PRESSLEY v. STATE (2003)

District Court of Appeal of Florida,Fourth District.

Mark PRESSLEY, Appellant, v. STATE of Florida, Appellee.

No. 4D02-1071.

Decided: July 09, 2003

Carey Haughwout, Public Defender, and Tara A. Finnigan, Assistant Public Defender, West Palm Beach, for appellant. Charles J. Crist, Jr., Attorney General, Tallahassee, and Marni A. Bryson, Assistant Attorney General, West Palm Beach, for appellee.

We affirm appellant's conviction of false imprisonment, concluding that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in finding that the victim's statements to an officer were excited utterances. Although the evidence was conflicting on the amount of time which passed between the incident and statements made by the victim, at most it was twenty to twenty-five minutes. Whether her statements were excited utterances, or responses to questions after she had calmed down, was a preliminary fact to be determined by the trial court. Cotton v. State, 763 So.2d 437 (Fla. 4th DCA 2000). We find sufficient evidence in the record from which the trial court could make that factual finding. We have considered the other issues raised by appellant to be without merit. Affirmed.

PER CURIAM.

FARMER, C.J., KLEIN and SHAHOOD, JJ., concur.

Was this helpful?

Why was this helpful?

Easy to understand

Solved my problem

Other

Why was this not helpful?

Missing the information I need

Too complicated / too many steps

Out of date

Other

Thank you for your feedback!

Trusted by Consumers. Recognized by AI.

As the largest network of trusted legal brands, we help firms build authority across the platforms consumers and AI systems rely on most. Our network helps attorneys strengthen visibility, credibility, and preference where legal decisions begin.

Explore the Network