1.Panel 3 Voir Dire — Opening Screening and Juror Privacy

THE COURT: Ms. Boone is dressed in a gray suit and a seafoam green blouse. She is seated at counsel's table. She is in custody, but not wearing any restraints.

We have a panel of 50 that's been ordered this morning. My deputy is in the process of bringing them up. We've already asked jury services to reserve any other additional jurors that we have for this afternoon. It's going to be the same MO from yesterday. We'll be addressing cause and knowledge of the case.

Anything else we need to -- from a housekeeping perspective, State, we need to address this morning?

THE COURT: No. She was -- I have my notes, but I think -- give me a second. The first panel. She was -- she was struck for cause, but I think she was one of the later strikes.

Okay. All right. State, I'll leave that in your discretion if you're going to be filing anything in that regard.

Okay. Just to recap the State's request. Asking if anyone has directly watched coverage of the case and following any filings on the clerk's website; is that correct?

THE COURT: All right. Thank you.

Mr. Owens, you can be seated, sir -- unless you have some -- yes, sir?

THE COURT: Excellent. Great to hear. Thank you, sir, for letting me know that.

All right. We'll be ina short recess. The deputy will bring in our questionnaires, and once everybody's had an opportunity to review those, just let the Court know, and then we'll switch to the other Side of you-all's respective tables, and then we'll bring in our panel and proceed from there, okay? All right. Thank you-all very much.

THE COURT: We're back on the record in Case No. 2020-CF-2603, State of Florida vs. Sarah Boone.

State, appearances for the record.

THE COURT: Thank you.

Ms. Boone is seated at counsel's table, wearing the same clothing as addressed earlier.

Our jury panel is outside. Are we ready to bring in our panel?

THE COURT: Thank you.

Members of the panel, if you could please raise your right hand, Madam Clerk is going to go ahead and Swear you in.

THE COURT: Everyone can be seated. Thank you.

Good morning, everyone. Welcome to Courtroom 12 alpha of the Orange County Courthouse in the Circuit Court Criminal Division. My name is Judge Michael Kraynick, and I will be the presiding judge in the case of the State of Florida vs. Sarah Boone.

Before we get started this morning, I want to take a moment to introduce you to everyone that's in the courtroom today.

To my right, your left, is Mary McCree, Madam Clerk. Her job is to assist me throughout the trial in handling the evidence that may be presented in this case. In order for her to do her job, she may be handing me notes, she may be typing on the computer, answering the phone, or printing out documents. She does all these things to make sure that we have an orderly and efficient trial in this case.

Some of the other persons in our courtroom you've already met this morning. They are my courtroom deputies. Today we have Deputy Borda, Deputy Bruce, Deputy Jones, and Deputy Bonano. They are my eyes and ears here in the courtroom. If you have any concerns regarding your safety, or have any questions at all, please bring those to the deputies' attention and they will bring them to me and I will do my best to answer or address those concerns that you have.

State, if you could please introduce yourselves to our panel.

THE COURT: Thank you-all. You can be seated.

Last, and certainly not least, I want to introduce the hardest working person in the courtroom here today. No, it's not going to be the lawyers. I promise you, they're going to be working very, very hard. It's not going to be the Court. I can assure you the Court is prepared and also will be working hard. It's that lovely woman seated front and center right in front of you, Ms. June Bufford, Madam Court Reporter. Her job is to type down every word that every person says.

Now, I know sometimes when we're out and about with friends or family, we'll speak with nonverbals, we'll nod our heads, we'll say uh-huh, we'll say sure when we mean no or okay when we mean yes. I'm going to ask that we do our best to try to avoid doing that. And the reason I'm asking that is so that we have a clear record of everything that everyone has said here today.

So if I catch you or Madam Court Reporter catches you nodding your head, we may ask you, Is that a yes or is that a no? We're not doing that to blow up your spot or to call you out or embarrass you. We're just doing that to make sure we have a clean record of everything that's being said. If we can do that, it's going to make Madam Court Reporter's job just a little bit easier today.

Raise your paddles if you're on board with following with that. Record will reflect all paddles have been raised.

Please raise your paddles if you recognize the names of any persons that have been introduced so far. All right. Court sees no paddles.

