Posts filed under 'General Voir Dire'
The section of The Florida Jury Selection blog dealing with juror pay has been updated thanks to the work of my brilliant law clerk, Kristin Bianculli. One of the most common concerns of potential jurors during voir dire is whether they will get paid while they are serving on a jury. State law only requires the government to pay jurors a very small amount for their service, and imposes no obligation at all on private employers. In researching this issue Kristin discovered there are some local County ordinances which require some private employers to pay some employees for all or a portion of the time they serve on the jury. The Broward County ordinance has been added to the Blog and others will be in the near future.
April 2nd, 2008
The Supreme Court of the United States reversed a brutal murder conviction yesterday concluding that the prosecutor’s peremptory strike of a black college student appeared to be racially discriminatory. In Snyder v. Louisiana, 552 U.S. __ (2008) the Court held, in a 7 - 2 decision written by Justice Samuel Alito, that the trial court committed clear error in rejecting the defendant’s Batson objection to the prosecution’s peremptory strike. Justices Thomas and Scalia dissented.
The high Court reviewed the trial transcript and concluded that the two reasons proffered by the prosecution as justification for the strike (1: that the black student looked nervous, and 2: that he had a student-teaching obligation to fulfill) were pretextual. The Court observed that this prospective juror was 1 of more than 50 venire members expressing concern that jury service would interfere with work, school, family or other obligations, and therefore that the prosecutor’s explanation was implausible.
March 20th, 2008
This Wednesday’s New York Times reports that a federal district court judge has concluded that allowing American-born blacks on a Bronx jury but systematically excluding West Indian-born blacks from the jury is discriminatory. Federal Judge William H. Pauley III concluded that prospective black jurors cannot be excluded from jury service because of their national origin even though other blacks served on the jury. In other words, it is improper to exclude prospective jurors from a jury because of their national origin (as opposed to their race). The complete Times’ story can be viewed by clicking here: Ban on Using Nationality to Exclude Jurors is Upheld.
March 5th, 2008
The Harris Corporation released a poll on jury duty yesterday. Harris Poll on Jury Duty. The poll contains some interesting findings on who is most likely to show up for jury duty and actually end up serving on a jury. It also shows that Americans, by a factor of 2 to 1, would trust a jury more than a judge to arrive at a fair verdict in a case. Sadly, the poll reveals that many Americans are still shirking their civic responsibility — three-quarters of Americans have never served on a jury, and over half have never attended jury duty. The poll is worth taking a look at, and it provides some interesting information on how Americans currently view trial by jury in this country.
January 22nd, 2008
Last week, in Algie v. Lennar Corp., the 4th District Court of Appeal reversed a defense verdict in a slip and fall case. A juror had told the lawyers during jury selection that although he wouldn’t have any problem “serving fairly” if chosen, he believed that in every slip and fall case the person who slips and falls is at least partially responsible. The juror said this would factor into his decision in the case and would be something the plaintiff would have to overcome in order to prevail.
Referring back to the seminal Supreme Court decision of Singer v. State, 109 So.2d 7 (Fla 1959), and its progeny, the court observed that although the juror in this case subsequently stated he believed he could be fair, the juror never recanted or receded from his earlier expressed view. The court held that any “ambiguities or uncertainties” concerning a juror’s impartiality must be resolved in favor of excusing the juror. Therefore, the defense verdict was reversed.
November 19th, 2007
Earlier this month, the Supreme Court of Florida adopted several new rules and jury instructions that pertain to juries during jury trials in Florida. In Re: Amendments to Rules (Fla 2007). These new rules, which become effective on January 1, 2008, codify and expand some of the rights afforded to jurors in the “Juror’s Bill of Rights” passed by the Florida legislature in 1999. The new rules and instructions deal with a juror’s ability during trial to take notes, ask questions, compile notebooks of exhibits, and other matters, and the rules vary between civil and criminal trials in Florida.
The Honorable Robert Shevin (pictured above) was instrumental in the creation of the new rules and he chaired the “Jury Innovations Committee” that produced these recommendations. Unfortunately, Judge Shevin died before his work came to fruition, but the Supreme Court noted his “extraordinary dedication and service” to this project in its opinion. A complete copy of the committee’s report and recommendations (many of which were not adopted by the Court) can be found by clicking here: Jury Innovations Committee - Final Report.
A brief analysis and explanation of some of the new rules and jury instructions is set forth in the left-hand column of this blog in the section entitled: Juror’s Bill of Rights .
October 30th, 2007
Meet Erin - the blogging juror. Right now she is serving on a jury somewhere. Or at least she was last Tuesday and Wednesday. Erin has a blog, and she posted her thoughts about jury duty on her blog last week while she was on the jury: “yeah somebody actually put me on a jury. I guess I will probably be juror number eight, blowing everybody’s minds with charisma and excessive knowledge of forensic psychology. remember the movie? twelve angry men? god i hope i get to be the foreman of this stupid jury. MADAM FOREWOMAN OF THE JURY! i can’t wait to decide the lives and deaths of men tomorrow.” Erin refers to herself as the “oak park mastermind,” and you can read more of Erin’s thoughts about her civic service (”the stupid jury isn’t over yet”) by visiting her blog.
