Opinion ID: 1703316
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 8

Heading: Submission of Charging Information at Spencer Hearing

Text: In issue five, Foster argues that the trial court erred in admitting the charging information at the Spencer sentencing hearing. Specifically, as additional support for the avoid arrest aggravator, the State, over Foster's objection, introduced into evidence an information in a separate case charging Foster with twenty-seven counts. These twenty-seven counts included the various crimes allegedly committed by Foster and the Lords of Chaos during the time preceding the murder. We agree that an indictment or information for a crime other than the one being prosecuted should not be admitted as evidence of aggravation. See Dougan v. State, 470 So.2d 697, 701 (Fla.1985) (An indictment or information is not evidence against an accused, but, rather, is nothing more or less than the vehicle by which the State charges that a crime has been committed.). Further, the consideration of a defendant's prior record is limited to convictions and the convictions are themselves limited to another capital felony or ... felony involving the use or threat of violence to the person. Perry v. State, 395 So.2d 170, 174-75 (Fla.1980) (quoting section 921.141(5)(b), Florida Statutes, and citing Provence v. State, 337 So.2d 783 (Fla.1976)). We conclude the trial court should not have admitted the charging information at the Spencer hearing. As stated in Dougan and Perry, the charging information reflected nothing more than mere charges, not evidence, against Foster. The State's argument that Foster later pled to most of the charges is unsatisfactory since the plea agreements were subsequent to both the guilt and penalty proceedings. Subsequent to the Spencer hearing, had Foster pled to all of the charges, the charging information would have still been improperly admitted. The fact that he only pled to some of the charges, however, only highlights the impropriety of having admitted the charging information to begin with. Although we find that the admission of the charging information was improper, we note that this case is substantially distinguishable from the above cases. In Dougan and Perry, the information or indictment was actually presented to the juries before they rendered their advisory sentences. In the instant case, however, the State introduced the information at the Spencer hearing, after the jury had made the sentence recommendation. In addition, while a detailed list of criminal charges may not have been in evidence, there was evidence that the Lords of Chaos had committed numerous criminal acts and that criminal activity was its purpose. Because the information was not admitted to the jury and because there was evidence of other crimes already in the record we find any error harmless. See Mendoza v. State, 700 So.2d 670, 678 (Fla.1997) ([E]rroneously admitted evidence concerning a defendant's character in a penalty phase is subject to a harmless error review.). Importantly, we also find no indication that the trial court relied on the information in sentencing Foster. Foster also points out that the trial court, in the sentencing order, incorrectly stated that the Lords of Chaos were engaged in criminal activities for two months before the murder even though the group had actually been in existence for less than a month. The length of time that the group was in existence was not a material issue in any part of the case and was not heavily relied upon, if at all, by the trial judge in determining the sentence. Therefore, we conclude such error was harmless. See Consalvo, 697 So.2d at 818 (Fla.1996) (error complained of was harmless where it did not contribute to the sentence of death).