JAMES C. TURNER, JR., APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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James Turner appeals his battery conviction, arguing the trial court reversibly erred by denying his motion to strike the jury panel after a prospective juror revealed she was a former corrections officer at Marion County Jail. The appellate court held that the juror's comment created prejudicial implications about Turner's prior incarceration that could not be cured by jury instructions, requiring reversal and a new trial.
The trial court reversibly erred in denying Turner's motion to strike the venire. The prospective juror's comment created prejudicial implications suggesting prior incarceration that other panel members understood as such. Although the trial judge attempted a curative instruction, the instruction was insufficient to remedy the potential prejudice caused by the comment.
[1] A trial court errs when it fails to grant a motion to strike a jury panel after a venire member indicates familiarity with the defendant due to prior employment as a corr…
[2] A prospective juror's statement that they know the defendant because they were a former corrections officer at the jail where the defendant was incarcerated can imply to…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“was a former corrections officer at the Marion County Jail”
The prospective juror's statement that triggered concerns about implied prior incarceration
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceTurner was charged with battery, enhanced to a third-degree felony based on a prior battery conviction. During jury selection (voir dire), a prospecti…
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James C. Turner, Jr., appeals from his judgment and sentence on a charge of battery, enhanced to a third degree felony by a prior battery.1 He argues that the conviction should be reversed because the trial court erred when it failed to grant his *543motion to strike the jury panel. This motion was made after a member of the venire indicated that she knew the defendant because she “was a former corrections officer at the Marion County Jail.” See Richardson v. State, 666 So.2d 223 (Fla. 2d DCA 1995) (holding that trial court reversibly erred by denying defendant’s motion to strike venire, in light of exchange between prosecutor and prospective jury member suggesting that she knew defendant through her employment as corrections officer, thereby implying that he was convicted felon who previously served time).
The State argues that this comment, in context, should have been understood by the rest of the venire as an indication that the former corrections officer recognized either the defendant or one of the attorneys. However, later questioning of other venire members revealed that at least some of the panel members understood the comments to mean that the corrections officer had prior experience with Turner because he had been incarcerated in the past, and possibly on other charges. Although the trial judge attempted to remedy any potential prejudice with a curative instruction, our review of the record convinces us that the instruction given could not have cured the potential prejudice caused by the comment. Accordingly, we reverse Turner’s conviction and remand for a new trial.
REVERSED AND REMANDED.
GRIFFIN and ORFINGER, JJ„ concur.
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Citator
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Johnson v. State, 141 So. 3d 698 (Fla. 1st DCA 2014)…ant claims the trial court abused its discretion in denying his motion to strike the venire after the potential juror indicated he might have recognized appellant as a prisoner through his employment with the road department, citing Turner v. State, 51 So. 3d 542, 543 (Fla. 5th DCA 2010), and Richardson v. State, 666 So. 2d 223, 224 (Fla. 2d DCA 1995). The state correctly responds that this claim is not preserved for appeal because appellant’s motion was not renewed once jury selection was complete or before…
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Joseph v. State (Fla. 1st DCA 2020)…ay also be violated “where the jury is inadvertently informed that the defendant . . . is a convicted felon,” Evans v. State, 36 So. 3d 185, 186 (Fla. 4th DCA 2010), or is known by corrections officers who serve on the venire. See Turner v. State, 51 So. 3d 542, 543 (Fla. 5th DCA 2010); Richardson v. State, 666 So. 2d 223, 224 (Fla. 2d DCA 1995). Joseph relies on three cases. In Richardson, the Second District reversed the trial court’s denial of the defendant’s motion to strike the venire panel after a p…
Authorities Cited
- Richardson v. State, 666 So. 2d 223 (Fla. 2d DCA 1995)