McCall v. State
The First DCA reversed an aggravated battery on a pregnant woman conviction because the trial court abused its discretion by refusing to allow the defense to recall the State's key eyewitness to lay a predicate for impeachment under section 90.614(2), after another witness proffered testimony that the eyewitness had told fellow inmates she had not actually seen the incident. Because the eyewitness's testimony was essentially the only direct evidence of the battery, her credibility was crucial, and the error was not harmless under DiGuilio.
Key facts
- McCall was charged with aggravated battery on a pregnant woman; the trial court's key evidence was an eyewitness who testified to seeing the incident.
- During trial, the defense learned that the eyewitness had told fellow inmates she had not actually seen the incident, and sought to recall her to lay a predicate for impeachment under section 90.614(2).
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Why it matters
This opinion reaffirms and applies long-standing Florida authority (Hahn, Johnson, Hogle) that trial courts abuse their discretion by refusing to allow a party to recall a witness to lay a predicate for impeachment… — full analysis with a trial
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