Sunbeam Television Corp. v. State

723 So. 2d 275, 1998 WL 439890
CourtDistrict Court of Appeal of Florida
DecidedNovember 4, 1998
Docket98-1969
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 723 So. 2d 275 (Sunbeam Television Corp. 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
Sunbeam Television Corp. v. State, 723 So. 2d 275, 1998 WL 439890 (Fla. Ct. App. 1998).

Opinion

723 So.2d 275 (1998)

SUNBEAM TELEVISION CORPORATION, d/b/a WSVN/Channel 7, and Post-Newsweek Stations Florida, Inc., d/b/a WPLG/Channel 10, Petitioners,
v.
STATE of Florida and Humberto Hernandez, Respondents.

No. 98-1969

District Court of Appeal of Florida, Third District.

August 4, 1998.
Opinion Adopting Panel Dissent on Grant of Rehearing November 4, 1998.
Rehearing Denied January 13, 1999.

*276 Milledge & Iden and Allan Milledge and Dana J. McElroy; Mitrani, Rynor, Adamsky, Macaulay and Zorrilla and Karen Williams Kammer, Miami, for Petitioners.

Robert A. Butterworth, Attorney General, and Keith S. Kromash, Assistant Attorney General, for Respondents.

Before COPE, GODERICH and SORONDO, JJ.

Opinion Adopting Panel Dissent on Grant of Rehearing En Banc November 4, 1998.

SORONDO, J.

Sunbeam Television Corporation, d/b/a WSVN/Channel 7 and Post-Newsweek Stations Florida, Inc., d/b/a WPLG/Channel 10 (collectively, "the media") petition this Court for a writ of certiorari quashing the trial court's order prohibiting video photography of prospective or seated jurors in the criminal trial of former Miami Commissioner Humberto Hernandez, on charges of Fabricating Physical Evidence, Conspiracy to Fabricate Physical Evidence, and Accessory After the Fact.

According to the facts before us in this expedited matter, the trial judge advised a television reporter who was present at a hearing conducted on Thursday, July 30, 1998, that the court would be addressing the issue of limiting the media's ability to televise the trial in this case. Formal notice was provided to the media on the morning of Friday, July 31, 1998, for a 1:00 p.m. hearing. At oral argument before this court, counsel for the media indicated that they were not arguing a lack of notice as a ground for quashing of the order in question.

At the July 30th hearing, the trial judge announced:

I do know that—I have advised both parties that based upon discussions we had before, based upon the request made by the state, that I'm going to provide for basically protection, and for non-disclosure of the prospective jurors' identities or address.

At this point the media noted their objection to the court's intent and provided the judge with case law requiring both proper notice and an evidentiary hearing before the entry of such an order. See In re Petition of Post-Newsweek Stations, Florida, Inc., 370 So.2d 764 (Fla.1979); WFTV, Inc. v. State, 704 So.2d 188 (Fla. 4th DCA 1997). The judge then announced that he was conducting an evidentiary hearing and stated as follows:

Okay. I'm going to conduct an evidentiary hearing at this time. This Court will allow into evidence judicial notice of what it considers to be in the interest of the community.
This is a case of very intense public interest. This is a case that, basically, the media has a great deal of interest in, that the media at large has a great deal of interest in.
There have been numerous newspaper reports, numerous television reports.
And in fact, it's safe to say that there's a great deal of interest in this case. The prevention of the broadcasting of the identities of the individuals who will be participating in jury selection is for the purpose of assuring that when they are going about their business as jurors, and go back home, go out to dinner, go to church, synagogue, *277 go to Publix Supermarket, whatever, they are not accosted by people who will say to them, I saw you on television.
You are on this case, you are on the case trying Humberto Hernandez, and let me tell you this about that.
It's for that purpose, in and of itself, that that Court order has been entered.
It's a very slight infringement on the public at large, you will be present, the media will be present, the television cameras will be present, and they will be able to broadcast each and every event in this courtroom but for the juror's appearance.
They will not broadcast their faces, but the answers to questions provided to the Court, to the parties, will be a matter of public broadcast. You can go into that.
So, basically, the order is simply to prevent the disclosure of the identities of the jurors, which is something that is envisioned under the law, since the law allows the Court to prevent dissemination of a juror's name and address.

The media did not seek to present any evidence and concedes that the evidentiary hearing satisfied the requirements of Florida law. They argue here, as they did below, that the trial judge's order was error.

The state takes no position on the issue presented to this Court. Contrary to the trial judge's suggestion that his order was entered pursuant to the state's motion, the state asserts that it filed no such motion. At oral argument, the state advised this Court that during a previous hearing there might have been a general discussion about keeping the names and addresses of the jurors confidential, but that the state never requested the prohibition of video photography ordered by the trial judge. Further, the state indicated that it does not feel that such a measure is necessary to protect the integrity of the trial.

Both the State and the media now agree that the portion of the trial court's order which forbids the publication of the jurors' names and addresses is lawful. Accordingly, we deny that portion of the petition which seeks to quash this part of the order under review.

We now consider that portion of the trial court's order which prohibits the video photography of the jurors.

At the evidentiary hearing, the trial judge took judicial notice of the intense pre-trial publicity which has accompanied this case. In State v. Palm Beach Newspapers, 395 So.2d 544 (Fla.1981), the Florida Supreme Court reviewed an order excluding television coverage of two state witnesses during their trial testimony. Both witnesses were incarcerated. They provided affidavits which set forth their fear of reprisals in prison if it became public knowledge that they were cooperating with the state. In discussing the nature of a hearing which results in an order excluding the media, the Court stated:

Affidavits are sufficient to ground a trial court's determination that electronic media should be prohibited from covering the testimony of a particular witness. Indeed, a ruling can be supported by matters within the judicial knowledge of the trial judge, provided they are identified on the record and counsel given an opportunity to refute or challenge them.

Id. at 547 (emphasis added). The Court went on to say that "the dangers of in-prison violence ... may well be a matter judicially noticed ..." Id. In the present case, the judge was well within his right to judicially notice the publicity which has surrounded the voting fraud and related issues which are the gravamen of the charges against this defendant. The question presented here is whether that publicity and the trial judge's concern that unknown people may approach the jurors at restaurants, the market, church, synagogue, etc., is enough to support the order under review. We conclude that it is not.

In Post-Newsweek Stations, the Supreme Court determined that the petition for change in the code of judicial conduct, specifically Canon 3A(7), should be granted so as to allow the electronic media access to Florida's courtrooms.

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Bluebook (online)
723 So. 2d 275, 1998 WL 439890, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/sunbeam-television-corp-v-state-fladistctapp-1998.