FREDENCH ZANDERS, APPELLANT,
v.
THE STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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Frederich Zanders appeals his conviction, arguing the trial court failed to ensure he knowingly and voluntarily waived his right to be present at a sidebar conference where peremptory challenges were exercised. The Florida appellate court agreed and reversed, holding that a defendant has a constitutional right to be present at crucial trial stages and the trial court must affirmatively establish a valid waiver.
The defendant has a constitutional right to be present at all crucial stages of trial where his absence might compromise fairness. Because the record contains no evidentiary showing that the defendant had an opportunity to discuss the jury selection procedure with his attorney or waived his presence, the conviction is reversed and the case is remanded for a new trial.
[1] A defendant has a constitutional right to be present at all crucial stages of trial where their absence might compromise the fairness of the proceedings.
[2] A trial court must inquire into a defendant's knowing, intelligent, and voluntary waiver of the right to be present at a sidebar conference during jury selection.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“The defendant has a constitutional right to be present at all crucial stages of trial where his absence might compromise the fairness of the proceedings.”
Establishes the fundamental constitutional principle underlying the appellate court's reversal
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAfter voir dire was completed, defense counsel requested a pause and jury selection occurred at a sidebar conference where defense counsel exercised s…
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PER CURIAM.
Appellant, Frederich Zanders (“defendant”), appeals his conviction contending that the trial court failed to determine whether he knowingly, intelligently and voluntarily waived his right to be present at a sidebar conference where peremptory challenges were exercised. We agree and reverse.
Immediately after voir dire was completed, defense counsel asked for a moment, and there was a pause in the record. During this gap in the record, jury selection occurred at a sidebar conference at which defense counsel exercised several peremptory challenges. The jury was then seated when the parties went back on the record.
After reviewing the transcripts of the proceeding, the record does not reflect whether the defendant waived his right to be present at the sidebar conference. Moreover, the trial court did not inquire into the defendant’s waiver, or his ratification of the jurors challenged by his attorney.
The defendant has a constitutional right to be present at all crucial stages of trial where his absence might compromise the fairness of the proceedings. See Faretta v. California, 422 U.S. 806, 95 S.Ct. 2525, 45 L.Ed.2d 562 (1975); Rose v. State, 617 So. 2d 291 (Fla.), cert. denied, 510 U.S. 903, 114 S.Ct. 279, 126 L.Ed.2d 230 (1993). Because the record is void of any evidentiary showing that the defendant had an opportunity to discuss the jury selection procedure with his attorney, we reverse and remand for a new trial. See Turner v. State, 530 So. 2d 45 (Fla.1988), cert. denied, 489 U.S. 1040, 109 S.Ct. 1175, 103 L.Ed.2d 237 (1989); Francis v. State, 413 So. 2d 1175 (Fla.1982). The second issue raised on appeal is without merit.
Reversed and remanded for new trial.
GERSTEN and GREEN, JJ., concur.
LEVY, Judge
(concurring specially).
I concur in result only.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Authorities Cited
- Faretta v. California, 422 U.S. 806 (U.S. 1975)
- Francis v. State, 413 So. 2d 1175 (Fla. 1982)
- Milo A. Rose v. State, 617 So. 2d 291 (Fla. 1993)
- Turner v. State, 530 So. 2d 45 (Fla. 1987)
- Honolulu Fed. Sav. & Loan Assn. v. Murabayashi, 489 U.S. 1040 (U.S. 1989)
- Lovett v. United States, 510 U.S. 903 (U.S. 1993)
- Ischy v. United States, 510 U.S. 903 (U.S. 1993)