2.Panel 3 Voir Dire — Cause Challenges, Case Orientation, and Individual Follow-up
450 lines(In open court.)
THE COURT: Members of our jury, some of you may have noticed that we have a camera in the courtroom. And I want to bring it to your attention that you are not being recorded. Your face, your name will never be revealed to anyone. That's why we've been referring to you as your paddle numbers so that no one knows who you are. I know your names, the lawyers know your names, the State and the defense do. We'll never call you by your names. We'll always refer to you by your paddle number so that you have that level of protection and secrecy, because that's something that should be afforded to you and something that we will provide to you.
Now, that camera is not viewing you. It may be picking up your responses, it may be picking up the questions that I'm asking of you, but you are not being recorded.
Now, understanding that that camera is here, does anyone want to change or revise any of the answers that they provided to this Court? Again, this is a safe space. There are no wrong answers. You won't be judged for saying one thing or another thing. The whole purpose of this, that we talked about earlier, all of you agreed, is that you would completely and truthfully answer all the questions that are asked of you.
So understanding that backdrop, does anyone have a change to any answers that they've given to any questions so far? Promise you, you're not going to get into trouble. I promise you that. But does anybody want to change anything? Raise your paddles. All right. Court sees no paddles.
The best advice that I could give to you is similar to the Wizard of Oz, pay no attention to the man behind the curtain. The camera will not be watching you or viewing you in any way, shape, or form. The camera is going to be focused on what's happening here on the other side of the aisle and not on you-all, okay?
With that, we're going to go ahead and take our morning break. It is 10:45. I'm going to give you a short instruction.
Do not discuss this case. There's no case. You don't even know why we're here yet. You don't know the facts, who the players are, or what's happened. You can talk about anything you want. How lucky we got through the hurricane, how blessed we are, how terrible Florida State football is. Anything other than what this case is about. And we'll bring you back in as promptly as possible. I thank you for your time and your service.
Please leave your paddles behind. Thank you.
(Venire Panel 3 exited.)
THE COURT: You-all can be seated. Thank you.
If the parties are -- do the parties need to review any of their notes before we proceed with any cause challenges?
THE COURT: All right. Go ahead and review your notes and just let me know when you are ready to proceed. Court will be ina recess. Just give me a thumbs up when you're ready to address cause challenges. Thank you.
(Recess from 10:48 a.m. to 10:51 a.m.)
THE COURT: We're back on the record in 2020-CF-2603, State of Florida vs. Sarah Boone.
State?
MR. CACCIATORE: Dave Cacciatore on behalf of the State.
THE COURT: Defense?
MR. OWENS: James Owens for the defense.
MR. HENDERSON: Tony Henderson for Ms. Boone.
THE COURT: Let's go ahead and proceed with any cause challenges at this time. Starting with juror in Seat 1?
MR. HENDERSON: Agree.
THE COURT: Juror in Seat 1, wearing Badge 263, will be stricken for cause by way of stipulation.
2?
MR. HENDERSON: Agree.
THE COURT: 3?
MR. HENDERSON: Agree.
THE COURT: 4?
MR. HENDERSON: Agree. Stipulate.
THE COURT: Juror in Seat 4, wearing Badge 5237, will be stricken for cause by way of stipulation.
5?
MR. HENDERSON: Stipulate.
THE COURT: Juror in Seat 5, wearing Badge 182, will be stricken for cause by way of stipulation.
6?
MR. HENDERSON: Stipulate.
THE COURT: Juror in Seat 6, wearing Badge 364, will be stricken for cause by way of stipulation.
7?
MR. HENDERSON: Agree.
THE COURT: 8?
MR. HENDERSON: Agree.
THE COURT: 9?
MR. HENDERSON: Stipulate.
THE COURT: Juror in Seat 9, wearing Badge 482, will be stricken for cause by way of stipulation.
10?
MR. HENDERSON: Stipulate.
THE COURT: Juror in Seat 10, wearing Badge 142, stricken for cause by way of stipulation.
11?
MR. HENDERSON: Stipulate.
THE COURT: Juror in Seat 11, wearing Badge 5738, will be stricken for cause by way of stipulation.
12?
MR. HENDERSON: Stipulate.
THE COURT: Juror in Seat 12 will be stricken for cause by way of stipulation.
13?
MR. HENDERSON: Stipulate.
THE COURT: Juror in Seat 13, wearing Badge 382, will be stricken for cause by way of stipulation.
14?
THE COURT: Defense?
MR. HENDERSON: Move for cause.
THE COURT: Any response?
MR. JAY: My understanding was that her dentist and orthodontist appointments could be moved. There was no issue. Is there a different issue?
THE COURT: But she did identify that she had a 14-year-old that she took and from school and had no assistance or help.
THE COURT: Juror in Seat 14 -- defense, do you have anything else to add other than what --
THE COURT: My notes are for 14. Oh, you know what? I think the State may be correct.
MR. HENDERSON: Judge, excuse me.
THE COURT: I think the State's correct. The 14-year-old was from Juror No. 11.