State, if you could please read your list of prospective witnesses that you may call in this matter.

THE COURT: Please raise your paddles if you recognize any of the State's potential witnesses? Court sees no paddles.

Defense, if you could read the list of witnesses that you may call if you choose to put on a case in this matter.

THE COURT: Raise your paddles if you recognize any of the persons identified as potential defense witnesses. The Court sees no paddles.

Lastly, take a look amongst yourselves, right, left, front, center. Is there anyone around you that you may recognize? If you do, go ahead and raise your paddles at this time. All right. Court sees no paddles.

You've been brought in as part of our jury panel in a criminal case. This part of the trial is called jury selection. The purpose is to pick a fair and impartial jury for both the State and the defense.

Now, I know last week we had a hurricane and I'm sure you got your jury summons, and the last thing that you wanted to do was report for duty this morning. But I do thank you for your sacrifice in showing up this morning.

We're going to kind of get into a little bit of an interactive part of our program this morning. I want to preface this with there are no wrong answers. The Court's going to be asking you some questions. The State and the defense may ask you some questions this morning. And the purpose is to just get to know you a little bit, understand what beliefs you have or what things that you may think.

I'm not asking you to change your beliefs or change what it is that you think. If you have those beliefs and you have those thoughts, keep them, they're yours. I don't want you to change them.

What we're trying to figure out is if you can set aside those beliefs and those feelings and those thoughts and fairly and impartially weigh the evidence that's presented in this case so that we can pick that fair and impartial jury for both the State and the defense.

So with that, I have a question for you-all, and there's no wrong answers: What is a person's biggest fear? Anybody want to take a jump at answering that question?

THE COURT: Okay. Certainly. We don't know what's going to happen tomorrow. That certainly ranks up there. Sure.

Anyone else? I'm going to start calling on people.

Juror 19, thank you. Yes, sir?

THE COURT: Fear of loss is big. Absolutely.

40?

THE COURT: I struggle with that.

50?

THE COURT: Agreed.

31?

THE COURT: No. I hope we're not imprisoned right now. This is just jury selection.

No. 7, yes, sir?

THE COURT: Nailed it. Public speaking. Surveys have shown that speaking in public is actually more terrifying than taking the next great adventure at the end of this life, wherever it leads us.

So the reason I tell you-all that is to go back to what I spoke about earlier. We're going to be asking you questions. The only thing that I ask of you is that when myself, the State, or the defense are asking you questions, just be truthful, complete, and honest with your answers. If you can do that, we're going to make sure that we're doing our best to ensure that we're getting that fair and impartial jury with this case.

Is everybody on board with following that concept? Raise your paddles if you are. All paddles have been raised.

Before we begin with asking you any additional questions, I need to read you an instruction that's been provided to us by the Florida Supreme Court.

In order to have a fair and lawful trial, there are rules that all jurors must follow. A basic rule is that jurors must decide the case only on the evidence presented in the courtroom. You must not communicate with anyone, including friends and family members, about this case, the people and places involved, or your jury service.

You must not disclose your thoughts about this case or ask for advice on how to decide this case. I want to stress that this rule means you must not use electronic devices or cell phones to communicate about this case, including tweeting, texting, blogging, emailing, posting information on a website or chat room, or any other means at all. Do not send or accept any messages to or from anyone about this case or your jury service.

In addition, your cell phone or electronic device must be turned completely off while you are in the courtroom. You must not do any research or look up any words, names, or anything else that may have anything to do with this case.

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.

All of us are depending upon you to follow these rules so that there will be a fair and lawful resolution in this case.

Unlike questions that you may be allowed to ask in court, which will be answered in Court in the presence of the judge and the parties, if you investigate, research, or make inquiries on your own outside of the courtroom, the trial judge has no way to assure that they are proper and relevant to the case. The parties, likewise, have no opportunity to dispute the accuracy of what you find or to provide rebuttal evidence to it. That is contrary to our judicial system, which assures every party the right to ask questions about and rebut the evidence being considered against it and to present argument with respect to that evidence. Non-court inquiries and investigations unfairly and improperly prevent the parties from having that opportunity our judicial system promises.

Any juror who violates these restrictions jeopardizes the fairness of these proceedings and a mistrial could result, which would require the entire trial process to start over.

