JAMES EDWARD LYONS, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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James Lyons appeals his conviction for sexual activity with a child, claiming the trial court erred by failing to grant a new trial based on alleged juror misconduct. The appellate court affirmed the conviction, holding that Lyons waived his right to raise the issue by failing to timely notify the trial court of the alleged misconduct.
The defendant waived his right to object to the alleged juror misconduct by failing to bring it to the trial court's attention before the jury was discharged. Timely notification of alleged juror misconduct is required to preserve the issue for appellate review and allow the trial court to determine the validity of the accusation and fashion an appropriate remedy.
[1] A defendant waives the right to object to juror misconduct by failing to timely bring the misconduct to the trial court's attention.
[2] A defendant must bring alleged juror misconduct to the trial court's attention before the jury reaches a verdict to preserve the issue for appeal.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“To preserve this issue for purposes of a motion for new trial on appeal, the defendant must timely bring the misconduct to the trial court's attention.”
Establishes the legal requirement for preserving juror misconduct claims and the necessity of timely notification.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceDuring the final morning of a three-day trial, a juror allegedly approached Lyons and asked him questions, including whether he committed the alleged …
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James Lyons was convicted of sexual activity, by a person in authority, with a child and sexual activity .with a sixteen or seventeen-year-old child. Lyons raises one issue on appeal: the failure of the trial court to grant a new trial based on juror misconduct. Lyons alleged that during the final morning of a three-day trial, one of the jurors approached and asked him a *1258couple of questions, including “whether or not he did this.”
Lyons failed to mention this alleged misconduct until after his jury reached a verdict and was excused. To preserve this issue for purposes of a motion for new trial on appeal, the defendant must timely bring the misconduct to the trial court’s attention. Kirkendall v. Cook, 33 So.3d 751, 752 (Fla. 4th DCA 2010) (citing Rooney v. Hannon, 732 So.2d 408, 411 (Fla. 4th DCA 1999); Jenkins v. State, 732 So.2d 1185, 1187 (Fla. 4th DCA 1999)); Snook v. State, 478 So.2d 403, 404-05 (Fla. 3d. DCA 1985). Lyons was aware of the alleged misconduct before the proceedings had recommenced for the day, yet he withheld this information through the testimony of three witnesses, the charging conference, closing argument, jury deliberation, and jury discharge. His inaction deprived the trial court of the opportunity to determine the validity of the accusation and fashion a remedy, if any was required.1 Lyons cannot bide his time and await the jury’s verdict, only to raise his objection in the event of an unfavorable outcome. We find he has waived his right to object. .
AFFIRMED.
LAWSON, C.J., and PALMER, J., concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Authorities Cited
- Snook v. State, 478 So. 2d 403 (Fla. 3d DCA 1985)
- Sie Jenkins v. State, 732 So. 2d 1185 (Fla. 4th DCA 1999)
- Winn-Dixie Stores, Inc. v. COX, 732 So. 2d 408 (Fla. 3d DCA 1999)
- Rooney v. Lawrence E. Hannon, M.D., P.A., 732 So. 2d 408 (Fla. 4th DCA 1999)
- Kirkendall v. Cook, 33 So. 3d 751 (Fla. 4th DCA 2010)