MR. HENDERSON: Judge, what my concern was is that I think she spoke about a cavity and she said -- the Court asked her if she was in any pain now and she was not. I don't know if we need to run the risk of her becoming in pain later during the trial. So that's my biggest concern.
THE COURT: Any response from the State?
THE COURT: Okay. I'm going to disagree with your cause challenge at this time. She did say that she had no impact, it was not affecting her, and the cancellation of the appointment or her daughter's orthodontist appointment would not have any impact on her ability to focus here in the courtroom or fairly and impartially weigh the evidence.
15?
THE COURT: Defense?
MR. HENDERSON: Agree.
THE COURT: 16?
MR. HENDERSON: Agree.
THE COURT: 17?
MR. HENDERSON: Stipulate.
THE COURT: Juror in Seat 17, wearing Badge 574, will be stricken for cause by way of stipulation.
18?
MR. HENDERSON: Agree.
THE COURT: 19?
MR. HENDERSON: Agree.
THE COURT: Juror in Seat 19, wearing Badge 375, will be stricken for cause by way of stipulation.
20?
MR. HENDERSON: Agree.
THE COURT: Juror in Seat 20, wearing Badge 388, will be stricken for cause by way of stipulation.
21?
MR. HENDERSON: Agree.
THE COURT: 22?
MR. HENDERSON: Stipulate.
THE COURT: Juror in Seat 22, will be stricken for cause by way of stipulation. Wearing Badge 255.
23?
MR. HENDERSON: Stipulate.
THE COURT: Juror in Seat 23, wearing Badge 282, will be stricken for cause by way of stipulation.
24?
MR. HENDERSON: Stipulate.
THE COURT: Juror in Seat 24, wearing Badge 268, will be stricken for cause by way of stipulation.
25?
MR. HENDERSON: Stipulate.
THE COURT: Juror in Seat 25, wearing Badge 455, will be stricken for cause by way of stipulation.
26?
MR. HENDERSON: Stipulate.
THE COURT: Juror in Seat 26, will be stricken for cause by way of stipulation. Juror 26 is wearing Badge 11.
27?
MR. HENDERSON: Agree.
THE COURT: Juror in -- Court takes no action with regard to the juror in Seat 27.
Moving to 28?
MR. HENDERSON: Stipulate.
THE COURT: Juror in Seat 28, wearing Badge 535, will be stricken for cause by way of stipulation.
29?
MR. HENDERSON: Stipulate.
THE COURT: Juror in Seat 29, wearing Badge 284, will be stricken for cause by way of stipulation.
30?
MR. HENDERSON: Stipulate.
THE COURT: Juror in Seat 30, wearing Badge 158, will be stricken for cause by way of stipulation.
31?
MR. HENDERSON: Stipulate.
THE COURT: Juror in Seat 31, wearing Badge 400, will be stricken for cause by way of stipulation.
32.
MR. HENDERSON: Agree.
THE COURT: 33?
MR. HENDERSON: Agree.
THE COURT: 34?
MR. HENDERSON: Stipulate.
THE COURT: Juror in Seat 34, wearing Badge 5166, will be stricken for cause by way of stipulation.
35.
MR. HENDERSON: Agree.
THE COURT: 36?
MR. HENDERSON: Stipulate.
THE COURT: Juror in Seat 36, wearing Badge 515 -- I'm sorry, wearing Badge 8, excuse me, will be stricken for cause by way of stipulation.
37?
MR. HENDERSON: Stipulate.
THE COURT: Juror in Seat 37, wearing Badge 526, will be stricken for cause by way of stipulation.
38?
MR. HENDERSON: Stipulate.
THE COURT: Juror in Seat 38, wearing Badge 229, will be stricken for cause by way of stipulation.
39?
MR. HENDERSON: Stipulate.
THE COURT: Juror in Seat 39, wearing Badge 46, will be stricken for cause by way of stipulation.
40?
THE COURT: Defense?
MR. HENDERSON: Agree.
THE COURT: 41?
MR. HENDERSON: Agree.
THE COURT: 42?
MR. HENDERSON: Agree.
THE COURT: 43.
MR. HENDERSON: Stipulate.
THE COURT: Juror in Seat 43, wearing Badge 183, will be stricken for cause by way of stipulation.
44?
MR. HENDERSON: Stipulate.
THE COURT: Juror in Seat 44, wearing Badge 47, will be stricken for cause by way of stipulation.
45?
THE COURT: Any cause strikes for 45 through 48 inclusive, defense?
MR. HENDERSON: Judge, I have a note here as to 47. Has the follow-up medical appointment.
THE COURT: Correct. There was a follow-up medical appointment on October the 18th. Said it could be canceled, would not have any impact on her ability to follow the evidence here in the courtroom or her ability to be fair and impartial.
MR. HENDERSON: Okay. Then, no motion.
THE COURT: Excuse me. That was a male, so it's his. Excuse me.
Any -- with regard to 48, any position, defense?
MR. HENDERSON: Agree.
THE COURT: Agree, no position?
MR. HENDERSON: No position.
