Opinion ID: 1733568
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: this court's prior decisions

Text: The first of this Court's decisions in the civil context addressing improper, but unobjected-to, closing argument was Baggett, in which the plaintiff sought recovery for injuries sustained in an automobile accident. See 124 Fla. at 704, 169 So. at 374. The jury found in favor of the plaintiff, and the defendant filed a motion for new trial; the trial court denied that motion, and the case proceeded for review in this Court. See id. at 706, 169 So. at 375. Before this Court, the defendant asserted that numerous errors had occurred during trial, many of which related to the jury instructions given by the trial court, see id. at 709-13, 169 So. at 376-78, two of which related to the admission of evidence, see id. at 706-10, 169 So. at 375-76, and two of which related to several statements made by plaintiff's counsel during closing argument. [11] See id. at 715-16, 169 So. at 378-79. After addressing the admission of evidence and jury instruction issues and finding two errors therein, see id. at 709-15, 169 So. at 376-78, this Court considered the statements made by plaintiff's counsel during closing argument. See id. at 714-17, 169 So. at 378-79. The bill of exceptions filed by the defendant showed that the first allegedly improper statement made by plaintiff's counsel consisted of the following: Gentlemen of the Jury, in considering the amount of your verdict you need not stop to consider that it will cost Mr. Baggett, the defendant, because he will not be out anything, and that same will not cost him a cent, and that he will not be one cent richer or poorer; or words to that effect. Id. The Baggett Court noted that the defendant did not object to this statement, nor had the trial court of its own motion admonished plaintiff's counsel or instructed the jury not to consider the statement. See id. at 715, 169 So. at 378. The defendant's bill of exceptions also set forth the nature of plaintiff's counsel's second allegedly improper statement: That the defendant if a verdict was found against him had a right to file a motion for a new trial, and upon the hearing of which the trial judge would determine whether the verdict should stand or fall, and that thereafter if the trial judge held that the verdict should stand the defendant had available the right of appeal by writ of error to the Supreme Court of Florida where the legal errors in the proceedings might be reconsidered and readjudged, and that thereafter it would be necessary for the plaintiff to sue out an execution; or words to that effect. Id. at 716, 169 So. at 378. The Baggett Court noted that defense counsel objected to this second statement and that the trial court immediately stopped counsel for plaintiff and stated to the jury that this statement should not be considered. Id. In analyzing the second, objected-to statement, this Court determined that the statement was improper but that the trial court corrected any error by immediately cautioning the jury to disregard the statement. See id. In analyzing the unobjected-to statement, the Baggett Court first reiterated that a party should state the grounds for objection to improper argument. See id. The Court then quoted from its prior decision in the criminal case of Akin v. State, 86 Fla. 564, 572-73, 98 So. 609, 612 (1923), in which the Court stated: The law seems to be well settled that it is the duty of the trial judge, whether requested or not, to check improper remarks of counsel to the jury, and to seek by proper instructions to the jury to remove any prejudicial effect they may be calculated to have against the opposite party. A verdict will not be set aside by an appellate court because of such remarks or because of any omission of the judge to perform his duty in the matter, unless objection be made at the time of their utterance. This rule is subject to the exception that, if the improper remarks are of such a character that neither rebuke nor retraction may entirely destroy their sinister influence, in which event a new trial should be awarded regardless of the want of objection or exception. See, Baggett, 124 Fla. at 716-17, 169 So. at 379. The Baggett Court found that the unobjected-to statement made by plaintiff's counsel during closing argument was similar in its probable effect upon the jury to the first remark of counsel objected to in ... Akin v. State, and then, after addressing several other issues, reversed the trial court's judgment for the errors pointed out herein. Id. at 717-18, 169 So. at 379. On the face of the Baggett opinion, however, it is not absolutely clear whether the unobjected-to statement made by plaintiff's counsel during closing argument was among the multiple errors for which this Court reversed due to the reliance upon Akin. To understand the principles, therefore, we must look to Akin for guidance. In Akin, the defendant appealed to this Court after being convicted of forgery, arguing that numerous errors had occurred during his trial. See 86 Fla. at 566-72, 98 So. at 610-12. After agreeing with the defendant that numerous errors occurred concerning the admission and exclusion of certain evidence, see id., the Akin Court