A mistrial is a tremendous expense and inconvenience to the parties, the Court, and the taxpayers. If you violate these rules, you may be held in contempt of court and face sanctions, such as serving time in jail, paying a fine, or both. If you become aware of any violation of these instructions or any other instruction I give in this case, you must tell me by giving a note to the court deputy.

Please raise your paddles if you agree to follow the rules I just read to you. Record will reflect that all paddles have been raised.

I'm going to ask a couple of questions now as to whether each and every one of you are eligible to serve as a juror in this case.

Raise your paddles, as you sit here today, if you are not an Orange County resident. If that applies to you, please raise your paddle at this time. Court sees no paddles.

Please raise your paddle if you've ever been convicted of a felony in any state or federal court and have not had your civil rights restored. If that applies to you, please raise your paddle at this time. Court sees no paddles.

Please raise your paddle if you speak little to no English or have concerns about your ability to read and understand English. Juror No. 24, yes, sir. Good morning. What do you do for a living, sir?

THE COURT: Okay. Thank you, sir. The lawyers may have some follow up with you. Thank you very much.

Anyone else concerns about understanding and reading English, raise your paddles at this time. Court sees no additional paddles.

Like I said earlier, I know Hurricane Milton ravaged part of our state, but we got very lucky here in Central Florida. I hope each and every one of you were minimally affected by the storm, that you have power or luckily you never lost it, and that you didn't suffer any losses or damages or anything.

And along those lines, I want to take another moment to thank you for being here.

The Founding Fathers of our country experienced tyranny under the hands of the King of England. One example of such tyranny was depriving Americans of the right to jury trials in criminal cases. In 1774, Founding Father John Adams said, Representative government and trial by jury are the hearts and lungs of liberty. Without them, we have no fortification against being ridden like horses, fleeced like sheep, worked like cattle, and fed and clothed like swine and hounds.

The Constitution of the United States preserved the right to jury trial in all criminal cases. Our judicial system rests on this bedrock principle. And without your time, your service, and your sacrifice, the wheels of justice would simply come to a screeching halt.

So on behalf of myself, the State, the defense, and Ms. Boone, I want to thank you for your service in this matter.

Next, I want to outline what our schedule is. And this is going to be a big ask for each and every one of you. We anticipate this case lasting about two and a half weeks, ending on or before Friday, November the lst. I know that's a big ask. I'm going to go through what we anticipate the schedule will be like over the next two and a half weeks.

Today's a little bit different because it's jury selection, but if you are selected to serve as a juror in this case, we start court at 9:00 o'clock in the morning and we end at 5:00. We have an hour and a half lunch break around 12:00 to 12:30, depending on how we're doing with the evidence and testimony. We'll also have a morning break and an afternoon break. Those are what I like to call our regularly scheduled breaks.

Now, there may be times where I have to take up matters with counsel outside of your presence. I cannot tell you when those are going to occur, how often they're going to occur, how long it may take. What I can promise you is that we will endeavor to work as quickly and as efficiently through those conferences not to waste any of your time.

The only other day that would be different other than the 9:00 to 5:00, at the conclusion of the case, after the State's presented all its evidence and testimony and exhibits, and after the defense, should they put on a case, has presented its witnesses, testimony, and exhibits, the Court will then instruct you on the law, and both parties will give their closing arguments. You'll then be asked to retire to the deliberation room to come to a verdict in this case.

I cannot put a cap or minimum on the amount of time that you deliberate. I cannot tell you that you have ten minutes, I cannot tell you that you have ten hours. It will be up to you as members of our jury to weed and sift through all the evidence, follow the law that I give to you, and come to a lawful verdict in this case.

If we are in deliberations, we may work past 5:00, but we cannot work past 9:00. If it's getting near 9:00 and you're on our jury and you're still deliberating, we may have to come back the next day at 9:00 a.m. for you to continue your deliberations. If that's on a Friday, we will pick back up on Monday.

As I said, I do not anticipate this case going later than Friday, November the lst. And quite possible that we'll finish far in advance of that, but I just want to give you the worst case scenario.

So understanding the commitment and the schedule that we're asking of you, does anyone have any conflicts or concerns with regard to that schedule? If you do, please raise your paddles at this time.

