Opinion ID: 1607200
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 11

Heading: Failure to Strike Jury Panel

Text: Smith next contends that the trial court erred in denying his motion to strike the entire jury panel based on prejudice caused by the comment, God bless you all. Have a blessed day, that was made by Smith's mother to them as she was leaving the courtroom during jury selection. When Smith's mother was leaving the courtroom during jury selection, she made a statement to the seventy venire members in the hallway. According to those who heard the comment, the mother stated to the entire group, God bless you all. Have a blessed day. When this was brought to the trial court's attention the following day, the court individually questioned several jurors about the incident and learned that several jurors had been discussing the matter at lunch that day. The court then individually questioned the jurors who might have been discussing the incident. Attorneys for both sides then requested individual voir dire of the jury venire and as a result, the court decided to question all of the members of the venire in small groups about the incident. The attorneys were also permitted to inquire of the jurors. After questioning the entire jury panel in small groups, the defense moved to have the entire panel struck based on the comment being viewed as inappropriate and made by a family member to influence the jury. The defense argued that the comment would have a negative influence on whoever heard it and result in prejudice to Smith. The trial court denied the motion to strike the entire panel, but issued an order that Smith's mother not set foot in the courtroom until she was called as a witness and have no conversation with any jurors or potential jurors. A trial court has discretion to determine what remedy is required when a comment is made to the jurors outside the presence of the court. See Hutchinson v. State, 882 So.2d 943, 956 (Fla.2004), abrogated on other grounds by Deparvine v. State, 995 So.2d 351 (Fla.2008); Street v. State, 636 So.2d 1297, 1301 (Fla.1994). The exercise of that discretion will not be disturbed absent a showing of bias or prejudice to the defendant. See United States v. Hernandez, 921 F.2d 1569, 1578 (11th Cir.1991). The record demonstrates that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in denying Smith's motion to strike the entire jury venire. The trial court acted appropriately by questioning the jury panel to determine who had heard the comment and whether the comment would affect their ability to be impartial. Moreover, the comment made to the jurors did not disclose evidence or facts not presented at trial and did not even constitute an opinion about the defendant's guilt or innocence. See, e.g., Hutchinson, 882 So.2d at 956 (involving a restaurant patron who approached the jurors and told them that she hoped they would hang the defendant); Street, 636 So.2d at 1301 (involving a person who passed the jury in the hallway and muttered guilty). Accordingly, Smith fails to demonstrate that any of the jurors on the venire exhibited actual bias and as a result that he was prejudiced. None of the jurors who served on Smith's jury stated that the comment would affect their ability to rule fairly in his case. In fact, a number of jurors were struck from the venire based on their failure to report the juror discussions related to the mother's comments. Additionally, the prospective jurors who voiced problems about the mother's comments were actually struck for cause. Therefore, we find no merit to this claim.