FL3: Trial court erred in not believing a police officer not impeached or contradicted at all

The testimony of the police officer in this case was neither impeached, contradicted, or implausible. It was error for the trial court to reject it and grant the motion to suppress. State v. Ojeda, 2014 Fla. App. LEXIS 11197 (Fla. 3d DCA July 23, 2014):

We also conclude the trial court erred by finding Detective Orenstein’s testimony was not credible. Although the evidentiary hearing in this case was one of three such hearings directly or indirectly involving Detective Orenstein, held in tandem by the trial judge on the same day, and while taken together the trial judge appropriately had some cause for concern about Detective Orenstein’s credibility, counsel agreed at the beginning of the hearings that each matter would proceed and be argued “case by case.” Although defense counsel argued Detective Orenstein was not a credible witness, he introduced no evidence impeaching or contradicting Orenstein’s testimony in this case. The long-settled law of this District is that in a suppression hearing context, the trial judge must accept any evidence by a police officer “which is neither impeached, discredited, controverted, contradictory within itself, or physically impossible.” See State v. Fernandez, 526 So. 2d 192, 193 (Fla. 3d DCA 1988) (“Although the trial judge purported to find the testimony of the officers at the motion to suppress ‘not credible,’ he was not free to do so.”) (citing Flowers v. State, 106 Fla. 686, 143 So. 612 (1932); Brannen v. State, 94 Fla. 656, 114 So. 429 (1927); Harris v. State, 104 So. 2d 739 (Fla. 2d DCA 1958)). The record in this case does not reveal any evidence that the testimony of Orenstein met any of the criteria by which it could have been discounted by the trial judge, and the trial judge cites no such evidence. For all of these reasons, we reverse the order granting the motion to suppress in Case No. 05-37152.