I'm going to start over here on my left. First row -- hold up your paddles really high for me, if you could. I appreciate you.

All right. Row number one on my left: Jurors 1, 5, and 6. Thank you. You can put those down.

Second row: 16 and 20 -- thank you, sir. Didn't see you. Appreciate you.

Third row: 29 and 30.

Last row: 43 and 44. Anyone else over here on my left, concerns over the schedule and I did not call your paddle number? Okay. No other paddles have been raised.

Moving over to my right, first row: 9, 10, 11, 13, and 14. Thank you very much.

Second row, hold them high for me: 22, 25, 26, 27, 28. Thank you very much.

Third row: 37 and 38. Thank you.

48 and 49 in the back row.

Anyone else over to my right, concerns over the schedule? Okay. Thank you.

I'm going to go through a series of hardship questions as to whether or not you can serve on our jury. Please raise your paddle for each one that you believe applies to you. At the end of the categories, I have the all-encompassing other. If you didn't fall into any of the categories that I've addressed, you can address it at that all-encompassing other category that I have at the end.

If there is something that you would like to discuss with us in private about your ability to serve in this case, please let me know. I'll make a note and I can bring you in later so that we can have an intimate environment as possible and you don't have to disclose everything in front of a whole bunch of people that you may not know.

Okay. With that, again, please raise your paddles for any category that you believe you fall into, okay?

The first category is financial hardships. A financial hardship is a situation where your employer does not pay for your jury service, and because you are not being paid, you would not be able to meet your ordinary household bills if you were asked to serve as a juror member in this case. If that applies to you, please raise your paddles at this time. All right. No paddles.

Next, there was a statutory change in July of this year. If I have any new mothers who have given birth within the last six months, you do not need to be here. Do I have any new mothers? Raise your paddles. Court sees no paddles.

I've had the opportunity to look at your jury questionnaires to get to know each and every one of you just a little bit. I see some of us have minor children. I've got three at home. I want to talk now about childcare.

Some of you may be stay-at-home parents, some of you may be responsible for picking up and dropping off your children at school or aftercare activities. As I said, court hours are 9:00 to 5:00 every day. If you believe that having to keep that schedule would conflict with your childcare responsibilities and there is no one else who could assist; a spouse, a friend, a family member, a significant other, who could care for those responsibilities for you, please raise your paddle at this time.

Let's start over here on my left. Minor children and no other help. 20. Anyone else other than 20?

Okay. On my right: 11 and 39.

Juror No. 20, good morning.

THE COURT: All right. Thank you, ma'am. I appreciate you.

Let's move over to juror in Seat 11. Good morning.

THE COURT: Okay. Ma'am, I appreciate that. Thank you.

Juror in Seat 39, good morning, sir. Raise that paddle up for me so I can find you. Thank you. How many children do you have, sir?

THE COURT: All right. Thank you, sir. I appreciate that.

Anyone else, childcare concerns? Go ahead and raise those paddles. All right. Court sees no paddles.

Similar to childcare, we have adult care. Some of us may be taking care of elderly persons or elderly parents who need round-the-clock or near-round-the-clock care. If that applies to you and there's no one else who could assist in those responsibilities, another family member, a friend, a Significant other that would affect or impact your jury service in this case, go ahead and raise your paddles at this time.

Juror No. 22, yes, sir?

THE COURT: And we can circle back on that one. I appreciate that.

Anyone else, adult care issues? No. 10, yes, sir?

THE COURT: Sir, you have my sympathies and best of luck as she works her way through that process. I'll make a note, sir, to circle back with you on that when we get to the doctors' appointments issue. Thank you, sir.

Anyone else, adult care? Court sees no paddles.

The next category of hardships is travel. Does anyone have any travel, be it business, professional, or pleasure, scheduled over the next two and a half weeks? If you do, please go ahead and raise those paddles high for me now.

T'll start over on my left. I have: 6, 19, 29, 30, and 44.

Juror No. 6, good morning, ma'am.

THE COURT: Okay. Good.

Juror in Seat 19, yes, sir?

THE COURT: Agreed. All right. Well, thank you, Sir. I appreciate that. Enjoy your flight.

Juror in Seat 29?

