Opinion ID: 1874840
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 7

Heading: Penalty-Phase Instructions and Interrogatories

Text: Independent of my dissent from the affirmance of the convictions, I take this opportunity to commend the trial court for its actions during the penalty phase in submitting special interrogatories regarding the aggravating factors and instructing the jurors accordingly. The trial court instructed the jury as follows: During your determination of the sentence, you will be required to answer several questions concerning statutory aggravating circumstances. These questions will be listed on the verdict form, which I will give you. If you find that the statutory aggravating circumstances exist, mark ... which particular aggravating circumstances have been proved beyond a reasonable doubt. And for each aggravating circumstance, ... indicate the number of the jurors' findings in the particular circumstance. ... During your determination of the sentence, you will be required to answer several questions concerning mitigating circumstances. Those questions will be listed on a verdict form, which I will give you. If you find the mitigating circumstances do exist, mark ... which particular mitigating circumstances have been established, and for each mitigating circumstance, indicate the number of the jurors finding that particular circumstance. The special verdict interrogatories read as follows:  members of the Jury find beyond a reasonable doubt that [the specific aggravating circumstance applies];  members of the Jury do not find beyond a reasonable doubt that [the specific aggravating circumstance applies]. ...  members of the Jury find that [specific circumstance] is a mitigating factor.  members of the Jury do not find that [specific circumstance] is a mitigating factor. The jurors found each aggravator by a unanimous vote, satisfying not only the Sixth Amendment requirements of Ring v. Arizona, 536 U.S. 584, 122 S.Ct. 2428, 153 L.Ed.2d 556 (2002), but also the right to a unanimous verdict on aggravators qualifying a first-degree murderer for the death penalty that I believe is required by article I, section 22 of the Florida Constitution. See Butler v. State, 842 So.2d 817, 838-29 (Fla.2003) (Pariente, J., dissenting). As I have recently noted, various members of this Court have stated that specific interrogatories on the aggravating factors submitted to a jury are advisable following Ring. See Globe v. State, 877 So.2d 663, 679-80 (Fla.2004) (Pariente, J., specially concurring). The findings on the aggravators and the mitigators are not prohibited by section 921.141, Florida Statutes (2003). See Bottoson v. Moore, 833 So.2d 693, 723 (Fla.2002) (Pariente, J., concurring in result only). In general, a jury finding on each aggravator eliminates the uncertainties of appellate review inherent in the bare advisory recommendation now required by the standard jury instructions. See Bottoson, 833 So.2d at 708 (Anstead, C.J., concurring in result only) (stating that it is impossible to tell from jury's death recommendation which, if any, aggravating circumstances a jury or any individual juror may have determined existed). As I stated in my concurring opinion in Bottoson: By requiring a special verdict on aggravating circumstances, this Court will not only assist trial judges in administering section 921.141, but also enhance the quality of our own constitutionally mandated review of death sentences in a manner that anticipates the likely effect of Ring and its progeny. First, the special verdict would serve to facilitate our determination of harmless error during appellate review. Second, the additional procedure would assist in the jury override situation because this Court would know whether the jury's life recommendation was based on a finding of no aggravators or on a determination that the mitigators outweighed the aggravators. Finally, a special verdict form would help to ensure that this Court does not run afoul of the Eighth Amendment by affirming a death sentence based on an invalid aggravator  i.e. in this context, an aggravator not properly found by the jury. 833 So.2d at 724 (footnote omitted). The trial court in this case is to be lauded for taking this step in a penalty phase conducted shortly after the decision in Ring. The instructions and verdict form demonstrate how simple it is to comply with the spirit of Ring without deviating from our statutory scheme. I encourage other trial judges to similarly obtain specific jury findings on the proposed aggravators at the conclusion of the penalty phase of each capital trial. ANSTEAD, J., concurs.