addressed the propriety of various statements made by the prosecutor during closing argument, an issue that the defendant had raised in a motion for new trial. [12] See id. at 572-73, 98 So. at 612. The first statement made by the prosecutor during closing argument in Akin, to which the Baggett Court analogized the unobjected-to statement made by plaintiff's counsel in that case, consisted of the following: (1) This defendant has other indictments pending against him in connection with these transactions. I do not intend to try the other cases, and it is up to you as to whether you will let this man go scot free and say that he has not committed any wrong. If he is convicted he would probably only have to pay a small fine, and it is in the power of the court to fine him not more than 5 cents, if he wanted to. Akin, 86 Fla. at 571, 98 So. at 612. The defendant also challenged three other statements made by the prosecutor during closing argument. See id. In analyzing all of the statements made by the prosecutor, the Akin Court used the language quoted in Baggett: in short, that a timely objection to improper closing argument is required before a new trial may be granted based on such argument unless the improper remarks are of such character that neither rebuke nor retraction may entirely destroy their sinister influence. Akin, 86 Fla. at 572-73, 98 So. at 612. The Akin Court determined that the prosecutor's first statement during closing argument was both a misstatement of the law and had no basis in the record, and that the other statements made by the prosecutor were also improper. See id. at 572, 98 So. at 612. However, the Akin Court stated the following regarding all of the prosecutor's statements: In the case at bar no attempt seems to have been made to check the improper remarks of the state attorney by the trial court, and they were not properly excepted to by the defendant, nor does it fully appear that they came within the exception to the rule as above announced. It is proper to state, however, in addition to what has already been said in this connection, that these remarks have no basis in the record, should never be indulged in trial courts, and would ordinarily be ground for reversal. Id. at 573, 98 So. at 612 (emphasis added). The Akin Court reversed and remanded for a new trial, see id. at 574, 98 So. at 613, but, based on the language quoted and emphasized above, it is clear that the Court did not reverse based on the prosecutor's improper statements during closing argument. Concomitantly, by analogizing the unobjected-to improper statement made by plaintiff's counsel in Baggett with the prosecutor's first statement in Akin, it appears that the Baggett Court may not have counted plaintiff's counsel's improper, but unobjected-to, statement among the errors for which it reversed. [13] Twenty years after Baggett, this Court decided Strickland, which involved an employee suing a railroad company by which he was employed to recover for personal injuries he sustained while on the job. See 88 So.2d at 520-21. [14] After the plaintiff prevailed in the trial court, the defendant appealed to this Court, claiming that several errors were made during the trial. [15] See id. at 521. Specifically, the defendant claimed on appeal that (1) the trial court erred in admitting several letters into evidence; and (2) various statements made by plaintiff's counsel during examination of witnesses and closing argumentconcerning those letters and other matterswere so prejudicial as to warrant a new trial. See id. Several of the letters showed that the railroad's general counsel and its doctor derived amusement and engaged in hearty laughter after receiving a report from a doctor who had examined the plaintiff. See id. at 520-21. After reviewing the content of the letters, this Court determined that [t]here was no foundation in the evidence for admitting the letters and it was error to admit them over objection of defendant. See id. at 521. The Court then proceeded to review the various comments made by plaintiff's counsel throughout the trial. See id. at 522-23. First, the Court reviewed comments made by plaintiff's counsel while questioning one of the plaintiff's witnesses. See id. at 521-22. In short, counsel's comments during questioning stressed the amusement referred to in several of the letters mentioned above, obviously attempting to elicit testimony from the witness that the plaintiff's injuries were nothing to laugh about. See id. The Court noted that defense counsel objected to many of the comments, with the trial court sustaining some of the objections and issuing a mild rebuke to plaintiff's counsel in several instances. See id. at 523. The Court then considered various comments made by plaintiff's counsel during closing argument relating to the lettersin which counsel expressed that he could envision the railroad's general counsel and doctor sitting in their office laughing, feet on their desks, saying,`Isn't this a big joke? Strickland has hurt his back, and he is having trouble with it.' Id. at 522. Plaintiff's counsel argued that the matter was not a joke and that he would like to wipe that smile off [general counsel's] face. Id. Finally, the Court considered comments