LOUIS VINCE ULVANO, APPELLANT,
v.
THE STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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PER CURIAM.
The conviction and sentence from which the defendant appeals is reversed upon a holding that the trial court committed reversible error in denying the defendant’s motion for mistrial when the prosecution in cross-examination of the defendant commented upon his post-arrest silence. A prosecutor’s comment on a defendant’s post-arrest silence is a serious constitutional violation. E.g., David v. State, 369 So. 2d 943 (Fla.1979); Clark v. State, 363 So. 2d 331 (Fla.1978); Ruiz v. State, 378 So. 2d 101 (Fla. 3d DCA 1979). Further, the state did not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the error complained of did not contribute to the verdict. See, e.g., State v. DiGuilio, 491 So. 2d 1129 (Fla.1986); State v. Marshall, 476 So. 2d 150 (Fla.1985).
Reversed and remanded for a new trial.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Authorities Cited
- State v. DiGUILIO, 491 So. 2d 1129 (Fla. 1986)
- Clark v. State, 363 So. 2d 331 (Fla. 1978)
- State v. Marshall, 476 So. 2d 150 (Fla. 1985)
- David v. State, 369 So. 2d 943 (Fla. 1979)
- Ruiz v. State, 378 So. 2d 101 (Fla. 3d DCA 1979)