THE COURT: Thank you.
49?
MR. HENDERSON: Stipulate.
THE COURT: Juror in Seat 49, wearing Badge 413, will be stricken for cause by way of stipulation.
50?
MR. HENDERSON: Agree.
THE COURT: Okay. Now, there were certain persons who wanted to address matters in private. That was Juror No. 24, who has previously been struck. Juror No. 27 and Juror No. 16, neither of them have been struck. Do we want to go ahead and bring in Juror 16 to address what it is they wanted to address in private at this time?
MR. HENDERSON: Yes, Your Honor.
THE COURT: Let's go ahead and stand and we'll bring in Juror in No. 16, wearing Badge 58.
(Venire Badge 58 entered.)
THE COURT: You can be seated. Thank you.
Juror 16, good morning, sir. You said that you had something you wanted to bring to our attention in private, go ahead.
JUROR: Correct. Yeah. I'll admit I'm not well-versed in the whole judicial system and the whole jury duty policies, and I personally thought I was going to be at most of a three-day thing. So two weeks is already a big commitment because one of the major reasons my job, as a dental hygienist -- I just texted my manager right now about how much time I'm going to be needed, so I'm waiting to hear back about that. So that just caught me by surprise, and for those reasons I'm a little concerned about the whole process.
THE COURT: Does your employer pay for your jury service?
JUROR: To be honest, I'm not entirely sure. I didn't ask before.
THE COURT: You did or did not ask?
JUROR: I did not ask.
THE COURT: Okay.
JUROR: I just told them that I was going to be off, and just like everyone in the office said, oh, okay, it's just like a one-day thing. So, like, because of that, I'm talking to my manager right now trying to see, like, if it's possible for me to even get two weeks off, how long I could get paid for that kind of situation as well.
THE COURT: Have you spoken to your manager about that yet or that's still --
JUROR: Yeah. During the break, I sent him -- I tried calling, but he didn't pick up, so I sent a text. So I'm waiting to get back about that.
THE COURT: Okay. And, sir, if you were asked to serve on this jury and had to miss those two weeks of work, let's just assume worst case scenario, you're not getting paid and you don't have enough PTO, is that going to impact your ability to meet your household expenses?
JUROR: Kind of because I am paying off some loans, as well, I have some bills that I'm trying to pay off as well, so, like, the amount that I'm being compensated for with this is not -- I want to say I could make it -- make those -- meet those ends for, like, the rest of this upcoming year, but it's just still -- like definitely caught me off guard when you said that.
THE COURT: Sure. If you're asked to serve on our jury, would your focus be on everything else or would it be focused on what's happening here in this courtroom?
JUROR: I could make the commitment, it's just, like, I'm waiting to hear back about -- waiting to hear back from my manager about the change of things as well. Because we need to, like, contact my patients and tell them how I'm going to be gone. And some people -- I don't know how they're going to feel about that, per se, but, yeah.
THE COURT: Okay. State, any questions?
THE COURT: Defense, any follow up?
MR. HENDERSON: No follow up.
THE COURT: Can the parties approach?
(At the bench.)
THE COURT: Mr. Jay?
THE COURT: Defense?
MR. HENDERSON: No motion.
THE COURT: All right. Thank you.
(In open court.)
THE COURT: All right, sir. Thank you very much. If you could -- I'm going to ask you to step outside, and if you do hear back from you employer, just raise your hand and let me know. And if you still want to address that in private, we can provide that environment for you, okay, sir?
JUROR: Raise my hand, like -- because we're not supposed to have our cell phones on.
THE COURT: Correct. When I say -- when you go back outside, you can turn it back on and then when I bring you back in, you're going to have to silence it. But if you get information from him in that period of time before we bring you back in, just raise your paddle and let us know and we'll take another break, Sir, when you can check your phone again, okay?
JUROR: Now, you said just raise my paddle, like --
THE COURT: Sure. So I'm going to ask you to go back outside and you're going to turn back on your phone. If you get a text message from your manager and he tells you, hey, here's where you're at, this is what we can do for you or what have you, just let us know that you got that back, so raise your paddle when you come back and I'll know --
JUROR: During --
THE COURT: -- that you've heard back from your manager.
JUROR: When we come back from the break, raise my paddle?
THE COURT: If you've heard from your manager, yes, sir.
JUROR: Got it.
THE COURT: Thank you, sir. Appreciate you.
JUROR: Thank you.
(Venire Badge 58 exited.)
THE COURT: Are we prepared to bring in Juror No. 27, who also had a matter to address in private?
THE COURT: All right. Let's bring in Juror No. 27, wearing Badge 92, and we can all stand.
(Venire Badge 92 entered.)
THE COURT: You-all can be seated. Thank you.
Juror in Seat 27, good morning, sir. There was something you wanted to bring to our attention. What was that?
