JETHRO DAVIS, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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Jethro Davis was convicted of burglary, stalking, and petit theft and sentenced as a habitual felony offender. On appeal, Davis challenged a denial of a new trial based on alleged juror misconduct and nondisclosure, arguing that a juror who worked at the detention center where he was housed had a prior altercation with him but failed to disclose this conflict during voir dire.
The trial court abused its discretion by denying the motion for new trial without conducting a juror interview. The case is remanded for an evidentiary hearing to determine whether the three-prong test from De La Rosa v. Zequeira is satisfied, and if so, a new trial must be granted.
[1] A juror's nondisclosure of information during voir dire warrants a new trial if the information is relevant and material to jury service, the juror concealed the informat…
[2] A trial court must conduct a juror interview when determining whether a juror's nondisclosure warrants a new trial.
Previewing 2 of 3 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“In determining whether a juror's nondisclosure of information during voir dire warrants a new trial, courts have generally utilized a three-part test. First, the complaining party must establish that the information is relevant and material to jury service in the case. Second, that the juror concealed the information during questioning. Lastly, that the failure to disclose the information was not attributable to the complaining party's lack of diligence.”
Establishes the three-prong test for evaluating juror nondisclosure claims that must be applied on remand.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceDuring voir dire, juror Oscar Cardona identified himself as a nurse at the North Broward Detention Center where appellant Davis was detained pending t…
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PER CURIAM.
Appellant, Jethro Davis, was convicted of burglary of a dwelling, stalking and petit theft and sentenced as a habitual felony offender and a prison releasee reof-fender. On appeal he raises two sentencing issues on which we affirm without discussion. Appellant also argues that the trial court abused its discretion in denying him a new trial where prejudicial juror misconduct occurred.
During voir dire one of the jurors, Oscar Cardona, identified himself as a nurse at the North Broward Detention Center where appellant was housed pending his trial. Cardona did not in any way acknowledge that he knew appellant. When he was returned to the detention center after being found guilty, appellant saw Cardona again and realized that Cardona was the nurse he had an altercation with several days before the trial started. Appellant immediately filed a motion for a new trial alleging these facts and also that Cardona had access to the sheriffs computer and appellant’s past criminal history.
A hearing was held at which appellant testified that he and Cardona argued about appellant having a physical when appellant just wanted a doctor to look at his neck. Cardona came back to him the next day and asked him again to have a physical and that is when they had an altercation. Appellant was then put in lock-down. In response the state incorrectly argued that the altercation occurred after the trial. The trial court, without conducting a juror interview, denied the motion without comment.
In De La Rosa v. Zequeira, 659 So. 2d 239 (Fla.1995), the supreme court stated the three-prong test to be applied in cases of juror nondisclosure. It held:
In determining whether a juror’s nondisclosure of information during voir dire warrants a new trial, courts have generally utilized a three-part test. First, the complaining party must establish that the information is relevant and material to jury service in the case. Second, that the juror concealed the information during questioning. Lastly, that the failure to disclose the information was not attributable to the complaining party’s lack of diligence.
Id. at 242 (citations omitted).
We remand this case for an evidentiary hearing with juror interview(s) to determine if the test set forth in Zeqmira is satisfied. We find that the trial court was premature in its determination without conducting a juror interview. See, e.g., Forbes v. State, 753 So. 2d 709 (Fla. 1st DCA 2000). If the conditions of the test are met, the trial court must grant the appellant a new trial.
REVERSED and REMANDED for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.
STEVENSON, GROSS and HAZOURI, JJ., concur.
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Citator
Cited By
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Rodgers v. After Sch. Programs, Inc., 78 So. 3d 42 (Fla. 4th DCA 2012)…in particular, there was no irregularity in the way the verdict was returned that justifies post-trial jury interviews. If there are no bases for such interviews, there can be no basis for a new trial due to juror nondisclosure. See Davis v. State, 778 So. 2d 1096, 1097 (Fla. 4th DCA 2001). Affirmed. MAY, C.J., and WARNER, J., concur. . We do not reach the issue of whether the undisclosed information was relevant and material to jury service in this case.…
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Tripp v. State, 874 So. 2d 732 (Fla. 4th DCA 2004)…led the information during questioning. Lastly, that the failure to disclose the information was not attributable to the complaining party’s lack of diligence.” [c.o.] De La Rosa v. Zequeira, 659 So. 2d 239, 241 (Fla.1995); accord Davis v. State, 778 So. 2d 1096, 1097 (Fla. 4th DCA 2001). Moreover, “a juror’s non-disclosure need not be intentional to constitute concealment.” Roberts v. Tejada, 814 So. 2d 334, 343 (Fla.2002). Here, the trial judge asked all the jurors whether any of them knew defendant or…
Authorities Cited
- DE LA Rosa v. Zequeira, 659 So. 2d 239 (Fla. 1995)
- Kelton Forbes v. State, 753 So. 2d 709 (Fla. 1st DCA 2000)