HUMBERTO AVILA SALAZAR, APPELLANT,
v.
THE STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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The court held that the trial court erred in refusing to excuse a prospective juror for cause, which harmed the defendant.
During voir dire, a prospective juror expressed doubt about her ability to be fair due to a personal tragedy. The trial court refused to excuse her fo…
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[*1246] CONFESSION OF ERROR
PER CURIAM.
The defendant, Humberto Salazar, appeals from a. judgment of conviction and sentence entered against him for robbery based on an adverse jury verdict. We reverse and remand for a new trial.
The trial court erred in refusing to excuse for cause prospective juror Evans. During voir dire, Ms. Evans was asked whether the fact that her elderly mother had recently been raped and robbed would affect her ability to fairly decide the defendant’s case. Ms. Evans stated: “Strange thing, I would hope not. I would hope I could be fair but I guess there is always that doubt.” This statement reiterated the reasonable doubt existing in this juror’s state of mind. Therefore, as the state properly concedes, the trial court erred in failing to excuse Ms. Evans for cause where a reasonable doubt existed as to her ability to be impartial. See Imbimbo v. State, 555 So. 2d 954 (Fla. 5th DCA 1990); Price v. State, 538 So. 2d 486 (Fla. 3d DCA 1989); Smith v. State, 516 So. 2d 43 (Fla. 3d DCA 1987).
This error harmed the defendant since (1) he was forced to exercise a peremptory challenge against Ms. Evans when she should have been excused for cause; (2) he exhausted all of his allotted peremptory challenges; and (3) he was denied additional peremptory challenges. See Hill v. State, 477 So. 2d 553, 556 (Fla.1985); Smith v. State, 516 So. 2d 43 (Fla. 3d DCA 1987). Since this point is dispositive, we do not need to reach defendant’s remaining point on appeal. For these reasons, the final judgment of conviction and sentence under review is reversed, and the cause is remanded to the trial court for a new trial.
Reversed and remanded.
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Smith v. State, 28 So. 3d 838 (Fla. 2009)…e jurors were related to victims of violent crimes but did not assure the court of their ability to follow the law. See, e.g., Segura v. State, 921 So. 2d 765 (Fla. 3d DCA 2006); Wilkins v. State, 607 So. 2d 500 (Fla. 3d DCA 1992); Salazar v. State, 564 So. 2d 1245 (Fla. 3d DCA 1990). Finally, with respect to this point, I note that section 913.03 sets forth a list of grounds on which a challenge for cause may be based and provides that such a challenge “may be made only on” one of the specifically enumerated…
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Melvyn M. Garcia v. State, 570 So. 2d 1082 (Fla. 3d DCA 1990)…y declined to excuse a juror for cause, notwithstanding the fact that the statements made by the juror during voir dire raised reasonable doubt about her competency as a juror.1 See Blye v. State, 566 So. 2d 877 (Fla. 3d DCA 1990); Salazar v. State, 564 So. 2d 1245 (Fla. 3d DCA 1990). This reasonable doubt remained de [*1083] spite the juror’s answers to leading questions about her ability to follow the law. See Club West, Inc. v. Tropigas of Fla., Inc., 514 So. 2d 426 (Fla. 3d DCA 1987); Leon v. State, 396 So…
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Arlington Blye v. State, 566 So. 2d 877 (Fla. 3d DCA 1990)…ince the [*878] issue was properly preserved below by the exhaustion of the defendant’s other peremptory challenges and his unsuccessful request for an additional one, reversal is required. Hill v. State, 477 So. 2d 553 (Fla.1985); Salazar v. State, 564 So. 2d 1245 (Fla. 3d DCA 1990); Jefferson v. State, 489 So. 2d 211 (Fla. 3d DCA 1986), review denied, 494 So. 2d 1153 (Fla.1986); Leon v. State, 396 So. 2d 203 (Fla. 3d DCA 1981), review denied, 407 So. 2d 1106 (Fla.1981).2 Reversed and Remanded. . The pertin…
Previewing 3 of 10 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Hill v. State, 477 So. 2d 553 (Fla. 1985)
- Price v. State, 538 So. 2d 486 (Fla. 3d DCA 1989)
- Smith v. State, 516 So. 2d 43 (Fla. 3d DCA 1987)
- Raffaele Imbimbo v. State, 555 So. 2d 954 (Fla. 4th DCA 1990)