JUROR: Yes. What I was trying to say was that we just moved down here from Georgia. We had a second house, and we're buying a primary house. We're supposed to close our primary house -- was supposed to be last Friday. It's going to be this Friday, we're going to close on it. We could move that and get around it, but what we found out on Sunday was, we went over to our storage where all of our goods for our primary house is stored. All of the water from Milton came into that storage unit. We don't know if we lost everything or if we lost five percent. We have to get everything out to document it and we only have 30 days to do that. So we have to document everything, get it all pulled out.
The additional thing beyond that is I'm extremely allergic to mold. I can get into it with the mold, but I'm going to come in here and be coughing and sick with fevers and everything else. I won't even be able to pay attention because I would be so sick from the mold. Penicillin doesn't do me any good. So it's kind of both of those issues at the same time.
THE COURT: That closing that's next week Friday, Sir, is that on your Georgia property?
JUROR: No. We closed on the Georgia in June. It's down here at PMG Title here. I think it's not too far from here. It was supposed to be the 11th, they moved it to the 18th. We're thinking, hey, not too bad. If it was the 11th, we'd be good to go, no problems. I was a grand juror in Georgia for eight weeks, so the time is not a problem, just all the circumstances around this issue.
THE COURT: Okay. It sounds like that's having a pretty big impact on what's happening with you right now.
JUROR: Yes.
THE COURT: Okay. All right. Thank you.
State, any follow up?
THE COURT: Defense?
MR. HENDERSON: No follow up.
THE COURT: Can the parties approach?
(At the bench.)
THE COURT: State?
MR. HENDERSON: Stipulate.
THE COURT: All right. Juror in Seat 27, wearing Badge 92, will be stricken for cause by stipulation. Thank you.
(In open court.)
THE COURT: All right. Sir, thank you so much. Hopefully, your property is not too severely damaged. I'll have my fingers crossed for you. In speaking with the lawyers, we're going to go ahead and discharge you from your jury service, sir. You can head back down to the first floor, jury services. They'll validate your parking and give you any additional instructions. And the best of luck to you, sir.
JUROR: Thank you.
THE COURT: Thank you.
JUROR: And thank you for all your services you've done.
THE COURT: Appreciate you, sir. Thank you.
(Venire Badge 92 exited.)
THE COURT: State and defense, I want to go through the list of who remains on our panel, just to make sure I'm not missing anyone and we're all on the same page.
Who I have remaining iS jurors in seats: 2, 3, 7, 8, 14, 15, 16, 18, 21, 32, 33, 35, 40, 41, 42, 45, 46, 47, 48, and 50.
State?
MR. HENDERSON: Defense agrees.
THE COURT: Okay. Do we need to take any breaks before proceeding with the reading of the Information and any knowledge regarding the case, State?
THE COURT: Defense?
MR. HENDERSON: Yes, Your Honor.
THE COURT: Okay. We'll take a ten-minute recess. Be in recess until 11:22. Thank you.
(Recess from 11:11 a.m. to 11:26 a.m.)
THE COURT: You-all can be seated.
We're back on the record in 2020-CF-2603, State of Florida vs. Sarah Boone.
Appearances for the State?
MR. CACCIATORE: Dave Cacciatore on behalf of the State.
THE COURT: Defense?
MR. HENDERSON: Tony Henderson for Sarah Boone.
MR. OWENS: James Owens for Sarah Boone.
THE COURT: All right. Thank you.
Ms. Boone is seated at counsel table wearing the same clothing from this morning.
Are we prepared to bring in the balance of our panel to go over any knowledge about the case, including the additional questions that the State asked to be inquired about and the reading of the Information?
THE COURT: Defense?
MR. HENDERSON: Defense is ready.
THE COURT: Okay. Let's go ahead and stand and let's bring in the balance of our panel.
(Pause.)
COURT STAFF: There are some people using the bathroom, Judge.
THE COURT: Okay. Thank you.
Everybody can take a seat. The deputy will let us know when they're all lined up.
(Pause.)
COURT STAFF: All the jurors are present.
(Venire Panel 3 entered.)
THE COURT: State, do you recognize our jury?
THE COURT: I do too.
Can you-all approach?
(At the bench.)
THE COURT: I don't believe there's supposed to be anyone in the second row on the right, so I'm confused.
Hang on a second, Mary.
Because unless I'm missing something, 22 through 28 --
THE COURT: I haven't gotten to the left yet, I was just looking at the right. We should have two in the first row on the right, no one on the second row on the right, two people on the third row on the right, and four people on the row -- on the last row on the right, starting with 46.
On the left side we should have three people in the first row, four people in the second row, two people in the third row, and three people in the fourth row.
MR. JAY: The woman in the third row, left, isn't even -- that's not even -- I don't know who that is.
THE COURT: I don't know who that is.
THE COURT: Okay. I'm going to have the -- have Madam Clerk do role call. Is that acceptable?
(In open court.)
COURT CLERK: Once I call your juror numbers, just raise your paddle just to acknowledge that you're here, please.
THE COURT: You-all can be seated. Thank you.
COURT CLERK: Juror No. 235, 63, 165, 448, 249, 114, 58, 212, 130, 372, 310, 515, 554, 569, 9, 551, 201, 76, 471, 60.
