ARTHUR MANN, APPELLANT,
v.
THE STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.
Arthur Mann appeals his conviction for attempted first-degree murder and robbery. The appellate court reverses and remands because the trial court erred by failing to dismiss a biased prospective juror for cause, forcing Mann to use a peremptory challenge and then denying his request for an additional challenge.
The trial court erred in failing to dismiss prospective juror Phillips for cause. Because the defense was forced to utilize a peremptory challenge to strike a juror that should have been removed for cause, Mann was entitled to an additional peremptory challenge, which the trial court wrongly denied.
[1] A trial court errs by denying a challenge for cause when a prospective juror expresses a bias that would cause them to give greater weight to police testimony.
[2] When a trial court improperly denies a challenge for cause, and the defense is forced to use a peremptory challenge on that juror, the defense is entitled to an additiona…
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“MS. PHILLIPS: I would probably tend to side with them.”
Prospective juror's admission of bias in favor of police officers when asked if she would have grudges in favor of the State.
Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceMann was charged with attempted first-degree murder, robbery, and unlawful possession of a firearm. During jury selection, prospective juror Eleanor P…
The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence© FLexlaw, Inc. — AI-generated enrichments are proprietary. All rights reserved.
Explore caselaw by topic → Browse Juror Impartiality cases and more on FLexlaw
[*552] CONFESSION OF ERROR
PER CURIAM.
The defendant, Arthur Mann, appeals his conviction and sentence for attempted first-degree murder. We reverse and remand.
The defendant was charged by information with attempted first-degree murder, robbery, and two counts of unlawful possession of a firearm. The two counts of unlawful possession of a firearm were severed from the information, and the defendant stood trial on the charges of attempted first-degree murder and robbery.
During jury selection, prospective juror Eleanor Phillips was questioned by the trial court regarding possible ties to law enforcement. Ms. Phillips revealed that her brother-in-law is a Miami Beach police officer and that her godson was a police officer who was killed. The trial court asked her whether she could be a fair and impartial juror. Ms. Phillips responded: “Well, I don’t know what the story is. I will certainly try to be.” The trial court explained that this case did not involve a crime against a police officer. In response, Ms. Phillips stated: “I could be fair. I could be fair.”
Thereafter, the prosecutor, Mr. Kos-trzewski, also questioned Ms. Phillips regarding her godson. The following colloquy took place:
MR. KOSTRZEWSKI: This case is going to involve Metro Dade police officers or Metro Dade technicians and other police officers.
With that in mind, would you have any grudges in favor of the State that would not allow you to give this man or this defendant a fair trial?
MS. PHILLIPS: I would probably tend to side with them.
MR. KOSTRZEWSKI: You’re telling me, could you follow the Judge’s instructions completely and put that out of your mind? Could you do that?
MS. PHILLIPS: I would certainly listen to the instructions and try to, be as fair as possible. But I’d give greater weight to what the police say.
MR. KOSTRZEWSKI: Would you give the police any more weight than any other person, just depending on the facts and circumstances and situations?
Could you be fair to the police and non-police in the same manner?
MS. PHILLIPS: Depending on what the other person was, and what they are doing or saying.
MR. KOSTRZEWSKI: You’re telling me that you could be, say, depending on the facts and circumstances of the particular testimony, and you would follow the Judge’s instructions?
MS. PHILLIPS: I would try very hard.
Defense counsel requested the trial court to dismiss Ms. Phillips for cause. The trial court, however, denied this motion. As a result, defense counsel used one of his peremptory challenges to strike Ms. Phillips. Thereafter, defense counsel used all of his allotted peremptory challenges and requested an additional peremptory challenge based on the trial court’s refusal to excuse Ms. Phillips for cause. The trial court denied the request.
The State properly concedes that the trial court erred in failing to dismiss prospective juror Phillips for cause, thereby forcing the defense to utilize one of its peremptory challenges, and then refusing to grant its request for an additional peremptory challenge. See Hill v. State, 477 So. 2d 553 (Fla.1985); Garcia v. State, 570 So. 2d 1082, (Fla. 3d DCA 1990); Imbimbo v. State, 555 So. 2d 954 (Fla. 4th DCA 1990); Salazar v. State, 564 So. 2d 1245 (Fla. 3d DCA 1990); Price v. State, 538 So. 2d 486 (Fla. 3d DCA 1989).
The defendant’s remaining point is moot.
REVERSED AND REMANDED.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Authorities Cited
- Hill v. State, 477 So. 2d 553 (Fla. 1985)
- Price v. State, 538 So. 2d 486 (Fla. 3d DCA 1989)
- Raffaele Imbimbo v. State, 555 So. 2d 954 (Fla. 4th DCA 1990)
- Salazar v. State, 564 So. 2d 1245 (Fla. 3d DCA 1990)
- Melvyn M. Garcia v. State, 570 So. 2d 1082 (Fla. 3d DCA 1990)