Court Opinion

ID: 4147857
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2017-02-23 16:06:10.013273+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T13:48:07.898706
License: Public Domain

Supreme Court of Florida
                                   ____________

                                   No. SC16-996
                                   ____________

      IN RE: AMENDMENTS TO THE FLORIDA RULES OF CIVIL
          PROCEDURE—FORM 1.983 (PROSPECTIVE JUROR
                     QUESTIONNAIRE).

                                [February 23, 2017]

PER CURIAM.

      The Court has for consideration amendments to Florida Rule of Civil

Procedure Form 1.983 (Prospective Juror Questionnaire) proposed by The Florida

Bar’s Civil Procedure Rules Committee (Committee).1 The Board of Governors of

The Florida Bar approved the Committee’s proposals, which we adopt with the

modifications and additional amendment explained below.

      The more significant amendments proposed in the Committee’s out-of-cycle

report2 add directions to the parties and to the court on the minimization of

sensitive information on the prospective juror questionnaire, as required by Florida

      1. We have jurisdiction. See art. V, § 2(a), Fla. Const.
      2. See Fla. R. Jud. Admin. 2.140(e).
Rule of Judicial Administration 2.425(a)(2), and revise question 13 on the

questionnaire to conform to section 40.013(4), Florida Statutes (2016), which

provides for the excusal of expectant mothers and certain parents, upon request.

The Committee proposes additional amendments to the form in its response to a

comment by Indian River County Clerk of Circuit Court and Comptroller Jeffrey

R. Smith, who suggests several changes to the form. One of the Committee’s

additional proposals is intended to conform question 8 on the questionnaire with

section 40.013(2)(b), Florida Statutes (2016), which provides for the excusal of

full-time federal, state, or local law enforcement officers and such entities’

investigative personnel. The Committee also proposes several amendments to the

summons language under the signature line on the form, the most significant of

which revises that language to reflect that the clerk of court, not the sheriff,

summons jurors, consistent with section 40.23(1), Florida Statutes (2016).

      After considering the Committee’s report, the comment, and the response,

we adopt the amendments to question 13 (expectant mothers and parents), the

revisions to the summons language, and the grammatical and stylistic changes

proposed by the Committee. However, we modify the proposed directions at the

top of the form to direct “attorneys and pro se litigants” to redact the month and

date of the prospective juror’s birth before filing a copy of the form, consistent

with rule 2.425(a)(2). See In re Implementation of Comm. on Privacy & Court

                                          -2-
Records Recommendations, 78 So. 3d 1045, 1049-50 (Fla. 2011) (explaining that

Florida Rule of Judicial Administration 2.425 provides the procedures for

minimizing the amount of sensitive personal information included in documents

being filed with the court and Florida Rule of Judicial Administration 2.420

governs the procedures for determining the confidentiality of information after it

has been filed, and recognizing that under rule 2.425, it is the filer (attorney or pro

se litigant) who must not file or must truncate or redact sensitive personal

information listed in the rule before a document is filed with the court). We also

modify the proposed amendments to question 8 (law enforcement officers and

investigative personnel) consistent with section 40.013(2)(b), which allows full-

time federal, state, or local law enforcement officers and such entities’

investigative personnel, who otherwise would be excused from jury service, to

“choose to serve.” Finally, we amend the note about the caption at the end of the

form to reference the “authority charged by law with the selection of prospective

jurors,” consistent with Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.431(a)(1), rather than the

currently referenced “jury-selecting authority such as ‘Board of County

Commissioners of Leon County, Florida,’ or ‘Pinellas County Jury Commission.’ ”

See §§ 40.001; 40.011, Fla. Stat. (2016) (providing that the clerk of the circuit

court is responsible for the processing of jurors, including the qualifications and

the generation of juror candidate lists).

                                            -3-
      Accordingly, we amend the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure as set forth in

the appendix to this opinion. New language is indicated by underscoring; deletions

are indicated by struck-through type. The amendments shall become effective

immediately upon the release of this opinion.

      It is so ordered.

LABARGA, C.J., and PARIENTE, LEWIS, QUINCE, CANADY, and
POLSTON, JJ., concur.
LAWSON, J., did not participate.

THE FILING OF A MOTION FOR REHEARING SHALL NOT ALTER THE
EFFECTIVE DATE OF THESE AMENDMENTS.

