STATE OF FLORIDA, PETITIONER,
v.
SALVADOR F. MUSTELIER, RESPONDENT
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A defendant's statutory right to a twelve-person jury in a first-degree murder trial can be effectively waived by defense counsel's agreement to a six-person jury in exchange for the state waiving the death penalty.
Defense counsel agreed to a six-person jury for a first-degree murder trial in exchange for the prosecution waiving the death penalty. The trial court…
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McDonald, justice.
In Mustelier v. State, 550 So. 2d 1124, 1125 (Fla. 3d DCA 1989), the district court certified the following question as one of great public importance:
Is a twelve-person jury required in a first-degree murder case in which the prosecution waives the death penalty?
We have jurisdiction. Art. V, § 3(b)(4), Fla. Const. We answered the certified question with a qualified affirmative and held that, regardless of whether the state seeks the death penalty, a twelve-person jury is required in first-degree murder trials unless waived by the defense. State v. Griffith, 561 So. 2d 528 (Fla.1990). In this case defense counsel’s agreement with the state to trial by a six-person jury in exchange for the state’s waiver of the death penalty constitutes an effective and valid waiver of Mustelier’s statutory right to a twelve-person jury.* Griffith. We therefore quash the district court’s decision.
It is so ordered. EHRLICH, C.J., and SHAW, BARKETT, GRIMES and KOGAN, JJ., concur. OVERTON, J., concurs in result only.
*
The following exchange took place on the record.
MR. BERRY: [Prosecutor]: For the record, I think it was done yesterday in front of Judge Gersten, but we’re picking a six-person jury; is that correct?
MR. WILLIAMS: [Defense Counsel]: Yes.
MR. SCOLA: [Prosecutor]: Has Mr. Mustelier agreed to have a six-person jury?
MR. WILLIAMS: [Defense Counsel]: Yes. The State has waived death?
MR. BERRY: [Prosecutor]: Yes.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
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Blair v. State, 698 So. 2d 1210 (Fla. 1997)…t has also approved of the waiver of a twelve-person jury and permitted a trial by a six-person jury in a capital case, where the State waives the right to seek the death penalty and the parties stipulate to the smaller jury. See State v. Mustelier, 561 So. 2d 533 (Fla.1990); State v. Rodriguez-Acosta, 561 So. 2d 531 (Fla.1990); State v. Jones, 561 So. 2d 532 (Fla.1990); State v. Enriquez, 572 So. 2d 515 (Fla.1990). In those cases we held that the waiver was effective even if counsel, rather than the defendan…
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Mustelier v. State, 965 So. 2d 192 (Fla. 3d DCA 2007)…ded to determine whether a twelve-person jury is required in a first-degree murder case in which the prosecution waives the death penalty. On May 29, 1990, the Florida Supreme Court reinstated the convictions on both charges. See State v. Mustelier, 561 So. 2d 533 (Fla.1990). Subsequent motions for post conviction relief failed. Mustelier then filed this Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus on September 30, 2005, nearly fifteen years after the convictions became final. In his Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus…
Authorities Cited
- State v. Griffith, 561 So. 2d 528 (Fla. 1990)
- State v. J.R.R., 550 So. 2d 1124 (Fla. 3d DCA 1989)