Erin’s blog post was sent to me last night by jury consultant, Amy Singer, who wrote “this blog post illustrates the necessity of online searching venire panelists for information.” Amy is obviously right, and this kind of stuff is happening more and more. In 2005 I started asking every panel member in every voir dire whether they have a web site, a blog, or a page on myspace, facebook or any other website. Back then not many jurors did. But that has been rapidly changing. Business week reported that in 2005 there were 40,000 new blogs popping up each day (Blogs Will Change Your Business). I’m sure the number has only increased since then. In my opinion, these questions are no longer optional in a 2007 voir dire. You can learn more about a juror from visiting their blog or their page on facebook than you can from a month’s worth of questions in the courtroom.
Vesna Jaksic, who does excellent investigative writing on jury issues for The National Law Journal, wrote a piece on blogging jurors this past March (A New Headache for Courts: Blogging Jurors). I was quoted at that time as follows: “Any lawyer who does not inquire during jury selection about a juror’s Internet presence — whether it be a Web site, a blog, an account on MySpace or an account on Match.com — hasn’t done their job.” I think Erin’s post about her jury duty proves my point. I can’t wait to see if she was the Foreperson.
October 7th, 2007
During jury selection a potential juror stated she “did not think she could focus on the trial.” Both sides agreed she should be stricken for cause. But the trial judge refused to strike her, and she ended up on the jury. (This alone would probably have resulted in a quick reversal of any verdict). However, after the first day of testimony, the woman raised her hand (she obviously REALLY didn’t want to be there) and told the judge she lived near the store where the incident occurred. She said she disagreed with the police officer’s testimony about which direction the store faced. She said her independent knowledge about the store made her distrust the testimony of the officer, and she no longer thought she could be fair and impartial. The judge then dismissed her from the jury (saving the almost certain reversal) and seated an alternate in her place. On appeal, the Fifth District affirmed the trial judge’s actions, and held it was not error to remove the juror from the jury. The Court held that the juror’s “own expressions of doubt about her ability to decide the case impartially easily provided a reasonable doubt about her ability to decide the case solely on the evidence,” and therefore justified her removal from the case. Lowry v. State, 32 FLW D1978 (Fla 5th DCA 2007).
This case demonstrates, once again, the problems that can arise when judges attempt to keep jurors who are trying to get out of serving on a case. It is a frustrating and all-too-common reality of voir dire. However, this issue was squarely addressed in a recent decision from the Fourth District. “We recognize that, here, the trial court and the appellees’ counsel may well have been right in surmising that the juror really ‘did not want to be there’ and ‘wanted off this jury.’ But, close issues as to juror bias are resolved in favor of excusing the juror, rather than leaving a doubt.” See, Four Wood Consulting, LLC v. Fyne, __ So2d __ (Fla 4th DCA 2007).
September 14th, 2007
Last week the 4th DCA summarily dispensed with an appeal regarding a Neil challenge due to counsel’s failure to renew his objection before the jury was sworn. In Pozo v. State, __ So2d __ (Fla 4th DCA - August 8, 2007) the Defendant objected during jury selection to the State’s striking of a Hispanic juror. However, he failed to renew his objection before the jury was sworn. The Court held that the potential error was therefore not preserved for appeal. Earlier this year, in Glinton v. State, 32 FLW D1012a (Fla 4th DCA 2007), the same Court held that any error in the striking of two black jurors during voir dire was not preserved for appeal when counsel “accepted” the jury and did not renew his objections before the jury was sworn. Obviously, in light of these two opinions, Counsel is well advised never to “accept” a jury and also to renew all objections made during the course of jury selection before the jury is sworn.
August 13th, 2007
That’s what Rhovan Curtis, of Coconut Creek, learned after reporting to state court in Fort Lauderdale on July 23, his 20th birthday. When Judge Joel Lazarus told the pool of potential jurors to return after lunch, Curtis asked if he could be excused. His friends were “firing up the grill” for his birthday barbecue, he explained. The judge said no. After the lunch break, Curtis was a no-show.On Wednesday, he was back in court to answer to a misdemeanor charge: indirect contempt of court.The judge did weigh Curtis’ clean record and remorse. Instead of ordering the maximum six-month sentence, Lazarus opted for 25 hours of community service and this warning: “The next time you’re called for jury duty, you better show up.” Curtis gets to sidestep a criminal conviction. He would have spent less time on the jury — the burglary case he was being considered for wrapped up after two days. Looking humbled and nervous Wednesday in a dark suit and with his head bowed, Curtis gave the judge a typed letter of apology.”I’ve been generous my whole life and always put others before myself accept on July 23, 2007, when I let you and the Jury down,” the letter said. “In the end I had a birthday full of stress and worry.” Curtis also wrote of his newfound respect for the important role jurors play in the criminal justice system. “He made a youthful mistake to go to his birthday celebration,” said Curtis’ attorney, Michael A. Fischler. “He’s just learned a valuable lesson.” Next time he gets called for jury duty? “He’ll be there early and he’ll stay,” Fischler declared.
The above story comes from South Florida Sun-Sentinel (August 2, 2007) by Tonya Alanez
August 2nd, 2007
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