State v. Seitz
State v. Seitz
Opinion of the Court
The State seeks certiorari review of an order authorizing defendant, Robert Seitz, to take the telephonic deposition of Mark Smith, a former Assistant State Attorney, who at one time was assigned to Seitz’s ongoing criminal prosecution. We grant certiorari and quash the order.
In September 2001, Seitz was charged in a seven-count information with battering and stalking Jilda Unruh, a local television journalist, and with making threatening and harassing telephone calls to her. Seitz was also charged with violating an earlier injunction against repeat violence. Almost six years after these charges were filed, Seitz obtained the order under review, permitting him to conduct the telephonic deposition of Smith, a prosecutor previously assigned to Seitz’s case. Seitz claimed that this prosecutor’s testimony was material to his defense, arguing that the instant prosecution “is a political prosecution due to the relationship between the State Attorney Katherine Rundle, the alleged victim Jilda Unruh and the prosecutor originally assigned to this case, Mark Smith.”
Seitz claims here that he needs Smith’s testimony to demonstrate that Unruh is biased. We disagree, finding that Seitz does not need Smith’s deposition to demonstrate bias. As the victim of these crimes, Unruh undoubtedly will be “biased” in her own, and thus in the State’s, favor. Seitz has also failed to demonstrate any legitimate basis for inquiring into the State’s reasons for prosecuting this case. See Richardson v. State, 831 So.2d 799, 801 (Fla. 2d DCA 2002) (confirming that Florida applies a “heightened burden of proof on defendants to prove a selective prosecution claim” and that “to establish a selective prosecution claim, a defendant
Accordingly, the order authorizing the telephone deposition of Mark Smith is hereby quashed.
. According to Seitz, Smith was a confidential source for Unruh.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.