Opinion ID: 1648336
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 9

Heading: collateral offense and opinion evidence

Text: Keen next argues that the trial court erred in admitting improper collateral offense evidence-the tape-recorded conversation he had with Shapiro. We find this claim procedurally barred and, even assuming it was properly before us, it is without merit. First, Keen acknowledges that he did not object to the introduction of the taped conversation into evidence. Consequently, the State is correct that this claim is procedurally barred because Keen failed to raise a contemporaneous objection. Norton, 709 So.2d at 94. Thus, Keen can only resort to claiming fundamental error, defined as error that `reaches down into the validity of the trial itself to the extent that a verdict of guilty could not have been obtained without the assistance of the alleged error.' Urbin v. State, 714 So.2d 411, 418 n. 8 (Fla.1998) (quoting Kilgore v. State, 688 So.2d 895, 898 (Fla.1996)). Under that stringent standard, we find no fundamental error. Moreover, we would find no merit in this claim even if it had been properly preserved for appellate review. Keen's contention centers on the following excerpt of the taped conversation between him and Shapiro, with Shapiro stating: And in, in light of your past history, even she [Keen's girlfriend] believes that you're guilty. Keen argues that the comments about his prior history and that history causing his girlfriend to believe in his guilt constituted improper collateral offense evidence. We disagree because Shapiro's testimony was the centerpiece of the State's case against Keen. It was an exhaustive, first-person account of the planning and execution of a murder, compelling in both detail and volume. As such, if accepted by the jury, it was more than enough to support a guilty verdict and precludes a fundamental error finding on this claim. Further, the similar evidence which Keen refers to as triggering a reversal in his first direct appeal occurred when Keen was cross-examined while testifying on his own behalf. See Keen, 504 So.2d at 401. He was asked, Didn't you describe to Ken Shapiro how you and Patrick Keen had tried to beat Patrick Keen's wife to death with a rock in North Carolina in 1973? Id. We reversed because this improper question was so inflammatory and prejudicial that it destroyed Keen's right to a fair trial. Id. Additionally, this was done after Keen had admitted to a prior felony conviction on direct examination, which had nothing to do with the 1973 incident in North Carolina. See id. at 402 n. 4. That sequence of events is much more egregious than the incident complained of here.