THE COURT: Juror 551, you had raised, I think, paddle 34; is that correct? You are in the wrong spot, ma'am. I need you to go back just to the row behind you. You were in Seat 45. And you are Juror 551, correct?
JUROR: (No verbal response.)
THE COURT: That's a thumbs up, for the record. Thank you.
All right. State, with the exception of the person who's in row two -- sir, your badge wasn't called.
JUROR: I was not, sir.
THE COURT: I'm not sure you're in the right spot, Sir. What badge do you have? What's your badge number?
JUROR: 11.
THE COURT: Yes, sir. You were removed for cause. You do not need to be here. You're released from your jury service. You can head back down to the first floor jury services. They'll validate your parking and give you any additional instructions. You can leave your paddle behind, sir. Okay. Thank you.
JUROR: Thank you, sir.
(Venire Badge 11 exits.)
THE COURT: State, with that, do you recognize the balance of our panel?
THE COURT: Defense, do you recognize our panel?
MR. HENDERSON: Yes, Your Honor.
THE COURT: All right. Very good.
Members of the panel, if you could, by raising your paddles, just show me that you've complied with the Court's instructions during our break not to talk about the case. Record will reflect all paddles have been raised. All right. Thank you very much.
I want to speak to you now ina little bit more detail about why we're here. Now, as I told you at the beginning of the morning, this is a criminal case, and in every criminal case, there is a document that the State of Florida files that's called an Information. This document merely informs us of the charge that Ms. Boone is facing in this case, and the State will have the burden of proving beyond and to the exclusion of each and every reasonable doubt during trial. This document is not evidence and should not be given any weight. It is not evidence of guilt and should not be considered as such.
The Information filed in this case reads as follows: Aramis D. Ayala, State Attorney of the Ninth Judicial Circuit, prosecuting for the State of Florida, in Orange County, or Aramis D. Ayala, State Attorney of the Ninth Judicial Circuit, prosecuting for the State of Florida in Orange County, by and through the undersigned designated assistant state attorney, under oath, charges that Sarah Boone, on or about the 23rd day of February, 2020, in said county and state, did in violation of Florida Statute 782.04(2), by an act imminently dangerous to another and evincing a depraved mind, regardless of human life, did kill Jorge Torres.
This is a murder case. However, it is not a death penalty case.
Raise your paddles if anyone knows anything about this case or the people involved? Record will reflect no paddles have been raised.
Has anyone seen a video of a man in a suitcase? If you've seen such a video, raise your paddles.
I see Juror No. 35. Anyone else? All right. Thank you.
Has anyone commented on any social media platform or chat room about a man -- a video of a man ina Suitcase? Court sees no paddles.
Has anyone seen a video of Ms. Boone being interrogated by police? If you've seen such a video, please raise your paddles. Court sees no paddles.
Has anyone commented on any social media platforms or chat rooms about a video of Ms. Boone being interrogated by police? If you've done that, please raise your paddles. No paddles.
Has anyone seen any body-worn camera videos in which Ms. Boone is speaking to police? Raise your paddles if you've seen such things. Court sees no paddles.
Has anyone commented on any social media platforms or chat rooms about any body-worn camera videos in which Ms. Boone is speaking to police? If you've done that, please raise your paddles. Court sees no paddles.
Has anyone posted or commented on any social media platforms about Ms. Boone? If you've done that, raise your paddles. Court sees no paddles.
Has anyone read any posts or comments on any social media platforms about Ms. Boone? If you've read any of those things or any comments, please raise your paddles. Court sees no paddles.
Has anyone liked any posts or comments on any social media platforms or chat rooms about Ms. Boone? If you've done that, please raise your paddles. Court sees no paddles.
Has anyone shared any posts or comments on any social media platforms or chat rooms about Ms. Boone? If you've done that, raise your paddles. Court sees no paddles.
Has anyone learned anything about this case prior to today? If you have, raise your paddles. Court sees no paddles.
Is there anyone that's following any filings here at the Orange County Clerk of the Court regarding this case? If you've filed or reviewed any filings in this case, please raise your paddles. Court sees no paddles.
Is there anyone who is directly observing or reading or watching coverage of this case from any news source, be it printed, video, or commentary? If you're viewing any news about this case in any of those ways, please raise your paddles.
Juror No. 35 raised their paddle.
After hearing the charge in this case, a charge of murder, without knowing anything else about the case, does anyone have such strong feelings that you believe you could not be a fair and impartial juror in this case? If you have those feelings, please raise your paddles at this time. Court sees no paddles. Is there anyone that has such strongly held religious beliefs or moral beliefs that would interfere with your ability to serve as a juror in this case? If you have those beliefs, please raise your paddles at this time. Court sees no paddles.
Can the parties approach?
(At the bench.)
THE COURT: Unless you-all tell me anything differently, my thought would be to remove everyone and inquire of Juror 35 directly.
MR. HENDERSON: Agree.
THE COURT: Okay. Very good. Thank you-all.
(In open court.)
THE COURT: Members of the jury, we're going to take another break at this time. I may be calling in some of you individually to ask some follow-up questions.