made by plaintiff's counsel during closing argument related to a demonstration the jury had seen at the railroad yard that attempted to recreate the plaintiff's working conditions when he was injured. See id. at 522-23. Counsel repeatedly injected his personal observations about the demonstration, ultimately stating that there was no doubt in his mind that the railroad was negligent. See id. at 523. Counsel ended this portion of the argument by commenting that I think in this case [the defendant] has pulled every sly trick in the books. Id. After finding that defense counsel raised no objections during closing argument by plaintiff's counsel, this Court stated: While we are committed to the rule that in the ordinary case, unless timely objections to counsel's prejudicial remarks are made, this court will not reverse the judgment on appeal, however, this ruling does not mean that if prejudicial conduct of that character in its collective impact of numerous incidents, as in this case, is so extensive that its influence pervades the trial, gravely impairing a calm and dispassionate consideration of the evidence and the merits by the jury, this court will not afford redress. In this state of the record, even though the [letters were] admissible,[ [16] ] the prejudicial remarks of counsel, including the statements made in argument amounting to testimony in the case, require a new trial. Courts are conscious of the fact that without partisan zeal for the cause of this client, counsel in many instances could have little success in properly representing litigants in sharply contested cases, but his conduct during the cause must always be so guarded that it will not impair or thwart the orderly processes of a fair consideration and determination of the cause by the jury. Id. at 523 (footnote added). The Strickland Court reversed and remanded for a new trial, closing with the following comment: It is the responsibility of the trial court to protect litigants against such interference by counsel with the orderly administration of justice and the protection of the right of the litigant to a verdict `uninfluenced by the appeals of counsel to passion or prejudice.' Id. at 524. Five years after deciding Strickland, this Court decided Tyus, in which the plaintiff sought recovery due to the death of her husband resulting from a collision with one of the defendant's trains. See 130 So.2d at 582. The case proceeded to trial, and a jury found in favor of the plaintiff. See id. The trial court entered judgment in favor of the plaintiff after denying the defendant's motion for new trial, and the defendant appealed to the First District. See id. at 582, 588. On appeal, the First District determined that the evidence presented was insufficient to warrant submission to the jury and reversed with directions to enter judgment in favor of the defendant. See id. at 582; see also Apalachicola Northern Railroad Co. v. Tyus, 114 So.2d 33, 35-37 (Fla. 1st DCA 1959), quashed, 130 So.2d 580 (Fla.1961). In addition, the First District concluded that plaintiff's counsel had made improper statements during closing argument which, standing alone, constituted grounds for reversal notwithstanding the effort of the trial court to remove their effect by instructing the jury to disregard them. Id. at 37. In denying a motion for rehearing, the First District set forth the statements made by plaintiff's counsel which the court held to be reversible error: It would have cost them very little to have put some kind of signals there so that the man, when he was going across that track, would have had knowledge of the fact that the train was coming out from this blinding end of the railroad; but they didn't value the life of somebody crossing that track enough to do it.    In other words, what is another man unless he can be some gain to that corporation, knowing its enterprise? What is a mere human being, dead or alive, unless he can contribute something to the fortune and future of the Apalachicola Northern Railroad? Id. at 38. This Court accepted jurisdiction in the case to resolve a conflict regarding the sufficiency of the evidence issue. See Tyus, 130 So.2d at 582-83. After analyzing that issue, this Court proceeded to disagree with the First District and held that there was sufficient evidence to submit the case to the jury for determination. See id. at 586-87. This Court's view also differed from that of the First District regarding whether plaintiff's counsel's closing argument statements constituted grounds for reversal. See id. at 587. This Court noted that (1) defense counsel failed to object to the improper statements quoted in the First District's opinion; and (2) the trial court sustained objections to other improper statements and charged the jury to disregard such statements. See id. The Tyus Court reiterated the standard for reviewing unobjected-to improper statements by counsel set forth in Strickland, see id., and also referred to Baggett. See id. at 587 n. 10. Further, the Tyus Court clarified the term pervades as used in the Strickland standard, finding that in order to employ the exception to the general rule where no objections are made to alleged prejudicial remarks or conduct, such remarks or conduct