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415 So. 2d 822

Docket No. 80-2514.

Gomez v. State

Jose GOMEZ, Appellant, v. The STATE of Florida, Appellee.

District Court of Appeal of Florida

Decided June 22, 1982.

District Court of Appeal of Florida · decided 1982-06-22

Key passage — most relied on by later courts

“Don't let [the victim] with three children and a wife walk away without justice in this case”

quoted by 3 later decisions, including 574 So. 2d 1119 - Alvarez v. State, 419 So. 2d 789 - Tacoronte v. State

“into our community to commit further crimes”

quoted by 1 later decision, including 574 So. 2d 1119 - Alvarez v. State

Relies on United States v. Modica · McMillian v. State · 414 So. 2d 557 - Harris v. State

Good law ✅— No negative treatment on recordhow we know

Decided 1982-06-22

How this case has been cited

Cited by 17 later decisions — most recently October 2003

17 state decisions

120198219902000decided

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.

View the full empirical analysis of this case →

¶1*823 Bennett H. Brummer, Public Defender and William M. Grodnick, Sp. Asst. Public Defender, for appellant.

¶2Jim Smith, Atty. Gen. and Alan T. Lipson, Asst. Atty. Gen., for appellee.

¶3Before BASKIN, DANIEL S. PEARSON and JORGENSON, JJ.

¶4

Revised Opinion

¶5PER CURIAM.

¶6We add to the growing list of cases[1] requiring reversal on the basis of prosecutorial misconduct the case of Jose Gomez. He was convicted, following a jury trial, of aggravated assault, aggravated battery and possession of a firearm while engaged in a criminal offense.

¶7The remarks which occasion this reversal were made during closing argument when the prosecutor concluded by saying:

Don't let that gentleman [Luis Martinez] with three children and a wife walk away without justice in this case, facing possible jail,[2] an arm that's hideously changed the rest of his life and let these gentlemen [the defendant and codefendant] walk away into our community and commit further crimes of this nature. These assassins must be put away.[3] It is your duty to do that. You told me you'll do that. (Footnotes added).

¶8The remarks here are so egregious that reversal is compelled. United States v. Modica, 663 F.2d 1173 (2d Cir.1981); Harris v. State, 414 So.2d 557 (Fla. 3d DCA 1981); Harper v. State, 411 So.2d 235 (Fla. 3d DCA 1982); McMillian v. State, 409 So.2d 197 (Fla. 3d DCA 1982); see generally ABA Standards for Criminal Justice, 3-5.8 (1980).

¶9The state suggests that we overlook the error complained of in view of the `overwhelming' evidence of guilt in this case. The overwhelming evidence of guilt upon which the state relies is the admitted perjured testimony of Luis Martinez, the victim. (Martinez subsequently recanted his perjury and, in so doing, admitted that all the eye witnesses who testified on behalf of the state agreed to perjure themselves as well). The state offers nothing with respect to the perjury committed by the other witnesses. We find the state's argument on this issue to be utterly devoid of merit.

¶10For the reasons previously expressed and upon the authorities cited, this case is reversed and remanded for a new trial.

NOTES

¶11[1] See Harris v. State, 414 So.2d 557 (Fla. 3d DCA 1982) and cases cited.

¶12[2] Luis Martinez, the victim, admitted that he committed perjury during the course of the trial.

¶13[3] The defendant had no prior criminal record (assuming arguendo that it was an appropriate issue).

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