RAFFAELE IMBIMBO, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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The court held that denying a challenge for cause against a potentially prejudiced juror, forcing the defendant to exhaust peremptory challenges, constitutes reversible error.
During voir dire, a juror admitted she would 'probably' be prejudiced but 'probably' could follow instructions, leading to a denied challenge for caus…
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LETTS, Judge.
During voir dire, a juror admitted that she “probably” would be prejudiced but “probably” could follow the judge’s instructions. The defendant’s challenge for cause was denied. We reverse.
We see no reason to elaborate on the colloquy alluded to above, other than to reiterate that reasonable doubt as a juror’s state of mind should result in him or her being excused, Longshore v. Fronrath Chevrolet, Inc., 527 So. 2d 922, 923 (Fla. 4th DCA 1988), and write primarily to explain why the error was not harmless. It is true that the defendant used a peremptory challenge to excuse the prejudiced juror, but he also used up all his peremptory challenges and his request for additional challenges was denied. As we said in Longshore v. Fronrath Chevrolet, Inc.:
If, because of an erroneous denial of a challenge for cause, a party ⅛ forced to exhaust his or her peremptory challenges and, subsequently makes a request for additional peremptory challenges which is denied ... an appellate court will reverse and grant a new trial....
Id. at 923.
We also note, and at oral argument both counsel agreed, that the trial court’s “Judgment, Sentence and Order Placing Defendant on Probation ...” dated January 6, 1988, is in error. The jury clearly found appellant not guilty of leaving the scene of an accident involving personal injury.
Accordingly, we reverse and remand for a new trial on the two counts remaining.
REVERSED and REMANDED.
POLEN, J., and KANAREK, PAUL B., Associate Judge, concur.
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Weinstein Design Grp., Inc. v. Fielder, 884 So. 2d 990 (Fla. 4th DCA 2004)…e? [Prospective Juror Porcelli]: According to what I have heard so far, yeah. I believe the Plaintiff does have a little bit of an edge because of the fact it seems someone has admitted he used his name without his permission: In Imbimbo v. State, 555 So. 2d 954, 955 (Fla. 4th DCA 1990), this court reversed a denial of a challenge for cause, after a juror admitted during voir dire that she “probably” would be prejudiced but “probably” could follow the judge’s instructions. Similarly, in Jaffe v. Applebaum,…
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Natale Lorenzo Montozzi v. State, 633 So. 2d 563 (Fla. 4th DCA 1994)…n, nevertheless we have ordered new trials ourselves where we were convinced of the existence of reasonable doubts. Chapman, 593 So. 2d at 607; Street v. State, 592 So. 2d 369 (Fla. 4th DCA), rev. denied, 599 So. 2d 658 (Fla.1992); Imbimbo v. State, 555 So. 2d 954 (Fla. 4th DCA 1990). Qualified promises by a would-be juror to be fair and impartial are simply not enough to guarantee a fair trial, at least in the face of such prior testimony as this juror gave. Robinson v. State, 506 So. 2d 1070, 1072 (Fla. 5th…
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Williams v. State, 638 So. 2d 976 (Fla. 4th DCA 1994)….g., Graham v. State, 470 So. 2d 97 (Fla. 1st DCA 1985). Reasonable doubt has been found where a juror admitted she “probably” would be prejudiced, even though she then asserted she “probably” could follow the judge’s instructions. Imbimbo v. State, 555 So. 2d 954 (Fla. 4th DCA 1990). It was only after the court asked a series of questions, which included leading questions, that this juror asserted his belief that he hoped he could be fair and impartial. See Hagerman v. State, 613 So. 2d 552 (Fla. 4th DCA 19…
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- Longshore v. Fronrath Chevrolet, Inc., 527 So. 2d 922 (Fla. 4th DCA 1988)