Melbourne v. State

655 So. 2d 126, 1995 WL 232676
CourtDistrict Court of Appeal of Florida
DecidedApril 21, 1995
Docket93-1092
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 655 So. 2d 126 (Melbourne v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court of Appeal 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, 655 So. 2d 126, 1995 WL 232676 (Fla. Ct. App. 1995).

Opinion

655 So.2d 126 (1995)

Jeanie MELBOURNE, Appellant,
v.
STATE of Florida, Appellee.

No. 93-1092.

District Court of Appeal of Florida, Fifth District.

April 21, 1995.
Rehearing Denied June 1, 1995.

*127 Terrence E. Kehoe, of Law Offices of Terrence E. Kehoe, Orlando, for appellant.

Robert A. Butterworth, Atty. Gen., Tallahassee, and Barbara Arlene Fink, Asst. Atty. Gen., Dayton Beach, for appellee.

PER CURIAM.

Jeanie Melbourne was driving under the influence when she turned in front of an oncoming vehicle, killing two people and seriously injuring another. She was convicted of two counts of DUI manslaughter and one count of DUI with serious bodily injury. Although we affirm, appellant has raised three issues that deserve discussion.[1]

Appellant contends that the court violated the rule of Neil[2] by not conducting a proper inquiry after she objected to the state's peremptory challenge of a black juror. This is the sum total of the record inquiry concerning this matter:

MR. MASON [Trial Defense Attorney]: 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 like to 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 ten, Tillman, as well as juror number 13, which are black. The state accepted both of these jurors.
MR. BRESSLER: Kevin 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.

Appellant urges that the process used by the court in upholding the challenge to Mr. Wells violated the bright-line rule set out in State v. Johans, 613 So.2d 1319, 1322 (Fla. 1993):

Under our decision today, the presumption of validity of peremptory strikes established in Neil is still the law in Florida. Furthermore, a peremptory strike will be deemed valid unless an objection is made that the challenge is being used in a racially discriminatory manner. However, upon such objections, the trial judge must conduct a Neil inquiry... . Thus, we hold that the proper remedy in all cases where the trial court errs in failing to hold a Neil inquiry is to reverse and remand for a new trial.

*128 In Johans, no Neil inquiry was conducted because the trial judge ruled that the defense had failed to establish the Neil threshold to require the inquiry. The supreme court in Johans eliminated the threshold burden previously carried by the one challenging the strike. Here, however, the court did conduct a Neil inquiry. It is true that the prosecutor anticipated the question by the judge and, without the judge actually asking the question, proceeded into the state's explanation that its peremptory strike was not racially motivated. While somewhat free-form, inquiry was nevertheless conducted, as evidenced by the court's ruling.

Although not raised below, appellant now contends that the reason offered by the prosecution was insufficient to meet its burden of showing a non-racial reason for the challenge. Appellant points out that the state's response merely asserts its non-racial motivation and does not go forward with a race-neutral reason for the strike. Nevertheless, because the trial court can consider all that it has seen and heard, in addition to the explanation that comes directly from the mouth of the lawyer who has announced the peremptory challenge, reversal is not required. The record, as brief as it is in relation to the Wells strike, clearly shows the non-racial motivation. This is a case in which a woman, allegedly driving under the influence, caused the death of two persons and seriously injured another. Mr. Wells informed the court that his wife had died as a result of alcoholism. This revelation was not pursued by either attorney. It is possible, of course, that Mr. Wells might have been unaffected by his previous misfortune. It is more likely, however, that he would either have been sympathetic to appellant because of her weakness or hostile to her because of her conduct. In the event of either sympathy or hostility, a race-neutral reason for this strike was apparent on the record. Moreover, though not alone dispositive, the jury selection proceedings to that point demonstrated that the state's challenge was not a ploy to prevent African Americans from serving on the jury.

Appellant's second issue also involves jury selection. The defense raised challenges to two jurors[3] for cause which were rejected. The court erred in not striking Mr. Csandli for cause because his responses clearly showed that Mr. Csandli's personal experiences might affect his ability to be impartial. The court did not err, however, in failing to excuse Mr. Jilani for cause. Mr. Jilani responded to a defense inquiry concerning driving and drinking as follows:

MR. JILANI: The [law] says don't drink and drive, no drinking.
* * * * * *
MR. MASON: If you drink alcohol, or whatever your tolerance is, I have no idea, but if you drink alcohol and get in your car and drive, there's no crime that's ever been committed.
If you drink alcohol and you get in your car and you drive and you are impaired, that's the crime. You agree with the law or disagree with the law, Mr. Jilano [sic]?
MR. JILANI: It's a crime.
MR. MASON: It's a crime?
MR. JILANI: Uh-huh.

The difficulty with a compound question is that it often draws a confused answer. The final part of the question asked indicated that it was a crime to drive while impaired. He then asked if Mr. Jilani agreed. Mr. Jilani agreed that such would be a crime. He did not directly respond to Mr. Mason's first statement that driving after drinking, so long as there is no impairment, would be legal. Mr. Jilani never indicated that he could not or would not follow the law as instructed by the judge. The competency of a juror challenged for cause presents a mixed question of law and fact to be determined by the trial court. Manifest error must be shown to overturn the trial court's finding. Mills v. State, 462 So.2d 1075 (Fla.), cert. denied, 473 U.S. 911, 105 S.Ct. 3538, 87 L.Ed.2d 661 (1985). The defense has simply failed to meet this standard.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
655 So. 2d 126, 1995 WL 232676, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/melbourne-v-state-fladistctapp-1995.