Aikens v. State

Full title: TERRANCE AIKENS, APPELLANT, v. THE STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE

Court: District Court of Appeal of Florida, Third District

Date published: Dec 8, 1992

609 So. 2d 764 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1992)

Opinion

No. 91-2809.

December 8, 1992.

Appeal from the Circuit Court, Dade County, Arthur Rothenberg, J.

Rubin, Rubin Rubin and Eric J. Miller and Robert Borrello, Miami, for appellant.

Robert A. Butterworth, Atty. Gen., and Randall Sutton, Asst. Atty. Gen., for appellee.

Before BARKDULL, FERGUSON and GODERICH, JJ.

PER CURIAM.

On direct and circumstantial evidence identifying the defendant as the perpetrator of the charged offenses, the court properly denied motions for judgment of acquittal and submitted the case to the jury. Yuanis v. State, 347 So.2d 448 (Fla. 3d DCA 1977).

The reason given by the State in peremptorily challenging a black venireperson — that a close relative had been charged with a similar offense — was sufficiently race neutral to justify removal. Bowden v. State, 588 So.2d 225 (Fla. 1991), cert. denied, ___ U.S. ___, 112 S.Ct. 1596, 118 L.Ed.2d 311 (1992).

Affirmed.