Opinion ID: 1940407
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: modifications to the trotter standard

Text: Because there is no federal or state constitutional right to peremptory challenges, I believe we are bound to modify the per se reversal rule that this Court has interpreted Trotter to require. As we acknowledged in DiGuilio, absent a legitimate constitutional reason to override the legislative codification of the harmless error rule in section 924.33, we must require that a defendant show actual harm in order for a conviction to be reversed. DiGuilio, 491 So.2d at 1134. In other words, the defendant must meet the Trotter standards and must show that the juror identified as being objectionable was indeed a legally objectionable juror, i.e., a biased or partial juror. If the defendant makes such a showing, then harm has been proven and a violation of the defendant's constitutional right to a fair trial has been established. In such a case, the defendant would be entitled to a new trial. If the juror identified by the defendant as being objectionable is in actuality not legally objectionable, the defendant has suffered no harm and is not entitled to a new trial because any error in denying the challenge for cause was rendered harmless.