Opinion ID: 1643603
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 8

Heading: right to a jury trial and waiver of right

Text: Both the United States Constitution and the Florida Constitution guarantee the right to trial by jury. See Blair v. State, 698 So.2d 1210, 1212-13 (Fla.1997). As noted in Blair, the United States Constitution includes three separate provisions addressing that right: Article III, [6] the Sixth Amendment, [7] and the Seventh Amendment. [8] The Florida Constitution also provides that [t]he right of trial by jury shall be secure to all and remain inviolate. Art. I, § 22, Fla. Const; see also art. I, § 16, Fla. Const. (providing that the accused shall have a speedy and public trial by impartial jury). Further, we have acknowledged that a defendant's right to a jury trial is indisputably one of the most basic rights guaranteed by our constitution. State v. Griffith, 561 So.2d 528, 530 (Fla.1990). A defendant's constitutional right to trial by jury includes the right to have the jury, rather than the judge, reach the requisite finding of `guilty.' Sullivan v. Louisiana, 508 U.S. 275, 277, 113 S.Ct. 2078, 124 L.Ed.2d 182 (1993) (citing Sparf v. United States, 156 U.S. 51, 105-06, 15 S.Ct. 273, 39 L.Ed. 343 (1895)). Accordingly, a judge may not direct a verdict for the State. Id. (citing Sparf, 156 U.S. at 105-06, 15 S.Ct. 273). In addition to the constitutional guarantee of the right to a jury trial, the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution provides that no one will be deprived of liberty without due process of law. U.S. Const. amend. V. The Due Process Clause protects the accused against conviction except upon proof beyond a reasonable doubt of every fact necessary to constitute the crime with which he is charged. In re Winship, 397 U.S. 358, 364, 90 S.Ct. 1068, 25 L.Ed.2d 368 (1970). Moreover, the United States Supreme Court has held that the Fifth and Sixth Amendments require criminal convictions to rest upon a jury determination that the defendant is guilty of every element of the crime with which he is charged, beyond a reasonable doubt. United States v. Gaudin, 515 U.S. 506, 510, 115 S.Ct. 2310, 132 L.Ed.2d 444 (1995) (emphasis added) (citing Sullivan, 508 U.S. at 277-78, 113 S.Ct. 2078).