RALPH WILLIAM MEIXELSPERGER, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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The Florida District Court of Appeal reversed a criminal conviction and remanded for a new trial because the prosecutor's trial brief, containing the state's case materials and incriminating documents, was inadvertently submitted to the jury during deliberations. The court held this constituted an incurable violation of fundamental justice and fair play, regardless of whether jurors were actually influenced.
The court reversed the conviction and remanded for a new trial, holding that the submission of the prosecutor's trial brief to the jury during deliberations constituted an incurable violation of fundamental justice and fair play. The court found this extraneous influence fundamentally improper regardless of whether individual jurors were actually influenced.
[1] A prosecutor's trial brief containing incriminating documents, case law, and witness lists constitutes an extraneous influence on a jury during deliberations.
[2] The submission of a prosecutor's trial brief to the jury during deliberations is an incurable violation of fundamental justice and fair play.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“One of the most sacred and carefully protected elements of our system of criminal — or civil, for that matter — justice is the sanctity of an impartial jury that has not been infected by unlawful or improper influences.”
Establishes the fundamental principle that jury impartiality is critical to fair trials and must be zealously guarded.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAt trial conclusion, the prosecutor's trial brief reached the jury during deliberations, apparently when exhibits were distributed. The brief containe…
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PER CURIAM.
Our review of the record and the law fails to demonstrate any merit to appellant’s points on appeal except as to appellant’s point one concerning the submission of the prosecutor’s trial brief to the jury during their deliberations. We reverse on that point and remand for a new trial.
At the conclusion of the trial of this case, the prosecutor’s trial brief containing the state’s entire case against the appellant somehow reached the jury during their deliberations, apparently at the time the various exhibits were handed the jury. The trial brief included, but was not limited to, various notes of the prosecutor, xeroxed cases and statutes, a list of exhibits and witnesses, and various other incriminating documents. In addition, the court’s bailiff observed at least one juror examining the contents of the trial brief in the deliberation room.
We are not of the opinion, nor do the circumstances suggest, that the trial brief reached the jurors through an intentional act of any party connected with the trial below. The inclusion of the trial brief was obviously unintended and inadvertent, although “assessing fault” or “placing blame” does not concern us here. We are, however, deeply concerned with an incurable violation of fundamental justice and fair play.
Whether or not one or more of the jurors were influenced by the inclusion of this brief is not readily apparent nor necessary to our decision. It clearly appears that at the very least, the jury was subjected to an extraneous influence which we consider fundamentally improper. State ex rel. Larkins v. Lewis, 54 So. 2d 199 (Fla.1951). One of the most sacred and carefully protected elements of our system of criminal — or civil, for that matter — justice is the sanctity of an impartial jury that has not been infected by unlawful or improper influences. This is absolutely vital to the guarantee of a fair trial to an accused. The safeguarding of that ideal must be zealously guarded.
Accordingly, we reverse and set aside the conviction and sentence of the appellant and remand for a new trial.
OTT, C.J., and BOARDMAN and RYDER, JJ., concur.
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Banos v. State, 521 So. 2d 302 (Fla. 3d DCA 1988)…ns, which we hold was fundamentally improper. The law is well settled that where jurors cpnsider matters not in evidence, to the prejudice of a defendant, a new trial is mandated. Russ v. State, 95 So. 2d 594, 601 (Fla.1957); Meixelsperger v. State, 423 So. 2d 416 (Fla. 2d DCA 1982); Nelson v. State, 362 So. 2d 1017 (Fla. 3d DCA 1978). Accordingly, we reverse the conviction and sentences and remand for a new trial. Reversed and remanded for a new trial.…
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Carmine Brancaccio and Helen Brancaccio v. Jackal Corp., 641 So. 2d 114 (Fla. 3d DCA 1994)…cide cases limited strictly to the evidence presented in court and the law charged to them by the court. A slipshod attitude as to such matters can only undermine the acceptance and confidence which our system has earned.”); Meixelsper-ger v. State, 423 So. 2d 416, 417 (Fla. 2d DCA 1982) (“One of the most sacred and carefully protected elements of our system of criminal — or civil, for that matter — justice is the sanctity of an impartial jury that has not been infected by unlawful or improper influences. Thi…
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- State Ex Rel. Larkins v. Lewis, 54 So. 2d 199 (Fla. 1951)