THE COURT: Okay. All right. Well, drive safely.

Juror in Seat 44?

THE COURT: Okay. Thank you, ma'am.

Let me have -- anyone else travel over here on my left? Go ahead and raise those paddles now. Court sees no additional paddles.

To my right, travel? Go ahead and raise those paddles high for me. I see 25 -- I'm sorry: 23, 25, 28, 38, and 49.

Juror No. 23, good morning. Where are you off to, sir?

THE COURT: Well, drive safely, sir. Thank you.

Juror in Seat 25, yes, ma'am. Good morning.

THE COURT: Okay. Thank you, ma'am.

Juror in Seat 28, yes, ma'am. Good morning.

THE COURT: Okay. All right. Thank you very much.

Juror in Seat 38?

THE COURT: Okay. Thank you very much.

Juror in Seat 49, yes, sir?

THE COURT: Thank you very much, sir.

Anyone else, travel over the time period that we've talked about from now until November the 1st? Raise those paddles. Court sees no paddles.

Are there -- I saw at least one full-time student. Juror in Seat 34?

THE COURT: Are there any other full-time students that are with us today? All right. 43 -- okay, we've got a few. Raise those paddles up for me.

I saw 17. Ma'am, are you a student?

THE COURT: Okay. So I've got -- raise those paddles if you're a full-time student: 17, 31, 34, and 43.

Juror in Seat 17, good morning. Where are you going to school right now, ma'am?

THE COURT: Okay. All right. Thank you, ma'am. The lawyers may have some follow up with you. I appreciate it.

Juror in Seat 31. Sir, good morning. Where are you going to school?

THE COURT: All right. Awesome. Best of luck to you.

Juror in Seat 34, good morning. Where are you going?

THE COURT: All right. Thank you, ma'am. The lawyers may have some follow up with you. Thank you.

And juror in Seat 43, good morning, ma'am.

THE COURT: All right. Well, best of luck to you. Thank you very much.

Any other full-time students? All right. Court sees no paddles.

Next, I want to talk about medical appointments. I know I already heard from jurors in Seats 22 and 10. Are there anyone or even family members, close family members or spouses or parents that have medical appointments that conflicts with the schedule that I outlined? If you have those conflicts and medical appointments, go ahead and raise those paddles high for me at this time.

Starting on my left I have jurors: 1, 4, 5, 20, and 30.

Anyone else, medical appointments on my left? Court sees no paddles.

Moving to my right, Juror No. 10 and 22, this still applies to you. Thank you.

I got: 9, 10, 11, 14, 22, 37, and 47.

I'm going to start here on my right. Juror No. 9, good morning.

THE COURT: Okay. Thank you. All right. Ma'am, thank you very much. The lawyers may have some follow up with you.

Juror No. 10, you told me that your wife is going through chemotherapy treatments at this time?

THE COURT: Okay. All right. Thank you, sir. The lawyers may have some follow up with you as well.

Juror in Seat 11, yes, ma'am?

THE COURT: Okay. Thank, you ma'am.

Juror in Seat 14?

THE COURT: Okay. All right. Thank you, ma'am. The lawyers may have some follow up.

Juror in Seat 22, yes, sir? What do we --

THE COURT: Okay. All right, sir. Thank you very much.

Juror in Seat 37, good morning.

THE COURT: All right. Thank you, ma'am. The lawyers may have some follow up.

Juror in Seat 47, yes, sir. Good morning. What do we got going on, sir?

THE COURT: Okay. Excellent. Thank you, sir. The lawyers may have some follow up.

Any other medical appointments that are scheduled? Go ahead and raise those paddles at this time.

Okay. I got a couple more. Oh, I haven't done the left. I'm so sorry. I apologize, you-all.

Anyone over here on my right? All right. Thank you.

Moving back to my left. I had: 1, 4, 5, 20, and 30. Anyone else? 34? Okay. Thank you.

Let's start over in the corner, Juror No. 1. Good morning, ma'am.

THE COURT: Understand. Thank you, ma'am. I appreciate that.

Juror in Seat 4, good morning.

THE COURT: Okay. All right. Thank you, ma'am. The lawyers may have some follow up.

Juror in Seat 5, good morning.

THE COURT: Okay. Thank you, ma'am. I appreciate that.

