Melbourne v. State

679 So. 2d 759, 1996 WL 498600
CourtSupreme Court of Florida
DecidedSeptember 5, 1996
Docket86029
StatusPublished
Cited by351 cases

This text of 679 So. 2d 759 (Melbourne v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Melbourne v. State, 679 So. 2d 759, 1996 WL 498600 (Fla. 1996).

Opinion

679 So.2d 759 (1996)

Jeanie H. MELBOURNE, Petitioner,
v.
STATE of Florida, Respondent.

No. 86029.

Supreme Court of Florida.

September 5, 1996.

*762 Terrence E. Kehoe of the Law Offices of Terrence E. Kehoe, Orlando, for Petitioner.

Robert A. Butterworth, Attorney General, and Kellie A. Nielan, Assistant Attorney General, Daytona Beach, for Respondent.

SHAW, Justice.

We have for review Melbourne v. State, 655 So.2d 126 (Fla. 5th DCA 1995), which expressly construes a provision of the state and federal constitutions. We have jurisdiction. Art. V, § 3(b)(3), Fla. Const. We approve Melbourne as explained herein.

Jeanie Melbourne was driving under the influence (DUI) on June 12, 1992, when she turned in front of an oncoming vehicle, killing two people and injuring a third. She was convicted of two counts of DUI manslaughter and one count of DUI with serious bodily injury. The district court affirmed.

I. PEREMPTORY CHALLENGE

The following discussion took place at voir dire when defense counsel objected to the State's use of a peremptory challenge to strike a black venireperson, Mr. Wells:

Mr. Mason (defense counsel): Does anyone have alcoholism in their family or any friends who are alcoholics, or anything along those lines?
. . . .
Mr. Wells: My wife. She died of alcohol.
Mr. Mason: What do you do for W.E.S.H. T.V.?
Mr. Wells: I work in programming. Whatever you see is whatever I do.
Mr. Mason: Do you work nights or do you work days?
Mr. Wells: I work days.
Mr. Mason: Would you like to serve again?
Mr. Wells: I will do what I have to do.
. . . .
Mr. Bressler (prosecutor): We'd also strike Number 19, your honor.
Mr. Mason: Mr. Dewey Wells, the black man, I would raise a Baxter Johans challenge, JOHANS. He's a black man, Number 19.
Ms. Munyon: The State has not stricken any black jurors at all. The defense has stricken juror Number 10, Tillman, as well as juror Number 13, which are black.
The State accepted both of those jurors.
Mr. Bressler: Kelvin McCall was a black juror that the defense struck.
Mr. Mason: I have nothing else to say.
The Court: Well, I don't see anything in this record to indicate that there's any— that the State in exercising this challenge to a black person is in any way acting in a discriminatory fashion, or singling out Mr. Wells because of his race in its exercise of peremptory challenge.
The record should reflect that the defense has excused two peremptory challenges to excuse black males and exercised its exercise of the—
Mr. Mason: I've used seven per Kim.

Melbourne claims that as a result of the above discussion she is entitled a new trial. First, she asserts that the court failed to conduct a proper inquiry into the State's motivation for striking Mr. Wells as required under State v. Johans, 613 So.2d 1319 (Fla. 1993). Second, she contends that the explanation offered by the State was insufficient under State v. Neil, 457 So.2d 481 (Fla.1984), and State v. Slappy, 522 So.2d 18 (Fla.), cert. denied, 487 U.S. 1219, 108 S.Ct. 2873, 101 L.Ed.2d 909 (1988). We disagree.

*763 A seminal Florida case on this issue is Neil, wherein this Court set out a procedure for dealing with racially-motivated peremptory challenges:

[T]rial courts should apply the following test. The initial presumption is that peremptories will be exercised in a nondiscriminatory manner. A party concerned about the other side's use of peremptory challenges must make a timely objection and demonstrate on the record that the challenged persons are members of a distinct racial group and that there is a strong likelihood that they have been challenged solely because of their race [this is step 1]. If a party accomplishes this, then the trial court must decide if there is a substantial likelihood that the peremptory challenges are being exercised solely on the basis of race. If the court finds no such likelihood, no inquiry may be made of the person exercising the questioned peremptories. On the other hand, if the court decides that such a likelihood has been shown to exist, the burden shifts to the complained-about party to show that the questioned challenges were not exercised solely because of the prospective jurors' race [step 2]. The reasons given in response to the court's inquiry need not be equivalent to those for a challenge for cause.... [The court must then determine whether] the party has actually been challenging prospective jurors solely on the basis of race.... [step 3].

Neil, 457 So.2d at 486-87 (footnotes omitted).

Because trial courts had difficulty applying Neil, this Court refined the procedure in subsequent cases. We simplified step 1:

Rather than wait for the law in this area to be clarified on a case-by-case basis, we find it appropriate to establish a procedure that gives clear and certain guidance to the trial courts in dealing with peremptory challenges. Accordingly, we hold that from this time forward a Neil inquiry is required when an objection is raised that a peremptory challenge is being used in a racially discriminatory manner.

Johans, 613 So.2d at 1321.

We also required that in step 2 the proponent of the strike demonstrate "a `clear and reasonably specific' racially neutral explanation of `legitimate reasons' for the [strike]," and that in step 3 the judge must decide whether the proffered reasons are "first, neutral and reasonable and, second, not a pretext." Slappy, 522 So.2d at 22.

In spite of these refinements, Florida courts have continued to have difficulty in applying Neil, particularly following Johans.[1] The State in the present proceeding has submitted for consideration the recent United States Supreme Court decision in Purkett v. Elem, ___ U.S. ___, 115 S.Ct. 1769, 131 L.Ed.2d 834 (1995), wherein that Court summarized its holding in Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 79, 106 S.Ct. 1712, 90 L.Ed.2d 69 (1986):

Under our Batson jurisprudence, once the opponent of a peremptory challenge has made out a prima facie case of racial discrimination (step 1), the burden of production shifts to the proponent of the strike to come forward with a race-neutral explanation (step 2). If a race-neutral explanation is tendered, the trial court must then decide (step 3) whether the opponent of the strike has proved purposeful racial discrimination.

Purkett, ___ U.S. at ___-___, 115 S.Ct. at 1770-71 (citations omitted).

The United States Supreme Court elaborated on step 2 further:

The second step of this process does not demand an explanation that is persuasive, or even plausible. "At this [second] step of the inquiry, the issue is the facial validity of the prosecutor's explanation. Unless a discriminatory intent is inherent in the prosecutor's explanation, the reason offered will be deemed race neutral."

Id. at ___, 115 S.Ct.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
679 So. 2d 759, 1996 WL 498600, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/melbourne-v-state-fla-1996.