Same instruction I gave you previously. There's still no case, so please don't talk about it. You don't know the facts. All you know is what the Information is and it means nothing, it just tells us what the charges are. It's not evidence of guilt or weight of anything and shouldn't be considered as such.
So I'm going to excuse you. Don't leave this floor. Stay here on the 12th floor and we'll bring you in as promptly as possible. And, again, I thank you for your service.
(Venire Panel 3 exited.)
THE COURT: You-all can be seated. Thank you.
State, are you prepared to bring in Juror No. 35?
THE COURT: Defense?
MR. HENDERSON: Yes, Your Honor.
THE COURT: Let's go ahead and stand. We'll bring in juror in Seat 35, wearing Badge 515.
(Venire Badge 515 entered.)
THE COURT: You-all can be seated. Thank you.
Juror member in Seat 35, good morning. It's still morning, so good morning, matam. When the Court was asking some questions, you said that you had observed the video of a man in a suitcase.
JUROR: Yeah.
THE COURT: When did you first see -- or when's the last time you saw that video?
JUROR: It was like the local news. I had turned on the morning news and there was a video of a suitcase. But I didn't really read too much into it because I try to stay away from the negative stuff of the news. But I just know I just heard something about man in a suitcase on the local news. But I didn't hear any further detail about it.
THE COURT: And when was that, ma'am? Was that recently, some time ago?
JUROR: I mean, well, last week was the hurricane, so that was all, like, weather stuff. Maybe the week before. I really don't remember. I'm sorry.
THE COURT: That's okay. Have you seen anything since that time?
JUROR: No. No, I haven't really. It was all the hurricane stuff, so --
THE COURT: I understand that. Do you know any details about this case?
JUROR: No.
THE COURT: Have you formulated any opinions one way or the other?
JUROR: No.
THE COURT: Understanding that you may have seen a portion of a video, is that something that you could put out of your mind and only focus on the evidence and testimony that's presented in this courtroom?
JUROR: Yes, absolutely.
THE COURT: Could you fairly and impartially weigh that evidence?
JUROR: Yes. Absolutely.
THE COURT: All right. Thank you. You also said that you had seen some news about the case. Is that what we just talked about?
JUROR: Yes, yes. I just -- it was just briefly. I wanted to raise my paddle just in case.
THE COURT: Sure. Of course. Thank you. I appreciate that. And have you done any of your own independent investigation regarding this case?
JUROR: No.
THE COURT: Have you sought out any information regarding this case?
JUROR: No.
THE COURT: All right. Thank you.
State, any further inquiry?
THE COURT: Defense, any further inquiry?
MR. HENDERSON: Ma'am, based on what you saw on the news, did you talk to anyone about it?
JUROR: It was my mom and my sister. We briefly mentioned, oh, there's a video of this man in a suitcase on the news, but that was it. It was brief. Because we're on the phone together and I saw the news and then just changed the channel because I didn't want to look at it.
MR. HENDERSON: Okay. Did you give them at that time any opinions that you had?
JUROR: No.
MR. HENDERSON: As of this point, have you formed any opinions about what you saw in the news?
JUROR: No. I don't know any details, so no.
MR. HENDERSON: Do you regularly watch the news?
JUROR: Just the morning -- like, the morning local news sometimes while I'm having a cup of coffee.
MR. HENDERSON: On Monday morning, do you recall if you watched the news or not, the morning news?
JUROR: This morning?
MR. HENDERSON: Yes.
JUROR: That would have been yesterday, right?
MR. HENDERSON: Yes.
JUROR: No, no, I didn't watch the news yesterday.
MR. HENDERSON: And this morning, did you watch the morning news?
JUROR: No.
MR. HENDERSON: All right. Thank you, ma'am. I have no further questions.
THE COURT: State, any follow up?
THE COURT: All right. Can the parties -- oh, hang on. You can proceed, sir.
MR. HENDERSON: Can I proceed?
Ma'am, when you talked to your mother and sister, did either one of them express an opinion about the video?
JUROR: I mean, it was more like a, oh, that's crazy, but that was -- that was pretty much it. But, no, like, details of -- I was just kind of, like, oh, that's kind of crazy to hear.
MR. HENDERSON: That was the same conversation at once? I mean, were you-all on, like, a three-way or --
JUROR: Yeah, it was like a three-way Facetime. We chat in the morning when we have our coffee together and it was just something we saw on the local news and it was, like, oh, that's crazy, and then we just moved on from that conversation.
MR. HENDERSON: Thank you, ma'am.
THE COURT: State, any follow up?
THE COURT: Anything further, defense?
MR. HENDERSON: No, Your Honor.
THE COURT: All right. Can you-all approach for a moment?
(At the bench.)
THE COURT: State?
THE COURT: Defense?
MR. HENDERSON: No motion.
THE COURT: All right. At this time, then I'll release her and bring her back in with the panel, give the same instruction, including the don't watch local news or media about the case.
Anything else you wanted to add to that, Mr. Jay, or is that instruction sufficient?
