Opinion ID: 1860995
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 7

Heading: Limitation of Voir Dire Examination

Text: Darling argues that the trial court erred in limiting defense counsel's questioning regarding capital case issues during voir dire examination of prospective jurors. As stated by the Court in Franqui v. State, 699 So.2d 1312, 1322 (Fla.1997), cert. denied, 523 U.S. 1040, 118 S.Ct. 1337, 140 L.Ed.2d 499 (1998), [t]he scope of voir dire questioning rests in the sound discretion of the court and will not be interfered with unless that discretion is clearly abused. Based upon the record in this case, the trial court did not abuse its discretion in limiting the scope of questioning during voir dire. Although the judge did not permit questioning about whether the prospective jurors had seen stories about prisoners released from death row, or about whether their drive to impose the death penalty would be lessened by the fact that the alternative sentence was life without parole, defense counsel was able to explore the potential jurors' concerns about the length of capital proceedings, and their understanding of the alternative penalties which applied. To the extent that these objections were preserved, no abuse of discretion is shown.