need not begin at the outset of a trial and continue intermittently to its conclusion. Id. at 587. In declining to reverse for a new trial, the Tyus Court closed with the following remarks: We believe that the charge given in this case by the able circuit judge was sufficient to alleviate any harm to the defendant which might otherwise have existed by virtue of the alleged prejudicial remarks made by counsel for the petitioner only in his closing argument. We are of the opinion that when the charge delivered by the trial judge is considered together with the fact that respondent failed to object to the alleged prejudicial remarks relied on by the District Court of Appeal as the basis for its holding on this issue, coupled with the fact that the alleged prejudicial conduct took place only during petitioner's closing argument and was not so extensive that its influence pervaded the trial, it is crystal clear this case should not have been reversed even for a new trial. Moreover, it is most significant that in the instant litigation the veteran and learned trial judge, who was in the milieu of the court room throughout the trial and who was therefore in a much better position than this court or the District Court to determine whether the alleged prejudicial remarks were actually in effect of such character, denied a motion for a new trial. No useful purpose would be served by submitting the factual issues in this case to a second jury for a retrial thereof because we find that such issues were fairly considered and determined by the jury.... Id. at 588. [17] The last civil case in which this Court addressed improper, but unobjected-to, conduct by counsel during closing argument was Dupont. In that case, the subject of the litigation was an accident that occurred at a mining site. See Dupont, 455 So.2d at 1027. At the conclusion of the trial, the jury awarded the plaintiffs both compensatory and punitive damages. See id. at 1027-28. The defendants filed a motion for new trial raising several claims for reversal, including a claim that plaintiffs' counsel made inflammatory statements during closing argument. See id. at 1028. The trial court denied the motion for new trial, and the defendants appealed. See id. On appeal, the First District affirmed the trial court's ruling on all but one basis, and the defendants sought review before this Court. See id. This Court accepted review to resolve a conflict regarding the admissibility of evidence relating to post-accident repairs, see id. at 1027, 1029, but proceeded to resolve several other issues. See id. at 1028-30. Specifically, this Court found that punitive damages should not have been assessed against the defendants, see id. at 1029, and determined that several statements made by plaintiffs' counsel during closing argument did not constitute a basis for reversal. See id. at 1030. In resolving the closing argument issue, this Court stated the following: Petitioners argue that some of the comments made by respondent's counsel during closing argument were improper and prejudicial. These comments concerned the differences in race and economic standing between the two parties, among other things. Some latitude is permitted when arguing the amount of smart money to punish defendants. See, e.g., Wackenhut Corp. v. Canty, 359 So.2d 430 (Fla.1978); Tate v. Gray, 292 So.2d 618 (Fla. 2d DCA 1974); Dixie-Bell Oil Co. v. Gold, 275 So.2d 19 (Fla. 3d DCA 1973). However, since in today's decision we hold that the issue of punitive damages was improperly submitted to the jury, it was error for the trial judge to allow these comments. In any event, we hold that these comments do not amount to fundamental error, and therefore, they cannot form the basis for a new trial on appeal, since there was no timely and proper objection made by defense counsel. Tyus v. Apalachicola Northern Railroad [Co.], 130 So.2d 580, 587 (Fla.1961); Bishop v. Watson, 367 So.2d 1073 (Fla. 3d DCA 1979). Dupont, 455 So.2d at 1030. After analyzing this Court's decisions in Baggett, Strickland, Tyus, and Dupont, several matters are clear. First, this Court has recognized that a trial judge is in the best position to determine both the propriety of counsel's closing argument and any possible prejudice resulting from any improper argument. Second, this Court has recognized that a trial judge has a duty to prevent improper closing argument from prejudicing the jury. [18] Third, it is clear that in all but the Strickland case, the party seeking relief on the basis of improper, but unobjected-to, closing argument initially sought relief on that basis by filing a motion for new trial in the trial court. Finally, it is also clear that this Court's overarching concern in allowing an exception to the contemporaneous objection requirement in civil cases in the context of improper, but unobjected-to, closing argument is that a party should not be deprived of a fair trial and due process based on such improper argument and that public confidence in the system of justice be maintained. With these observations from prior decisions of this Court in mind, we now review how courts in other jurisdictions have addressed the issue of improper, but unobjected-to, closing argument in civil cases.