355 SO2D 1271 - Batey v. State

How this case has been cited

Cited by 6 later decisions — most recently September 2001

6 state decisions

Later decisions citing this case, by decade. The current decade is in progress, and our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so the latest bars are undercounted — not a real decline.

¶1Michael J. Minerva, Public Defender, and Margaret Good, Asst. Public Defender, for appellant.

¶2Robert L. Shevin, Atty. Gen., and Charles W. Musgrove, Asst. Atty. Gen., for appellee.

¶3PER CURIAM.

¶4Appellant was convicted for the offenses of burglary and grand larceny. Appellant *1272 urges that the trial court erred in instructing the jury on flight, over his objection. Further, appellant contends reversal is required because of certain allegedly improper and prejudicial comments made by the prosecutor during closing arguments.

¶5We find no reversible error and thus affirm the judgment and sentence.

¶6The facts presented at trial were sufficient to find the existence of flight and other circumstances indicating appellant's guilt. Therefore, the flight may be considered as a circumstance of guilt under an appropriate instruction. Proffitt v. State,315 So.2d 461 (Fla. 1975); Martinez v. State,346 So.2d 1209 (Fla. 3d DCA 1977); Palmer v. State,323 So.2d 612 (Fla. 1st DCA 1975), and cases cited therein. Such instruction is not improper as a judicial comment upon the evidence.

¶7We have considered the comments by the prosecutor in his closing argument and do not find that they require reversal.

¶8Accordingly, the judgment and sentence are AFFIRMED.

¶9MILLS, Acting C.J., and ERVIN and BOOTH, JJ., concur.