RODNEY HOLMES, APPELLANT,
v.
THE STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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Rodney Holmes appeals his convictions and sentences from two cases and a probation revocation. The court affirmed, rejecting his arguments regarding jury selection delays, peremptory challenges, and sentencing issues.
The court affirmed all convictions and sentences, holding that the thirteen-day delay was permissible because it occurred before the jury was sworn for trial, relying on Johnson v. State which permitted longer delays under similar circumstances; the trial court's rulings on peremptory challenges were consistent with controlling law; and the written sentencing order reflecting concurrent sentences in the 2001 case was correct.
[1] A trial court commences a trial for speedy trial rule purposes when prospective jurors are sworn for voir dire examination.
[2] A delay between the conclusion of voir dire and the commencement of trial is permissible if justified by exceptional circumstances and no prejudice to the defendant is sh…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“Upon the swearing of the prospective jurors for voir dire examination, this constituted a commencement of trial for purposes of the speedy trial rule.”
Establishes that jury selection began timely within the speedy trial period
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceHolmes was convicted in Miami-Dade County Circuit Court case 01-18524 and had his probation revoked in case 98-28785. Jury selection began on May 28, …
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PER CURIAM.
Rodney Holmes appeals his convictions and sentences in Miami-Dade County Circuit Court case number 01-18524 (“the 2001 case”) and his revocation of probation in Miami-Dade County Circuit Court case number 98-28785 (“the 1998 case”). We affirm. In the 2001 case, defendant-appellant Holmes argues that the trial court abused its discretion in granting a thirteen-day delay between the first and second day of voir dire examination of the prospective jurors. He argues that such a delay is impermissible under this court’s decision in McDermott v. State, 383 So. 2d 712 (Fla. 3d DCA 1980).
The defendant had demanded a speedy trial, with the last day of the fifty-day period being May 28, 2002. See Fla. R.Crim. P. 3.191(b). The trial court granted a thirty-day extension for exceptional circumstances. See id. R. 3.191(i).
The court also (apparently in an abundance of caution) commenced jury selection on May 28, the final day of the fifty-day period. Upon the swearing of the prospective jurors for voir dire examination, this constituted a commencement of trial for purposes of the speedy trial rule. See id. R. 3.191(c). Thus, the trial commenced timely for purposes of the speedy trial rule.*
The defendant argues, however, that a gap in the proceedings of thirteen days is impermissible. We reject the defendant’s argument on authority of Johnson v. State, 660 So. 2d 648 (Fla.1995). In that case a twenty-four-day delay was found permissible between the conclusion of voir dire and the commencement of trial. Id. at 660. The court said:
We further find that the delay between voir dire and trial was entirely justified because there was a genuine problem in trial scheduling due to the variety of charges pending against Johnson. Moreover, we distinguish the present case from McDermott v. State, 383 So. 2d 712 (Fla. 3d DCA 1980), upon which Johnson principally relies. The problem addressed in McDermott and similar cases was lengthy delays after the final jury panel is sworn. The record here clearly reflects that the jury was not sworn until the day trial commenced, which is a reasonable procedure when a trial court faces scheduling problems such as occurred here. The swearing in of jurors marks the point at which jeopardy attaches, which raises distinctly different problems than would exist beforehand. Thus, we see nothing unlawful in the procedure used here, particularly in light of today’s docketing problems and speedy-trial requirements.
Id. at 661.
In the present case, the thirteen-day delay is shorter than the delay involved in Johnson. In this case, as in Johnson, there was good cause for the continuance of the proceedings. There has been no showing of any legally cognizable prejudice to the defendant on account of the delay. See also Hernandez v. State, 572 So. 2d 969, 972 n. 2 (Fla. 3d DCA 1990) (eleven-day delay; no showing of prejudice); Compo v. State, 525 So. 2d 505, 506 (Fla. 2d DCA 1988) (twelve-day delay; no showing of prejudice).
In this case, as in Johnson, the defendant’s reliance on the McDermott decision is misplaced. See Johnson, 660 So. 2d at 661. In this case, as in Johnson, the delay occurred before the jury was sworn for the trial. See id.
The defendant next argues that the trial court should have sustained defense objections that three preemptory challenges exercised by the State were pretextual. We conclude that the trial court’s rulings were consistent with Melbourne v. State, 679 So. 2d 759, 764 (Fla.1996).
The defendant challenges the sentences he received in the 2001 case under the ten-twenty-life law. While the trial court’s oral pronouncement was for consecutive life sentences, the written sentencing order reflects concurrent sentences in the 2001 case.** The State concedes that the written sentencing order is correct in light of later case law. See Green v. State, 845 So. 2d 895 (Fla. 3d DCA 2003).
We find no error in the revocation of the defendant’s probation in the 1998 case.
Affirmed.
*
The State may be correct that in an earlier hearing on April 29, the defendant had already waived the speedy trial demand. In view of the fact that jury selection began in any event within the speedy trial period, we need not consider the waiver issue any further. **
The oral pronouncement, and written order, both provide that the sentences in the 2001 case are consecutive to those in the 1998 case.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
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Holmes v. State, 245 So. 3d 857 (Fla. 3d DCA 2018)…y with an assault; and the jury further found that a firearm was discharged and caused great bodily harm during the commission of these crimes. The trial court sentenced Holmes to life imprisonment.1 This sentence was affirmed in Holmes v. State, 883 So. 2d 350 (Fla. 3d DCA 2004). Thereafter, Holmes has filed ten post-conviction motions or petitions in this Court, including the instant petition.2 He has attacked his sentence unsuccessfully by arguing that his sentence under a firearm enhancement was u…
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Casimir v. McDONOUGH, 932 So. 2d 471 (Fla. 3d DCA 2006)…t results in a lapse between jury selection and the examination of witnesses, lies within the sound discretion of the court. Id. at 714. Therefore, the issue is whether the interruption resulted in prejudice to the defendant. Id. In Holmes v. State, 883 So. 2d 350 (Fla. 3d DCA 2004), a thirteen-day delay between the first and the second day of voir dire was found not to be unreasonable where good cause was shown and no prejudice was demonstrated. See also Johnson v. State, 660 So. 2d 648 (Fla.1995)(wherein a…
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Holmes v. State, 245 So. 3d 1008 (Fla. 3d DCA 2018)…y with an assault; and the jury further found that a firearm was discharged and caused great bodily harm during the commission of these crimes. The trial court sentenced Holmes to life imprisonment.1 This sentence was affirmed in Holmes v. State, 883 So. 2d 350 (Fla. 3d DCA 2004). Thereafter, Holmes has filed ten post-conviction motions or petitions in this Court, including the instant petition.2 He has attacked his sentence unsuccessfully by arguing that his sentence under a firearm enhancement was u…
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
- Jeanie H. Melbourne v. State, 679 So. 2d 759 (Fla. 1996)
- Johnson v. State, 660 So. 2d 648 (Fla. 1995)
- Basil McDERMOTT v. The State of Fla. & the Honorable Frederick Barad, 383 So. 2d 712 (Fla. 3d DCA 1980)
- Hernandez v. State, 572 So. 2d 969 (Fla. 3d DCA 1990)
- Deron Delarease Green v. State, 845 So. 2d 895 (Fla. 3d DCA 2003)
- Compo v. State, 525 So. 2d 505 (Fla. 2d DCA 1988)