JOSEPH STEVENS, APPELLANT,
v.
THE STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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Joseph Stevens was convicted of carrying a concealed firearm and unlawful possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. The trial court erroneously prohibited voir dire questioning about the necessity defense, which Stevens claimed as justification for arming himself due to threats to his life. The appellate court reversed and remanded for a new trial.
The trial court abused its discretion in depriving the defendant of the opportunity to discuss or question the jury about the defense of necessity during voir dire. Such questioning does not constitute pre-trying the case or pretrying the facts, and prohibiting it violated the defendant's constitutional right to a fair and impartial jury.
[1] A trial court abuses its discretion by limiting voir dire on a defense that is central to the defendant's case.
[2] A defendant is deprived of the right to a fair and impartial jury when precluded from inquiring during voir dire into potential juror bias regarding a recognized defense.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“the court abused its discretion in depriving the defendant the opportunity to discuss, or question the jury about, the defense of necessity during voir dire”
Establishes the core holding that trial courts cannot prohibit voir dire questioning about a defendant's primary defense.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceJoseph Stevens was charged with carrying a concealed firearm and unlawful possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Stevens's defense was that his…
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PER CURIAM.
The question before us is whether the trial court erred in limiting voir dire on the defense of necessity. We conclude that the answer is yes, and therefore order a new trial.
Joseph Stevens was charged with carrying a concealed firearm and unlawful possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. The defense of defendant-appellant Stevens was that his life had been threatened and he armed himself for self defense.
Prior to trial, the court granted the State’s motion in limine preventing the defense from discussing the defense of necessity during voir dire. The court stated that allowing the defense to question the jury on the defense of necessity would be pre-trying the case and since it was unclear whether there was sufficient evidence to instruct the jury on such a defense, allowing discussion during voir dire would only confuse the jury if such an instruction was not ultimately given. The court permitted the defense to ask the prospective jurors if they had an open mind to defenses in general and whether they agreed that in life there are times when people feel they must take certain action and said action may be legally recognized as a defense to a criminal charge.
At trial, the defendant testified about the circumstances which had caused him to arm himself. At the conclusion of the trial, the court instructed the jury on the defense of necessity. The jury found the defendant guilty as charged and the court sentenced him to 7 years in prison followed by 5 years probation.
We conclude that the court abused its discretion in depriving the defendant the opportunity to discuss, or question the jury about, the defense of necessity during voir dire. See Lavado v. State, 492 So. 2d 1322 (Fla.1986); Ingrassia v. State, 902 So. 2d 357 (Fla. 4th DCA 2005) (the court may not preclude a party from inquiry into bias bearing on a matter that is at the heart of the defendant’s case). As the Fourth District said in an analogous situation:
In this case, it is evident from the record that although defense counsel was permitted to inquire as to the jurors’ understanding of the term entrapment in its ordinary sense, he was precluded from inquiring as to whether they were willing to accept that defense. As such questioning did not rise to a level of pretrying the facts or attempting to elicit a promise from the jurors as to how they would weigh that defense, the trial court’s denial of a proper inquiry denied appellant his constitutionally guaranteed right to a fair and impartial jury. See Lavado.
Walker v. State, 724 So. 2d 1232, 1234 (Fla. 4th DCA 1999).
Therefore, the judgment and sentence are reversed, and we remand for a new trial.
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Citator
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Harrison v. State, 172 So. 3d 1018 (Fla. 1st DCA 2015)…h defense counsel was permitted to inquire as to the jurors’ understanding of the term entrapment in its ordinary sense, he was precluded from inquiring as to whether they were willing to accept that defense.” Id. at 1234; see also Stevens v. State, 928 So. 2d 409, 410-11 (Fla. 3d DCA 2006) (remanding for a new trial because the trial court abused its discretion during voir dire by depriving the defendant, of the opportunity to discuss or question the jury about the defense of necessity and limiting him to as…
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Asia Roshonda Simpson v. State (Fla. 5th DCA 2019)…hing else about the prospective jurors, the single thing that defense counsel needed to know was whether the prospective jurors could fairly and impartially consider the defense of voluntary intoxication.” Id. at 1323. Similarly in Stevens v. State, 928 So. 2d 409, 410 (Fla. 3d DCA 2006), the Third District found that the trial court abused its discretion in depriving the defendant of the opportunity to discuss, or question the jury about, the defense of necessity during voir dire. In Walker v. State, 724 S…
Authorities Cited
- Lavado v. State, 492 So. 2d 1322 (Fla. 1986)
- Walker v. State, 724 So. 2d 1232 (Fla. 4th DCA 1999)
- Ingrassia v. State, 902 So. 2d 357 (Fla. 4th DCA 2005)
- Schneider v. Schneider, 902 So. 2d 357 (Fla. 2d DCA 2005)