Juror in Seat 20. Hello. What do we got?

THE COURT: All right. Thank you, ma'am. Appreciate that. The lawyers may have some follow up.

Juror in Seat 30?

THE COURT: Okay. Thank you.

And juror in Seat 34?

THE COURT: Okay. I'll make a note, ma'am, to follow up on that, okay?

Anyone else, medical appointments? Go ahead and raise your paddles.

Yes, Juror No. 13?

THE COURT: Okay. Thank you. Thank you, ma'am. The lawyers may follow up with you. Thank you very much.

Anyone else, doctors' appointments planned or to be planned? Go ahead and raise those paddles. Okay. Court sees no paddles.

Next are -- is there anyone who has any medical conditions that they believe would affect or impact their ability to serve as a juror in this case? It may be hearing, may be sight, it may be you're on some medication that affects your ability to stay awake or pay attention. If that applies to you, go ahead and raise your paddles at this time.

All right. Juror in Seat 11, yes, ma'am?

THE COURT: I am sorry. All right, ma'am. Thank you very much.

Anyone else? 44, Yes, ma'am?

THE COURT: All right. Thank you, ma'am. The lawyers may have some follow up on that. Thank you very much.

Anyone else, medical issues or conditions? Court sees no paddles.

So that's the end of the basic categories of hardships that the Court goes over with you. We're going to move now to that all-encompassing other. If there is something else that you believe conflicts with your ability to serve as a juror in this case and you'd like to discuss it with me, we could do it privately, if you'd like. Go ahead and raise those paddles at this time.

I see -- hang on: 12, 26, and 27, on my right.

Anyone on my left -- oh, 49, as well. Thank you.

Anyone on else on my right? Okay. Hang on. Let me go to a new page.

If you could, on the right, other category, other reason that you believe would affect your ability to serve aS a juror in this case, raise those paddles up for me. Even if you've raised them up previously, because I saw Juror No. 12 and now you've disappeared on me. Raise them up for me. Keep them up until I call out your name.

I've got: 12, 26, 27, and 49. Anyone else? Oh, 36 and 37. Thank you.

And on my left: 43, okay. And 16. Thank you very much.

For those of you who have raised your paddles, do any of you want to discuss those matters in private? If you do, raise your paddles. 24. Thank you. And 27 and 16. Okay. Thank you very much. I will circle back with you-all momentarily.

Juror in Seat 12, good morning.

THE COURT: All right, ma'am. I appreciate that. Thank you.

Juror in Seat 26?

THE COURT: Okay. All right. Thank you very much.

Juror No. 27, you told me you wanted to speak in private, so I'll come back to, you, okay? Thank you, sir.

Juror in Seat 49, yes, sir?

THE COURT: Okay. So the reason I'm having that conversation with you is you tell me it's a 50/50, and I need a little bit more concrete on whether or not you can or cannot do something.

So, is there someone who could take over those responsibilities or is there not? And it's okay if the answer is one way or the other. There's no wrong answers. I just need something a little bit more concrete.

THE COURT: Okay. I appreciate that. Thank you, sir.

Juror in Seat 36, raise that paddle. Good morning. Yes, ma'am?

THE COURT: So you're the only experienced assistant. Okay. All right. Thank you, ma'am.

37, yes, ma'am?

THE COURT: Okay. Thank you, ma'am.

All right. Juror in Seat 24, you said you wanted to discuss in private, I'll come back to you.

Anyone else over here on my right, other concerns as to your ability to serve? Raise your paddles now. Court sees no paddles.

Moving over here to my left. Juror in Seat 16, you said you wanted to address that in private.

Anyone else other than juror 43, raise those paddles. Court sees no paddles.

Juror 43, good morning, ma'am. What do we got?

THE COURT: I gotcha. Thank you so much for that sacrifice. I appreciate it. As a student, that's a tough call. I appreciate you.

Anyone else, other conflicts? Go ahead and raise those paddles at this time. All right. Court sees no paddles.

Can the parties approach?

THE COURT: The media is allowed to be here, so I'd have to go back and consult the admin order, but my knowledge is they're allowed to be here and provide everything -- but they're not allowed to videotape any person on the jury.

Mr. Jay?