MR. OWENS: What time are we starting back?
THE COURT: Probably 1:30, because it's quarter till and they should be out of here in five minutes tops, okay? Thank you.
(In open court.)
THE COURT: All right. Ma'am, thank you so much. We're going to release you back outside and then we'll bring everybody back inside and give you an instruction, okay?
JUROR: Including me?
THE COURT: Including you, yes, ma'am. Thank you.
(Venire Badge 515 exited.)
(Pause. )
THE COURT: Bruce, you're bringing them back in, right?
COURT STAFF: Oh, I didn't know.
(Venire Panel 3 entered.)
THE COURT: We're missing 42. They're wearing Badge 9.
COURT STAFF: That's the badge number?
THE COURT: Seat 42, Badge 9.
COURT STAFF: Juror entering.
(Venire Badge 42 entered.)
THE COURT: State, do you recognize our panel?
THE COURT: Defense, do you recognize our panel?
MR. HENDERSON: Yes, Your Honor.
THE COURT: All right. Thank you. You-all can be seated.
Members of our panel, Madam Clerk is going to go ahead and just do role call just to make sure that we've got everyone here. If you would raise your paddle when your badge number is called.
COURT CLERK: Juror 235, 63, 165, 448, 249, 114, 58, 212, 130, 372, 310, 515, 554, 569, 9, 551, 201, 76, 471, and 60.
THE COURT: Okay. Thank you-all very much.
Members of our panel, I have something to read to you and an instruction to give to you.
You've been selected as a potential juror in the case of State of Florida vs. Sarah Boone, and have been directed to report back to service.
I'm going to read to you from a pamphlet that the deputy will hand to you when you leave. It provides call-in information for you to call in after 5:00 p.m. today. It gives you all the prompts for what you need to follow and it will advise you as to what date and time you need to return here to the Orange County Courthouse to complete our jury selection in this case. I'm going to read the notice to you now, but you'll be given copies of it that the deputy has, so you don't need to memorize any of these phone numbers.
As I said, you've been selected as a potential juror in the case of State of Florida vs. Sarah Boone, and have been directed to report back for service. Please call 407-836-2048, then press option 6 each day after 5:00 p.m. to hear a recording which confirms you are to report back for service and notifies you of your report date and time. Listen for your case name. Please note: The message line is updated at 5:00 p.m. each day, and as such, do not call prior to that time to ensure you get current information. If you are running late on the day you are to report, have an emergency, et cetera, if it is before 5:00 p.m., please call 407-836-2023. This number goes straight to the jury room. If you are calling after 5:00 p.m., please call 407-836-6060. This is the sheriff's office and the only number answered after 5:00 p.m.
IT have an additional instruction to read to you before I discharge you subject to coming back here for jury service in this matter.
Jurors, you must not conduct any investigation on your own. This includes reading newspapers, watching television, or using a computer, cell phone, the internet, any electronic device, or any other means at all to get information related to this case or the people and places involved in this case. This applies whether you are in the courthouse, at home, or anywhere else.
You must not visit places mentioned in the trial or to use the internet to look at maps or pictures to see any place discussed during the trial.
Jurors, do not watch local news or read local newspapers. Jurors must not have discussions of any sort with friends, family members, or even your fellow jurors about the case or the people and places involved, so do not let anyone make comments to you or ask questions about the trial.
I want to stress again that, just as you must not talk about this case face to face, you must not talk about this case by using an electronic device. You must not use phones, computers, or other electronic devices to communicate. Do not send or accept any messages related to this case or your jury service. Do not discuss this case or ask for advice by any means at all, including posting information on an internet website, chat room, or blog.
With that, members of our panel, I'm going to discharge you. You are free to go. But please call that number from the piece of paper that the deputy is going to give you after 5:00 o'clock tonight. It will give you all the information for when you are to return here, the date and time to jury services, and they will direct you back up to 12 alpha.
I thank you for your time, your sacrifice in this matter and we'll see you in the near term. Thank you.
(Venire Panel 3 exited.)
THE COURT: State, anything we need to discuss?
THE COURT: Defense?
MR. OWENS: You want us coming back at 1:45?
THE COURT: State, what do you think?
THE COURT: I'm fine with 1:30. It's 12:00 on the dot.
THE COURT: All right. We'll see you-all at 1:30.
MR. HENDERSON: Judge, excuse me. Could I ask a question? Just briefly scheduling-wise. We have 50 coming in today, that should get us to our goal --
THE COURT: As of right now, we have 43. So we had 11 from the panel yesterday morning, we had 12 from the panel yesterday afternoon, and we have 20. So as of right now we have 43. So if everything goes according to Hoyle, we should be fine and have a panel of 50 to conclude jury selection tomorrow morning. Knock on wood. But we should be good.
MR. HENDERSON: Are we going to do any type of motions before the final jury selection?
THE COURT: State?
MR. JAY: It's the State's desire that we figure out what evidence is going to be admissible in the trial and admissible in trial before going into
voir dire.
