5D07-989 State v. Jimmie Clyatt

State: Florida

Court: Florida Fifth District Court

Docket No: 5D07-989

Case Date: 03/17/2008

Preview:IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF FLORIDA FIFTH DISTRICT JANUARY TERM 2008

STATE OF FLORIDA, Petitioner, v. JIMMIE ALLAN CLYATT, JR., Respondent. ________________________________/ Opinion filed March 20, 2008. Petition for Certiorari Review of Order from the Circuit Court for Citrus County, Richard Howard, Judge. Brad King, State Attorney, and Deborah A. Hunt, Assistant State Attorney, Inverness, for Petitioner. James F. Cummins, Respondent. Inverness, for CASE NO. 5D07-989

LAWSON, J. The State of Florida seeks certiorari review of a trial court order barring it from calling independent witnesses to prove that Candi Hoerner did not consent to a battery allegedly committed on her by Jimmie Allan Clyatt, Jr. We have jurisdiction. State v. Pettis, 520 So. 2d 250 (Fla. 1988). Finding that the order on review departs from the essential requirements of law,1 we grant the writ and quash the order.

In fairness to the trial judge, we note that his ruling was intentionally fashioned to permit appellate review of an issue on which there is no reported Florida case directly on point. Although the standard of review compels a finding that the court departed from the essential requirements of the law, recitation of this standard (as is often the

1

Clyatt was charged by information with felony battery pursuant to section 784.03(2), Florida Statutes (2007), 2 for touching or striking Candi Hoerner against her will. According to the State, Clyatt and Hoerner were ordering food from a KFC

restaurant drive-through while involved in an altercation. From outside the car, several witnesses reported observing Clyatt, inside the car, beating Hoerner's head against the car window; slapping and punching her in the face; grabbing her; and then choking her. As is often the case in domestic violence cases, Hoerner declined to cooperate with the State after Clyatt's arrest. Therefore, the State was left in the position of either dropping the charge or attempting to prove the elements of simple battery solely through the testimony of its third-party witnesses. The State elected to prosecute. To prove its case, the State must introduce evidence sufficient to convince a jury beyond a reasonable doubt that Clyatt touched or struck Hoerner against her will.

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