Lewis v. State

Full title: CECIAL BISHOP LEWIS, APPELLANT, v. THE STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE

Court: District Court of Appeal of Florida, Third District

Date published: Apr 19, 1995

653 So. 2d 1107 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1995)

Opinion

No. 94-1954.

April 19, 1995.

Appeal from the Circuit Court for Dade County, Leslie B. Rothenberg, J.

Bennett H. Brummer, Public Defender, and Rosa C. Figarola, Asst. Public Defender, for appellant.

Robert A. Butterworth, Atty. Gen., and Angelica D. Zayas, Asst. Atty. Gen., for appellee.

Before HUBBART, JORGENSON, and COPE, JJ.

PER CURIAM.

Cecial Bishop Lewis appeals her conviction and sentence for direct criminal contempt of court. The trial court erred in relying on the unsworn testimony of a witness, Houck v. State, 421 So.2d 1113, 1116 (Fla. 1st DCA 1982), and not allowing cross-examination of that witness. Clark v. State, 567 So.2d 1070, 1071 (Fla. 3d DCA 1990) (error to prevent cross-examination which keeps from the trier of fact important facts bearing on the trustworthiness of crucial testimony).

Reversed.