Cooper v. State

James Richard Cooper seeks review of the decision of the Second District Court of Appeal in Cooper v. State, 13 So. 3d 147 (Fla. 2d DCA 2009), on the grounds that it expressly and directly conflicts with the decision of this Court in State v. DiGuilio, 491 So. 2d 1129 (Fla. 1986).1 Cooper was convicted of four counts of sexual battery on a person in familial custody and two counts of lewd molestation for his sexual abuse of a single victim over a period of years. Cooper v. State, 13 So. 3d 147, 148 (Fla. 2d DCA 2009). On appeal, the Second District concluded that the trial court erred in allowing the State to present evidence that Cooper engaged in extensive, ongoing abuse of the victim when Cooper was charged with only six single counts of sexual misconduct.2 Id. at 148-49. The Second District then performed a harmless error analysis, citing but not using the standard set forth by this Court in DiGuilio: