Florida District Courts of Appeal, 2011

Hines v. State

Hines v. State
Florida District Courts of Appeal · Decided December 20, 2011 · Hawkes, Roberts, Wolf
75 So. 3d 862; 2011 Fla. App. LEXIS 20270; 2011 WL 6352300 (Southern Reporter, Third Series)

Hines v. State

Opinion of the Court

PER CURIAM.

AFFIRMED.

HAWKES and ROBERTS, JJ„ concur; WOLF, J., concurs with opinion.

Concurring Opinion

WOLF, J.,

Concurring.

In the instant case, before releasing the jury for deliberations, the trial court stated:

Ladies and gentlemen, we’re going to go ahead in a moment and let y’all go back and start deliberating. You will get the exhibits, you will get a verdict form, and you will take your jury instructions with you.
Now, I think sometimes jurors have questions for me, but the first thing that you should do if you think you have a question is stop and reread those jury instructions, because I really am giving you everything that you need to know to make your decision.

(Emphasis added). This preemptive instruction, especially the underlined language, is problematic. It may have a chilling effect on the exercise of the jury’s power to request clarification, further instructions, or a review of testimony. This language, however, does not rise to the level of fundamental error; therefore, I concur.

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