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Balthazar v. State

District Court of Appeal of Florida, Fourth District
Nov 23, 1988
533 So. 2d 955 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1988)

Opinion

No. 4-86-1413.

November 23, 1988.

Appeal from the Circuit Court for Palm Beach County, Humes T. Lasher, J.

Richard L. Jorandby, Public Defender, and Louis G. Carres, Asst. Public Defender, West Palm Beach, for appellant.

Robert A. Butterworth, Atty. Gen., Tallahassee, and Carolyn V. McCann, Asst. Atty. Gen., West Palm Beach, for appellee.


We affirm defendant's conviction and apply the preponderance of the evidence standard of proof for evaluating the voluntariness of the defendant's confession.

The preponderance of the evidence standard has been generally applied in Florida cases where the voluntariness of a defendant's confession is at issue. See McDole v. State, 283 So.2d 553 (Fla. 1973). We apply it here where the defendant is alleged to have a limited understanding of English. We agree with the state's assertion that although its burden in proving voluntariness is a heavy one in such circumstances, the standard of proof does not change from a preponderance of the evidence standard to a clear and convincing one. See DeConingh v. State, 433 So.2d 501, 503 (Fla. 1983); Rodriguez v. State, 287 So.2d 395, 396-97 (Fla. 3d DCA 1973).

GLICKSTEIN, WALDEN and STONE, JJ., concur.


Summaries of

Balthazar v. State

District Court of Appeal of Florida, Fourth District
Nov 23, 1988
533 So. 2d 955 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1988)
Case details for

Balthazar v. State

Case Details

Full title:BENOIT BALTHAZAR, APPELLANT, v. STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE

Court:District Court of Appeal of Florida, Fourth District

Date published: Nov 23, 1988

Citations

533 So. 2d 955 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1988)

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Balthazar v. State

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