THE COURT: Okay. Let's see how this afternoon goes. I think we should be -- assuming we get a panel of 80 that's able to serve for the next two and a half weeks after this afternoon, we can have the motion in the morning at 9:00 a.m., after the Court's concluded with its regular docket. I've got a bunch of pleas and some bond hearings tomorrow that had to be reset due to the hurricane, and Monday due to them not being ordered because of the hurricane. Once those are concluded, maybe we can just set this for 9:30 or even 10:00 o'clock, we can handle the motions and ask our jury to come back at 1:30 and we can finalize jury selection at that point in time.
State, is that acceptable?
THE COURT: All I have left to address are the criminal concepts, presumption of innocence, sitting in judgment, reasonable doubt, the burden of proof, the right to remain silent, law enforcement, and whether or not you or family members have ever been arrested. Those are the remaining areas of inquiry from the Court.
MR. JAY: I just didn't anticipate -- we'll probably only be able to do Court and State voir dire, then, from 1:30 that afternoon?
THE COURT: Okay. And then pick up Thursday morning with the balance? How long do you anticipate your voir dire being, State?
THE COURT: Okay. So I'm here for you. You tell me what you want to do. If you want to start with the Court finalizing -- assuming we get what we need, I don't have a problem starting at 1:30 tomorrow with the panel of 50 or so, going through the balance of what I have, turning it over to the State, and then the defense can proceed with their voir dire Thursday morning at 9:00 a.m.
THE COURT: Defense?
MR. HENDERSON: That's acceptable.
THE COURT: All right. Very good.
How long do you anticipate, State, for argument with regard to the motion in limine and responding -- which you've conceded partially to the defense's motion, and some of the statements that they're seeking to exclude from the interview, but the other portion in total, how long do you think you're going to need?
MR. JAY: I think to settle all the evidentiary issues, because we were asked to file objections to portions of evidence. So as late as last night, I got 550 pages of medical records that we have never seen before, that they got in 2022, they, being the defendant. There's just stuff that needs to be settled down.
We don't want to be stopping the trial multiple times because we're having disagreements about 487 pages of medical records in one visit, videos that need to be redacted, CDs that have too many photos. So, ideally, we could use the balance of that 9:30 until noon tomorrow to --
THE COURT: That's fine with me. I'm here.
MR. JAY: -- to get this sorted out so that we're not hitting the brakes and having the jury go back into the jury room multiple times.
THE COURT: With regard to the purportedly late disclosed medical records, is it the State's position that it's a Richardson issue?
MR. JAY: I'm not seeking that, it's just another point of -- just like her medical records they subpoenaed, they, being the defendant, subpoenaed that in 2021, and we're just getting them in late 2024, so it does put a burden on us. I did file a motion in limine last night regarding the medical records that we received.
So there's continuous issues that we need to hammer out so that the jury is not being brought in and out of the courtroom, and that our staff, potentially, their staff, is not having to make redactions of videos and audio and CDs with photographs, inconveniencing witnesses that may not be allowed to testify. Sol think it should take the balance of the morning to sort that out tomorrow.
THE COURT: Just so that the Court's clear on what it is that we're going to be hearing. I was unaware that that motion got filed. What I have on my list is the State's motion in limine to exclude battered spouse syndrome evidence or exclude mention of battered spouse syndrome evidence until the defendant testifies to a justifiable use of deadly force filed October 6th. The defendant's motion in limine filed October 6th. The State's response to the defendant's motion in limine filed October 6th. And then the State's objection and motion in limine to exclude decedent's medical records filed 10/14.
MR. JAY: And then I believe there's the objections that we were asked to make, I don't know if we forwarded them to the Court, I at least forwarded them to the defense --
THE COURT: I don't believe I've seen them.
MR. JAY: There's certain body-worn camera issues that I think we've resolved, but there are certain photographs and things on their evidentiary list that still we need to hammer out.
THE COURT: Okay. Would you be so kind to forward any -- both parties, any and all objections that you have to each side's respective exhibits so that I can review them in advance of tomorrow, and we'll address all of that 9:30.
Are there any other motions that the Court -- or objections that the Court has not addressed this morning that will be addressed tomorrow, State?
THE COURT: Okay. I would appreciate that.
Defense, anything else from a motion perspective or an objection perspective that the Court has not identified?
MR. OWENS: I don't believe so. We've got late discovery over the last week or two or three, whatever it is, hundreds of pages. They knew about the medical records from Jorge Torres from the deposition of Dr. Harper. I thought they had those records. Just mentioned to me yesterday that they didn't have those records, but we got them to them as soon as we could.
THE COURT: Okay. We'll address it all tomorrow at 9:30.
All right. Court will be in recess until 1:30. Thank you-all very much.
(Court recessed for lunch at 12:08 p.m.)
(The following proceedings were resumed at 1:59 p.m.; stenographically reported by Breean Crisp.)
THE COURT: We're back on the record. 2020-CF-2603, State of Florida vs. Sarah Boone.
Let me get appearances for the State, please.
MR. CACCIATORE: Dave Cacciatore on behalf of the State.