LAVELL KEITH PORTER, APPELLANT,
v.
THE STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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The court reversed a defendant's conviction because the trial court improperly denied a peremptory challenge to a prospective juror. The defendant provided a valid, gender-neutral reason for the strike—that the juror had been a victim of crime—yet the trial court erroneously rejected it as lacking gender neutrality.
The trial court erred in denying the peremptory challenge. Being a victim of crime is a valid, race-neutral, and gender-neutral reason for a peremptory strike, particularly when the defendant is charged with the same type of crime the juror experienced.
[1] A juror's prior victimization by crime is a valid gender-neutral reason for exercising a peremptory challenge.
[2] A trial court errs by denying a peremptory challenge when the stated reason is that the prospective juror was a victim of crime, especially when the crime is similar to t…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“the fact that a juror has been the victim of crime has been consistently held to be a valid, race-neutral and gender-neutral reason for a peremptory strike”
Establishes the core legal principle that crime victimization is a legitimate basis for peremptory challenges
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceDuring jury selection in a theft case, the defendant sought to exercise a peremptory challenge to remove a female prospective juror named Isern. When …
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PER CURIAM.
During jury selection, the Defendant attempted to exercise a peremptory challenge to dismiss a female prospective juror named Isem. The State noted that juror Isern was female and requested a gender-neutral reason for the strike. The Defendant responded that the reason for the strike was the fact that juror Isem had been the victim of crime. Specifically, juror Isern’s wallet had been stolen, and, on another occasion, her home burglarized. The trial court judge ruled.that the Defendant failed to provide a gender-neutral reason for the strike and denied it. Consequently, Juror Isern sat on the jury.
We find that the trial court erred when it denied the Defendant the right to exercise his peremptory challenge to dismiss juror Isern. The trial court ruled that the Defendant failed to provide a gender-neutral reason for the strike. However, the fact that a juror has been the victim of crime has been consistently held to be a valid, race-neutral and gender-neutral reason for a peremptory strike. See Dean v. State, 703 So. 2d 1180 (Fla. 3d DCA 1997); Barnes v. State, 620 So. 2d 243 (Fla. 3d DCA 1993); Williams v. State, 619 So. 2d 487 (Fla. 1st DCA 1993); Isom v. State, 601 So. 2d 299 (Fla. 3d DCA 1992); Adams v. State, 559 So. 2d 1293 (Fla. 3d DCA 1990). This is especially true because the Defendant was charged with theft and juror Isem had twice been the victim of theft. See Williams, at 491.
There is nothing in the record before us to overcome the presumption that the peremptory challenge was exercised in a nondiscrim-inatoiy manner, see Windom v. State, 656 So. 2d 432 (Fla.1995), “or to justify a finding of discriminatory intent.” Smith v. State, 662 So. 2d 1336 (Fla. 2d DCA 1995). See also Hernandez v. State, 686 So. 2d 735 (Fla. 2d DCA 1997); Chambers v. State, 682 So. 2d 615 (Fla. 4th DCA 1996); Morris v. State, 680 So. 2d 1096 (Fla. 3d DCA 1996); Rivera v. State, 670 So. 2d 1163 (Fla. 4th DCA 1996); Santiago v. State, 652 So. 2d 485 (Fla. 5th DCA 1995); Betancourt v. State, 650 So. 2d 1021 (Fla. 3d DCA 1995). The Defendant’s conviction and resulting sentence are reversed and this case is remanded for a new trial.
Reversed and remanded for a new trial.
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Anderson v. State, 750 So. 2d 741 (Fla. 3d DCA 2000)…s and for that reason, the defense did not wish to seat him as a juror. The fact that a juror has been the victim of crime has consistently been held to be a valid, race-neutral and gender-neutral reason for a peremptory strike. See Porter v. State, 708 So. 2d 338, 339 (Fla. 3d DCA 1998); Dean v. State, 703 So. 2d 1180, 1182 (Fla. 3d DCA 1997); Barnes v. State, 620 So. 2d 243, 243 (Fla. 3d DCA 1993); Williams v. State, 619 So. 2d 487, 491 (Fla. 1st DCA 1993); Isom v. State, 601 So. 2d 299, 300 (Fla. 3d DCA 19…
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Symonette v. State, 778 So. 2d 500 (Fla. 3d DCA 2001)…g Mr. Blount were race-neutral. The fact that a juror has been the victim of crime has been held to be a valid race-neutral reason for the exercise of a peremptory challenge. See Anderson v. State, 750 So. 2d 741 (Fla. 3d DCA 2000); Porter v. State, 708 So. 2d 338 (Fla. 3d DCA 1998); Dean v. State, 703 So. 2d 1180 (Fla. 3d DCA 1997). We recognize that most of the cases that have found such a reason to be genuine involve the exercise of a defense challenge. We further acknowledge that generally, such a juror w…
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Khaled Abu Hamdeh v. State, 762 So. 2d 1030 (Fla. 3d DCA 2000)…eals his conviction and sentence claiming, inter alia, that the trial court erred in denying the peremptory challenge to excuse juror Newton. We agree. The exercise of a peremptory challenge is presumed to be nondiscriminatory. See Porter v. State, 708 So. 2d 338 (Fla. 3d DCA 1998); Dean v. State, 703 So. 2d 1180 (Fla. 3d DCA 1997). A party who objects to the use of a peremptory challenge has a heavy burden to show that members of a distinct racial group are being challenged solely because of their race. See…
Previewing 3 of 4 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited (14 total)
- Windom v. State, 656 So. 2d 432 (Fla. 1995)
- Adams v. State, 559 So. 2d 1293 (Fla. 3d DCA 1990)
- Dean v. State, 703 So. 2d 1180 (Fla. 3d DCA 1997)
- Edgardo Luis Rivera v. State, 670 So. 2d 1163 (Fla. 4th DCA 1996)
- Williams v. State, 619 So. 2d 487 (Fla. 1st DCA 1993)
- Gehrmann v. State, 650 So. 2d 1021 (Fla. 4th DCA 1995)
- Betancourt v. State, 650 So. 2d 1021 (Fla. 3d DCA 1995)
- Hernandez v. State, 686 So. 2d 735 (Fla. 2d DCA 1997)
- Santiago v. State, 652 So. 2d 485 (Fla. 5th DCA 1995)
- Morris v. State, 680 So. 2d 1096 (Fla. 3d DCA 1996)