Original Proceeding – Florida Rules of Civil Procedure

Roger James Haughey, II, Chair, Civil Procedure Rules Committee, Sivyer Barlow
& Watson, P.A., Tampa, Florida; Judge Jacqueline Hogan Scola, Past Chair, Civil
Procedure Rules Committee, Miami, Florida; Miguel J. Chamorro, Vice Chair,
Civil Procedure Rules Committee, Lydecker Diaz LLC, Miami, Florida; Jane
Kreusler-Walsh, Vice Chair, Civil Procedure Rules Committee, Compiani &
Vargas, P.A., West Palm Beach, Florida, Judge Rodolfo Armando Ruiz, II, Vice
Chair, Civil Procedure Rules Committee, Miami, Florida; and John F. Harkness,
Jr., Executive Director, and Krys Godwin, Bar Staff Liaison, The Florida Bar,
Tallahassee, Florida,

      for Petitioner

Jeffrey R. Smith, Vero Beach, Florida,

      Responding with Comments

                                         -4-
                                                          APPENDIX

FORM 1.983.                 PROSPECTIVE JUROR QUESTIONNAIRE

 DIRECTIONS TO ATTORNEYS AND PRO SE LITIGANTS: Before you file a copy of
          this form, redact the month and date of the prospective juror’s
                  birth in question #3, but retain the year of birth.
                           Fla. R. Jud. Admin. 2.425(a)(2).

                            QUESTIONNAIRE FOR PROSPECTIVE JURORS

1.   Name (print) ..........................................................................................................................
                                (first)                             (middle)                            (last)

2.   Residence address .................................................................................................................
                                                                (street and number)
     ................................................................................................................................................
                                                     (city)                                                      (zip)

3.   Date of birth ..........................................................................................................................
     Sex ..................... Occupation ..............................................................................................

4.   Do you understand the English language?
     ....................................            ................................................
                 (yes)                                                       (no)

5.   Do you read and write the English language?
     ....................................            ................................................
                 (yes)                                                       (no)

6.   Have you ever been convicted of a crime(s) and not restored to your civil rights?
     ....................................            ................................................
                 (yes)                                                       (no)

     If “yes,” state the nature of the crime(s), the date of the conviction(s), and the name of the
     court(s) in which you were convicted:
     ................................................................................................................................................
     ................................................................................................................................................

                                                                   -5-
7.    Are there any criminal charges pending against you of which you are aware?
      ....................................            ................................................
                  (yes)                                                       (no)

      If “yes,” state the nature of the charge(s) and the name of the court(s) in which the case(s)
      is pending:
      ................................................................................................................................................
      ................................................................................................................................................

8.    Are you a bonded deputy sheriffFULL-TIME LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS AND
      LAW ENFORCEMENT INVESTIGATIVE PERSONNEL ONLY. Section 40.013(2)(b),
      Florida Statutes, provides that “[a]ny full-time federal, state, or local law enforcement
      officer or such entities’ investigative personnel shall be excused from jury service unless
      such persons choose to serve.” Do you choose to serve?

      ....................................            ................................................
                  (yes)                                                       (no)

9.    List any official executive office you now hold with the federal, state, or ................ county
      government:
      ................................................................................................................................................
      ................................................................................................................................................

10.   Is your hearing good? ....................................                          ....................................
                                        (yes)                                                         (no)
      Is your eyesight good? ..................................                           ....................................
                                       (yes)                                                          (no)
      (The court may require a medical certificate.)

11.   Do you have any other physical or mental disability that would interfere with your
      service as a juror?
      ....................................            ................................................
                  (yes)                                                       (no)
      If “yes,” state the nature: .......................................................................................................
      (The court may require a medical certificate.)

12.   Do you know of any reason(s) why you cannot serve as a juror?
      ....................................            ................................................

                                                                    -6-
                  (yes)                                                       (no)
       If “yes,” state the reason(s): ..................................................................................................

13.    MOTHERS AND EXPECTANT MOTHERS AND PARENTS ONLY: Florida law
       provides that expectant mothers and mothers with children under 18 years of age residing
       with them shall be exempt from jury duty upon their request. Section 40.013(4), Florida
       Statutes, provides that “[a]ny expectant mother and any parent who is not employed full
       time and who has custody of a child under 6 years of age, upon request, shall be excused
       from jury service.” Do you want to be exemptexcused under this provision?
       .................................... ................................................
                   (yes)                                            (no)
       If “yes,” what are the ages of your children?
       ................................................................................................................................................

                                                                          Signature

      This is not a summons for jury duty. If your name is later drawn for jury service, you will
be summoned by the sheriffclerk of court by registered mail or in person.

        NOTE: This form does not use a caption as shown in form 1.901. It may be headed with
the designation of the jury-selecting authority such as “Board of County Commissioners of Leon
County, Florida,” or “Pinellas County Jury Commission.”authority charged by law with the
selection of prospective jurors.

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