SEAN DOUTRE, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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Sean Doutre appealed his convictions for first-degree premeditated murder and conspiracy to commit murder, arguing that juror misconduct—specifically a juror's unauthorized use of a pocket dictionary during deliberations—entitled him to a new trial. The appellate court affirmed his convictions, holding that while the dictionary use violated procedural rules, it constituted harmless error because it did not affect any juror's verdict.
The court held that while the juror's use of the dictionary was improper and violated Florida Rules of Criminal Procedure, it was harmless error and did not constitute reversible error because it did not affect any juror's verdict or prejudice the defendant's substantial rights, particularly given the overwhelming evidence of guilt.
[1] Juror misconduct involving the unauthorized use of a dictionary during deliberations is not per se reversible error.
[2] A jury's consideration of extrinsic evidence mandates a new trial only where the substantial rights of the defendant were prejudiced thereby.
Previewing 2 of 4 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“The jury misconduct surrounding its unauthorized use of the pocket dictionary did not affect the verdict of any juror or prejudice any juror, and did not affect any substantial right of Doutre so as to result in error so prejudicial as to vitiate his trial. The error was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt, considering the overwhelming proof of his guilt of the crimes for which he was convicted.”
Trial judge's harmless error analysis and holding that despite procedural violation, the misconduct did not warrant reversal given overwhelming evidence of guilt.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceDuring jury deliberations, one juror produced a pocket dictionary from her purse and looked up definitions of words related to 'reasonable doubt,' a k…
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WIGGINTON, Judge.
Appellant appeals his convictions, after jury trial, of first degree premeditated murder and conspiracy to commit murder. We affirm.
Of the numerous issues raised by appellant, only the one in which he asserts that juror misconduct entitles him to a new trial merits discussion. In denying the motion for new trial, the trial judge found that inadvertent juror misconduct did occur when during deliberations, one juror, with no improper intent or motive, produced a pocket dictionary that she carried in her purse. She attempted to look up the term “reasonable doubt,” which had been the subject of one of the jury instructions given by the court. Since that term was not in her dictionary, she checked the word “reason” which was defined as “explanation; cause, ability to think, think logically” and the word “logic” which was defined as “reasoning, science of reasoning.” She shared those definitions with some of the other jurors. As the trial judge found, her action did violate the spirit of Florida Rules of Criminal Procedure 3.400 and 3.410, which govern what materials are permitted in the jury room and provide that any request for additional instructions by the jury shall be given only after notice to the prosecuting attorney and defense counsel.
Several days after the conclusion of the trial, appellant moved for a new trial based in part upon his discovery of the above information. Thereafter, each juror was deposed regarding this issue. After reading the transcript of all of those depositions, we find, as did the trial judge, that although six jurors indicated that they believed the reading of the dictionary’s definition did affect the verdict of one or two of the other jurors, every juror stated that his or her own verdict was based only upon consideration of the evidence and the instructions given by the court. Despite the State’s concession that a new trial was mandated under these facts, in a lengthy and well-reasoned order, the trial judge determined that this type of jury misconduct is not per se reversible error.. He stated:
The jury misconduct surrounding its unauthorized use of the pocket dictionary did not affect the verdict of any juror or prejudice any juror, and did not affect any substantial right of Doutre so as to result in error so prejudicial as to vitiate his trial. The error was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt, considering the overwhelming proof of his guilt of the crimes for which he was convicted. It is axiomatic that no criminal defendant is entitled to a perfect trial, but only to a fair trial. Doutre’s trial may not have been a perfect trial, but it was certainly a fair trial before a fair jury he helped choose.
He relied upon United States v. Steele, 785 F. 2d 743 (9th Cir.1986), in which the court reached the same conclusion under similar facts. In White v. State, 462 So. 2d 52 (Fla. 1st DCA 1984), this Court recognized that jurors may not receive any information or evidence that has not been introduced at trial but concluded that any extrinsic evidence received by the jury will mandate a new trial only where the “substantial rights of the defendant were prejudiced thereby.” See also U.S. v. Dynalectric Company, 859 F. 2d 1559 (11th Cir.1988), in which the court concluded that unauthorized extrinsic evidence considered by a jury during deliberations did not taint the jury’s verdict and thus did not constitute reversible error. We agree with the trial judge that the introduction of the unauthorized dictionary definition during the jury’s deliberations in this case was improper but did not affect the jury’s verdict and thus does not constitute reversible error. We have considered appellant’s other points and find them to be without merit.
AFFIRMED.
WENTWORTH and THOMPSON, JJ., concur.
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Citator
Cited By
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State v. Thewell Eugene Hamilton, 574 So. 2d 124 (Fla. 1991)…conclusion. . The First District has reached a similar conclusion in a case in which a juror consulted her pocket dictionary and read aloud from it during deliberations to help ascertain the meaning of the term "reasonable doubt.” Doutre v. State, 539 So. 2d 569, 569 (Fla. 1st DCA 1989), review denied, 545 So. 2d 1366 (Fla. 1989). The Doutre court, however, clearly erred in this holding. The Doutre court permitted an improper inquiry into the thought processes of jurors and then based its finding on this in…
Authorities Cited
- Woratzeck v. Ricketts, 859 F.2d 1559 (9th Cir. 1988)
- United States v. Steele, 785 F.2d 743 (9th Cir. 1986)
- Lynwood White v. State, 462 So. 2d 52 (Fla. 1st DCA 1984)