PETER SCIALLO

v.

THE STATE OF FLORIDA

Opinion filed September 18, 2024. Not final until disposition of timely filed motion for rehearing.

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No. 3D23-2078 Lower Tribunal No. M22-8999

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Peter Sciallo,

Appellant,

vs.

The State of Florida,

Appellee. An appeal from the County Court for Miami-Dade County, Julie Harris Nelson, Judge. Carlos J. Martinez, Public Defender, and Nicholas A. Lynch, Assistant Public Defender, for appellant. Ashley Moody, Attorney General, and Ivy R. Ginsberg, Assistant Attorney General, for appellee. Before LOGUE, C.J., and MILLER and BOKOR, JJ. MILLER, J. Appellant, Peter Sciallo, appeals from a withhold of adjudication and probationary sentence imposed for the charge of petit theft, in violation of section 812.014, Florida Statutes (2022), following a jury trial. On appeal, he contends the trial court reversibly erred in failing to strike a juror for cause. Constrained by our precedent, we reverse.

BACKGROUND

Sciallo was charged with petit theft for stealing keys and a fob belonging to his former personal trainer from a storage cubby at the Miami Iron Gym after the two were involved in a physical confrontation. The case proceeded to trial.

During jury selection, the challenged juror indicated he had strong feelings about theft cases because several of his family members were robbery victims. When pressed further, he explained, “I don’t know how it would affect my opinion on this. I don’t think it would, but just going through that.” He was then asked whether he would be thinking about the crimes committed against his family members if selected as a juror on the case, and he responded affirmatively. Upon more in-depth questioning, he further stated, “You try not to, of course, but I can’t say for sure I wouldn’t think of it. But I would try not to.” When asked whether he could guarantee that he would not think of the experiences, he replied, “I can’t—I can’t guarantee it. I’m, you know, human like everybody else what things are going to pop in my mind, but I would try not to.”

Neither the State nor the trial court rehabilitated the juror, and during the strike conference, the defense asserted a cause challenge. The State requested permission to rehabilitate the juror. The trial court denied the request and the cause challenge. The defense then exercised a peremptory challenge. After exhausting all peremptory challenges, the defense requested another for the purpose of striking an identified juror. The court denied the motion, and the defense accepted the panel subject to prior objections. See Kearse v. State, 770 So. 2d 1119, 1128 (Fla. 2000). The jury found Sciallo guilty, and the court withheld adjudication and imposed a short probationary term. This appeal ensued.

ANALYSIS

“We review a trial court’s decision to deny a challenge for cause to a potential juror for an abuse of discretion.” Rivas v. Sandoval, 319 So. 3d 744, 746 (Fla. 3d DCA 2021). “The test for determining juror competency is whether the juror can lay aside any bias or prejudice and render a verdict solely on the evidence presented and the instructions on the law given by the court.” Busby v. State, 894 So. 2d 88, 95 (Fla. 2004). A juror should be excused if there is any reasonable doubt about his or her ability to render an impartial verdict. See Hill v. State, 477 So. 2d 553, 556 (Fla. 1985). “To determine whether such reasonable doubt exists, the trial court should consider the context and entirety of the juror’s responses.” Jackson v. State, 213 So. 3d 754, 770 (Fla. 2017). “The law is also clear that close calls on the issue of juror competency should be resolved in favor of removal.” Martinez v. State, 795 So. 2d 279, 282 (Fla. 3d DCA 2001). In this case, the challenged juror stated he felt strongly about the charges and equivocated on whether he would be influenced by the past crimes against his family members. “The mere fact that a juror gives equivocal responses does not disqualify that juror for service. The question is whether the responses voiced by [the juror] were equivocal enough to generate a reasonable doubt about his fitness as a juror.” Busby, 894 So. 2d at 96; see also Guzman v. State, 934 So. 2d 11, 15 (Fla. 3d DCA 2006). Here, the juror was not rehabilitated.¹ Hence, the facts are on all fours with several cases in which Florida appellate courts found reversible error.