admission of Hertz's statement to Hathcock. Nonetheless, this Court has also recognized that a Bruton violation does not automatically require reversal of an otherwise valid conviction but, rather, is subject to a harmless error analysis. See Farina v. State, 679 So.2d 1151, 1155 (Fla.1996) (citing Harrington v. California, 395 U.S. 250, 254, 89 S.Ct. 1726, 23 L.Ed.2d 284, (1969)); see also Franqui v. State, 699 So.2d 1312, 1322 (Fla.1997) (holding Confrontation Clause violation was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt and thus upholding first-degree murder conviction); Smith v. State, 699 So.2d 629, 644-45 (Fla. 1997) (finding Bruton violation in firstdegree murder case harmless beyond a reasonable doubt). Indeed, the United States Supreme Court has recognized that: The mere finding of a violation of the Bruton rule in the course of the trial, however, does not automatically require reversal of the ensuing criminal conviction. In some cases the properly admitted evidence of guilt is so overwhelming, and the prejudicial effect of the codefendant's admission is so insignificant by comparison, that it is clear beyond a reasonable doubt that the improper use of the admission was harmless error. Schneble v. Florida, 405 U.S. 427, 430, 92 S.Ct. 1056, 31 L.Ed.2d 340 (1972) (upholding murder conviction after finding Bruton error harmless). In Harrington, Justice Douglas stated that in order to determine whether a Bruton error is harmless, [o]ur judgment must be based on our own reading of the record and on what seems to us to have been the probable impact of the ... confessions on the minds of an average jury.  395 U.S. at 254, 89 S.Ct. 1726 (emphasis added); see also Schneble, 405 U.S. at 432, 92 S.Ct. 1056 (upholding conviction after Bruton violation because the `minds of an average jury' would not have found the State's case significantly less persuasive had the testimony as to [the codefendant's] admissions been excluded). In this case the State presented live, direct testimony showing beyond a reasonable doubt that Looney was guilty of first-degree murder. There is significant eyewitness testimony from Dempsey as to Looney's involvement in the murders. Dempsey's testimony places Looney together with him and Hertz at Tommy Bull's house a few hours before the murder. This testimony was corroborated by Bull himself at trial. Bull also testified that Looney was armed with a pistol and that the three, i.e., Looney, Hertz, and Dempsey, sought a ride from Bull but, after he refused, left walking around 11 p.m. that evening. Dempsey testified that Looney played in integral part in the robbery and murder of the victims. Dempsey testified that Looney followed Hertz's violent entry into the victims' home by putting a rifle to the head of victim Spears. Looney also took an active part in removing items from the victims' trailer, including approximately $1500 of the victims' cash. Moreover, it was Looney and Hertz who indicated to Dempsey that they could leave no witnesses shortly before Looney took part in the execution-style killing of the victims. Finally, Dempsey testified that Looney drove away in the victims' black Mustang loaded with the stolen property. Dempsey's direct testimony is corroborated by other State witnesses and evidence. Two Wal-Mart employees each independently identified Looney as being among the three men who came into Wal-Mart within a couple of hours of the murder. Both witnesses specifically recalled seeing Looney and the others drive off in a black Mustang and white truck. A Wal-Mart receipt later recovered in the victims' Mustang also corroborated Looney's presence at the Wal-Mart with Dempsey and Hertz on the morning of the murders. In addition, a Volusia County Sheriff's Deputy testified that he arrested Looney less than twelve hours after the murders driving the victims' black Mustang. The gun retrieved from Looney's pocket was the .380 Lorcin automatic handgun identified by the gun shop owner as having been sold to victim Spears. The FDLE firearms expert testified that one of the two bullets recovered from the area of the victims' bed was fired from this same handgun. A .30 caliber carbine rifle was also found in the Mustang that Looney was driving, resembling the one Dempsey testified that Looney carried during the forced entry of the victims' home. [16] Also, fingerprints belonging to Looney, Hertz, and Dempsey were all found on the victims' Mustang. Finally, Looney's wallet found in the victims' Mustang contained $464 in cash. All of this testimony and evidence provides overwhelming proof of Looney's guilt. [17] The erroneous admission of Hathcock's testimony would in no way vitiate the entire trial. See Reaves v. State, 639 So.2d 1, 5 (Fla.1994). Therefore, after careful review of this record, we hold that the introduction of the challenged statement was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt and, therefore, reject Looney's claim.