Opinion ID: 1665225
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Prior Testimony/Unavailable Witness

Text: Ibar next alleges it was error to allow his mother's testimony from his first trial to be read to the jury in this trial because the jury was unable to personally witness his mother, Maria Casas, testify, and assess her credibility. He also argues that it was error to allow the testimony to be read because at the first trial, his mother vehemently denied that she identified Ibar in a photo; therefore, the only purpose for reading this testimony was to open the door for the State to call its own witness to testify that she made an identification during the investigation. Ibar credits his mother Maria Casas's testimony at the first trial for resulting in a hung jury because she so vehemently denied identifying him in the surveillance photo. The use of prior testimony is allowed where (1) the testimony was taken in the course of a judicial proceeding; (2) the party against whom the evidence is being offered was a party in the former proceeding; (3) the issues in the prior case are similar to those in the case at hand; and (4) a substantial reason is shown why the original witness is not available. Thompson v. State, 619 So. 2d 261, 265 (Fla. 1993) (citing Hitchcock v. State, 578 So. 2d 685 (Fla. 1990); Johns-Manville Sales Corp. v. Janssens, 463 So. 2d 242 (Fla. 1st DCA 1984); Layton v. State, 348 So. 2d 1242 (Fla. 1st DCA 1977)). Casas's testimony meets all four elements and was admissible on this basis. The first trial was a judicial proceeding, and Casas was subject to cross-examination on substantially the same issues involved in this trial. Casas's unavailability at the second trial is undisputed due to her death. Thus, all the elements of Thompson have been satisfied. Furthermore, Ibar failed to properly preserve this issue for review. Defense counsel objected that the photo Casas discussed at the first trial was never marked for identification. Thus, the objection at trial is not the same as the issue raised on appeal. Therefore, the issue was not properly reserved for our review. See Morrison v. State, 818 So. 2d 432, 446 (Fla. 2002). For these reasons, we deny relief on this claim.