THE STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLANT,
v.
DARRELL SMITH, APPELLEE
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The State appeals a trial court's order granting a new trial after a jury verdict was rendered and discharged. The Third District Court of Appeal held that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in granting the new trial, and affirmed the order while providing guidance on verdict form procedures to avoid future jury confusion.
The trial court did not abuse its discretion in granting the new trial. The State has appellate authority under section 924.07(l)(b), Florida Statutes, because although the motion was labeled a 'motion for mistrial,' when ruled upon after jury discharge and verdict, it constitutes a motion for new trial, which is appealable.
[1] An order granting a new trial is appealable by the State when the trial court rules on a mistrial motion after the jury has been discharged and a verdict has been rendere…
[2] A trial judge has wide discretion in granting or denying motions for a new trial, and an appellate court will not overturn such a ruling unless an abuse of discretion is…
Previewing 2 of 4 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“when the judge reserves ruling on a mistrial motion until after the trial, or the motion is not made until after the discharge of the jury, then the motion must be considered a motion for new trial.”
Establishes that a post-verdict, post-discharge motion labeled as mistrial is legally a motion for new trial, making it appealable by the State.
Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceA jury rendered a verdict and was discharged. More than a month later, the trial court issued an order labeled 'Order Declaring Mistrial,' which was a…
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ON MOTION FOR REHEARING
We grant the State of Florida’s motion for rehearing, withdraw our opinion dated *93July 27, 2016, and issue the following opinion in its stead.
The State appeals a decision labeled “Order Declaring Mistrial.” Given the trial court did not issue its decision until more than a month after the jury was discharged and the verdict was rendered by being filed in the clerk’s records, the decision is actually an order granting a new trial. See Keene Bros. Trucking v. Pennell, 614 So.2d 1083, 1085 (Fla.1993) (“[W]hen the judge reserves ruling on a mistrial motion until after the trial, or the motion is not made until after the discharge of the jury, then the motion must be considered a motion for new trial.”). Section 924.07(l)(b), Florida Statutes, therefore, provides the State authority to appeal. See State ex rel. Sebers v. McNulty, 326 So.2d 17, 18 (Fla.1975) (“Although the motion was denominated a motion for mistrial, correctly labeled at the time it was made during the course of trial, it was in legal effect when ruled upon a motion for new trial. As such, the order was appealable.”). State v. Fudge, 645 So.2d 23 (Fla. 2d DCA 1994), which held that the State cannot appeal a judgment of acquittal on a count of an indictment on which the jury deadlocked, is inapposite because it did not involve setting aside a verdict after the verdict was rendered and the jury was discharged.
Turning to the merits, we hold that no abuse of discretion occurred in granting the new trial. See generally State v. Williams, 478 So.2d 412, 413 (Fla. 3d DCA 1985) (“It is a well-established rule of law that the trial judge has wide discretion in the matter of granting or denying motions for new trial and that an appellate court will not overturn such a ruling unless some abuse of discretion is shown.”).
Finally, we note that the verdict form caused some confusion with the jury. A simple solution to this problem may exist:
First, trial courts should rely solely on the core or substantive offense in determining the order of lesser included offenses on a verdict form. Second, trial courts should provide an interrogatory separate from the verdict form for the core or substantive offenses for the jury to determine the existence of circumstances that can result in mandatory minimum sentences, sentence enhancements, or offense reclassifications.
Sanders v. State, 944 So.2d 203, 207 (Fla. 2006) (Pariente, J., concurring). Judge Ernas cogently explained the benefits to this approach:
I would urge the trial courts to follow the recommendation of Justice Pariente in her concurring opinion in Sanders, 944 So.2d at 208-09, and provide juries with individual verdict forms that permit separate consideration of, and verdicts for, the core substantive offense and for the jury’s distinct determination of any fact necessary for reclassification or imposition of a mandatory minimum sentence. In doing so, we conserve our precious judicial resources, preserve the labor and lawful determinations of a unanimous jury, and thereby advance the proper administration of justice.
Staten v. State, Case No. 3D15-1130, 2016 WL 5156689 (Fla. 3d DCA Sept. 21, 2016) (Ernas, J., concurring). During the new trial, the trial court is at liberty to consider this approach.
Affirmed.
LAGOA, J., concurs in result only.
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Citator
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R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. v. Davis, 245 So. 3d 929 (Fla. 3d DCA 2018)…ourt's "Order Granting Motion for Mistrial and Order to Show Cause" was issued after the jury was discharged. R.J. Reynolds now appeals, as the trial court's order was effectively an order granting a new trial and is thus appealable. State v. Smith, 206 So. 3d 92, 93 (Fla. 3d DCA 2016). When a trial court grants a motion for a new trial, the court must specify its reasons. Wackenhut Corp. v. Canty, 359 So. 2d 430, 435 (Fla. 1978) ; Rule 1.530(f), Fla. R. Civ. P. In the case before us, the trial court did ju…
Authorities Cited
- Sanders v. State, 944 So. 2d 203 (Fla. 2006)
- State of Fla. ex rel. Aaron A. Sebers v. Hon. Joseph P. McNULTY, 326 So. 2d 17 (Fla. 1975)
- Keene Bros. Trucking, Inc. v. Pennell, 614 So. 2d 1083 (Fla. 1993)
- State v. Fudge, 645 So. 2d 23 (Fla. 2d DCA 1994)
- State v. Williams, 478 So. 2d 412 (Fla. 3d DCA 1985)