JOSEPH WARREN MONCUR, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE

Fla. 2d DCA | 1972-05-31
No. 71-516
LILES, A. C. J., and McNULTY, J., concur.
262 So. 2d 688 Florida District Court of Appeal, Second District (1972) Caution
Cited by 4 cases


Opinion of the Court
MANN, Judge.

MANN, Judge.

Moncur was the third person involved in this robbery. The first was acquitted at an earlier trial. The second entered a guilty plea, which the trial judge received in the presence of the venire from which Moncur’s jury was to be selected. The judge spoke critically of the jury which had acquitted the first participant. Immediately after the second participant’s plea was received, Moncur’s lawyer moved for continuance until a new venire could be summoned. This motion plainily should have been granted. The state responds that the prejudicial remarks were harmless since the jurors in Moncur’s case had not been sworn. This argument is without merit. Moncur is entitled to a fair trial before an impartial jury, excluding even those whose minds have been tainted by news*689paper publicity long before they have been called, much less sworn.

A new trial is required by Hamilton v. State, Fla.App.3d 1959, 109 So.2d 422; Robinson v. State, Fla.App.3d 1964, 161 So.2d 578; Singer v. State, Fla.1959, 109 So.2d 7. See, generally, Sheppard v. Maxwell, 1966, 384 U.S. 333, 86 S.Ct. 1507, 16 L.Ed.2d 600.

LILES, A. C. J., and McNULTY, J., concur.


Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus


Citator

Cited By

  • Arnulfo Bocanegra v. State, 303 So. 2d 429 (Fla. 2d DCA 1974)
    …unsel an opportunity to interrogate the jurors concerning their statement that they would not be influenced. Defense counsel promptly objected and moved for a mistrial, which motion was denied. Bocanegra relies on Moncur v. State, Fla.App.2d 1972, 262 So. 2d 688, but that case is not controlling. In Moncur, the guilty plea of one of the participants in the crime was received in the presence of the venire from which Moncur’s jury was to be selected. In addition, in the presence of the venire, the judge spoke…
  • State v. Moncur, 266 So. 2d 351 (Fla. 1972)
    …Certiorari denied. 262 So. 2d 688. CARLTON, Acting C. J., and ADKINS, BOYD, McCAIN and DEKLE, JJ., concur.…

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