Third District Court of Appeal
State of Florida
Opinion filed July 22, 2015.
Not final until disposition of timely filed motion for rehearing.
________________
No. 3D13-1892
Lower Tribunal No. 09-34621
________________
James Arauz,
Appellant,
vs.
The State of Florida,
Appellee.
An Appeal from the Circuit Court for Miami-Dade County, Yvonne
Colodny, Judge.
Carlos J. Martinez, Public Defender, and Robert Kalter, Assistant Public
Defender, for petitioner.
Pamela Jo Bondi, Attorney General, and Jeffrey R. Geldens, Assistant
Attorney General, for respondent.
Before SUAREZ C.J., and EMAS and FERNANDEZ, JJ.
SUAREZ, C.J.
ON MOTION FOR CLARIFICATION/REHEARING
The State of Florida moves for clarification or rehearing of our May 20,
2015 opinion. We grant the State’s Motion for Clarification/Rehearing,
withdraw the prior opinion and substitute the following in its place:
Defendant James Arauz appeals the denial of his motion to dismiss the
criminal charges against him based on sections 776.032 and 776.12, Florida
Statutes (2009), commonly called the “Stand Your Ground” law. We find that the
trial court’s findings of fact are supported by competent substantial evidence and
that the trial court correctly applied the law. Therefore, we affirm the denial of
Arauz’s motion to dismiss.
Arauz was charged with second degree murder for stabbing the victim
several times.1 Arauz does not deny that he stabbed the victim. Rather, he claims
that he is immune from criminal prosecution pursuant to Section 776.032 because
he believed the force he used was necessary to prevent the imminent commission
of a forcible felony, specifically a sexual battery,2 by the victim.
When a defendant files a motion to dismiss based upon the Stand Your
Ground law, the trial court must conduct an evidentiary hearing and weigh all the
factual evidence presented. Dennis v. State, 51 So. 3d 456, 458 (Fla. 2010) (“We
conclude that where a criminal defendant files a motion to dismiss on the basis of
section 776.032, the trial court should decide the factual question of the
1 Arauz was also charged with credit card theft and fraudulent use of the victim’s
credit card.
2See Sections 776.012 and 776.08, Florida Statutes (2013) defining sexual battery
as a “forcible felony” for purposes of the Stand Your Ground law.
applicability of the statutory immunity.”). After the evidentiary hearing, the trial
court must determine whether a preponderance of the evidence shows the
defendant to be immune from prosecution under section 776.12(2). Id. at 460. See
also State v. Yaqui, 51 So. 3d 474, 475-76 (Fla. 3d DCA 2010). Under the
appellate court’s standard of review in a Stand Your Ground case, the trial court’s
findings of fact are “presumed correct and can be reversed only if they are not
supported by competent substantial evidence, while the trial court’s legal
conclusions are reviewed de novo.” Mobley v. State, 132 So. 3d 1160, 1162 (Fla.
3d DCA 2014) (citing State v. Vino, 100 So. 3d 716 (Fla. 3d DCA 2012)). See
also Joseph v. State, 103 So. 3d 227, 229-30 (Fla. 4th DCA 2012).
In this case, Arauz claimed immunity based on an alleged threat of the
imminent commission of a sexual battery. At the evidentiary hearing it was shown
that Arauz was a student at Florida International University and had known the
victim for several years prior to the incident. Arauz sometimes performed odd jobs
for the victim. The victim occasionally flirted with Arauz and asked him about his
sexual preferences. On October 15, 2009, prior to going to the victim’s house,
Arauz told his girlfriend he was going to obtain some money. He then went to the
victim’s house to obtain a letter of reference, which the victim had promised to
provide for an internship application by Arauz. Arauz testified that when he got to
the victim’s home, the victim demanded sexual favors in exchange for the letter of
3
recommendation. Arauz testified that he rejected the demand and attempted to
leave the victim’s home, but he was blocked. According to Arauz, during the
ensuing altercation the victim grabbed Arauz’s wrist and shoulder, forcing him
against a wall. Arauz then ran out of the back of the house, but the victim followed
him and chased him back into the house. Arauz then grabbed a knife and told the
victim he would stab him. Additional fighting ensued when Arauz attempted to
unlock the front door or gate during which time the victim cut his hand on the
knife and Arauz stabbed the victim at least once. Arauz and the victim continued
to fight, losing the knife and trying to relocate it, with Arauz eventually stabbing
the victim several times. Arauz testified that after the stabbing he “tapped” the
body, but did not call for any help. He went into the kitchen, cleaned his wounds
and had a glass of water. Arauz then dragged the body into the house from the
courtyard and hosed down the courtyard and walls of blood and wiped the blood
off of the knife. Arauz took clothing from the victim as well as money and credit
cards and, over the next four days, used the victim’s credit card and told several
people different stories regarding his use of the credit card and the source of his
wounds.
Following the evidentiary hearing, based on the totality of the evidence
presented, the trial court concluded that Arauz had not satisfied the necessary
burden of proof to be immune from criminal prosecution pursuant to the Stand
4
Your Ground law. The trial court specifically found that “[t]aken in their totality,
these actions [of the defendant] do not reflect someone who had simply been trying
to protect himself from death or serious bodily injury.”3
We find there is competent substantial evidence to support the trial court’s
factual findings and that the trial court properly analyzed the legal issues. We
conclude the trial court did not err in denying Arauz’s motion to dismiss, and
therefore affirm the conviction and sentence.
Affirmed.
3 Following the trial court’s denial of the motion to dismiss, Arauz entered a
negotiated plea, reserving the right to appeal the denial of this dispositive motion.
5