Betsy v. State

Joe Nathan Betsy, defendant, appeals his conviction for involuntary sexual battery.

Betsy first urges as reversible error the introduction of mug shots of him on the back of which was stamped, “PUBLIC SAFETY DEPARTMENT, DADE COUNTY, FLORIDA”, with blanks to be filled in supplying such description as the name of the person photographed, his date of birth, identification and case numbers, etc. He argues that these mug shots served only to prejudice him by implying to the jury that he had been guilty of prior unrelated crimes.

Whether the introduction of mug shots constitutes reversible error…