Supreme Court Amends Standard Jury Instruction on Jurors’ Use of Electronic Devices

Standard jury instructions in civil, criminal, contract and business cases —
Amendment — Jurors’ use of electronic devices

IN RE: STANDARD JURY INSTRUCTIONS IN CIVIL, CRIMINAL, AND CONTRACT &
BUSINESS CASES — JURORS’ USE OF ELECTRONIC DEVICES. Supreme Court of Florida.
Case No. SC14-623. December 4, 2014. Original Proceeding — Supreme Court
Committee on Standard Jury Instructions. Counsel: Joseph Hagedorn Lang, Jr.,
Chair, Supreme Court Committee on Standard Jury Instructions in Civil Cases,
Carlton Fields Jorden Burt, P.A., Tampa, Rebecca Mercier Vargas, Subcommittee
Chair, Juror Conduct Civil Subcommittee, Supreme Court Committee on Standard
Jury Instructions in Civil Cases, Kreusler-Walsh, Compiani & Vargas, P.A.,
West Palm Beach, and Heather Savage Telfer, Bar Staff Liaison, The Florida Bar,
Tallahassee; Judge Jerri Lynn Collins, Chair, Supreme Court Committee on
Standard Jury Instructions in Criminal Cases, Sanford, Judge Joseph Anthony
Bulone, Past Chair, Supreme Court Committee on Standard Jury Instructions in
Criminal Cases, Clearwater, and Bart Neil Schneider, Staff Liaison, Office of
the State Courts Administrator, Tallahassee; Manuel Farach, Chair, Supreme Court
Committee on Standard Jury Instructions in Contract and Business Cases, Richman
Greer, P.A., West Palm Beach, and Josine Rene Blackwell, Bar Staff Liaison, The
Florida Bar, Tallahassee, for Petitioner.

(PER CURIAM.) The Supreme Court Committees on Standard Jury Instructions in
Civil, Criminal, and Contract and Business Cases (Committees) have submitted
proposed changes to their respective standard jury instructions and ask that the
Court authorize the amended standard instructions for publication and use. We
have jurisdiction. See art. V, § 2(a), Fla. Const.

In In re Amendments to the Florida Rules of Judicial Administration —
Rule 2.451 (Use of Electronic Devices), 118 So. 3d 193, 194 n.3 (Fla. 2013),
the Court requested the Committees “to review their respective bodies of
instructions and propose any amendments needed to conform the instructions to
[new rule 2.451].”

Florida Rule of Judicial Administration 2.451(b) gives trial judges
considerable discretion for how and when to remove electronic devices from
jurors. The rule provides that electronic devices will be removed from all
members of a jury panel before jury deliberations begin. The presiding judge may
remove the jurors’ electronic devices at other stages of the trial. If
electronic devices are removed from members of the jury panel during trial, the
judge may order them returned during recesses. If a jury panel is sequestered,
the judge may decide whether to remove electronic devices during the entire
period of sequestration. The rule also makes clear that during court
proceedings, jurors cannot use their electronic devices to take photos or
videos, or to transmit or access data or text. At all times, jurors are
prohibited from using the devices to research information about the case or to
communicate with others about the case or jury deliberations.

The three Committees formed a joint subcommittee to consider rule 2.451, with
the goal of working together to draft uniform language on electronic devices
that could be used in each Committee’s instructions. The Civil Committee and the
Contract and Business Committee propose amending the following instructions:
Qualifications Instruction; Instruction 201.2 (Introduction of Participants and
Their Roles); Instruction 201.3 (Explanation of the Voir Dire Process);
Instruction 202.2 (Explanation of the Trial Procedure); Instruction 301.10
(Instruction Before Recess); and Instruction Section 700 (Closing Instructions).
The Criminal Committee proposes amendments to the following criminal
instructions: Qualifications Instruction; Instruction 1.1 (Introduction);
Instruction 2.1 (Preliminary Instructions); and Instruction 3.13 (Submitting
Case to Jury); and amendments to the following instructions for Involuntary
Civil Commitment of Sexually Violent Predator (Jimmy Ryce) cases: Qualifications
Instruction; Instruction 1.001 (Introduction); Instruction 1.01 (Preliminary
Instruction); and Instruction 2.08 (Verdict and Submitting Case to Jury).

All of the proposals were published in The Florida Bar News, except
the Criminal Committee did make some revisions to its proposals that were not
republished. The Criminal Committee made revisions to its proposals in light of
the proposals made by the Civil and Contracts and Business Committees’
proposals. No comments were received by the Committees.

Having considered the Committees’ report, we authorize for publication and
use the standard jury instructions as amended by the Committees, with additional
amendments added by the Court. The criminal jury instructions, including both
those directly pertaining to criminal cases (Qualifications Instruction,
Instruction 1.1 (Introduction), and Instruction 2.1 (Preliminary Instructions))
and those for Involuntary Civil Commitment of Sexually Violent Predator (Jimmy
Ryce) cases (Qualifications Instruction and Instruction 1.01 (Preliminary
Instruction)), are also amended, consistent with the Civil and Contracts and
Business Committees’ proposals, to make clear that failure to follow the court’s
instructions concerning the use of electronic devices may result in a mistrial
and that the offending juror may be subject to contempt of court.

We authorize the amended instructions, as set forth in the appendix to this
opinion, for publication and use.1 We thank
the joint subcommittee and the Committees for their work in proposing
modifications to the standard jury instructions consistent with rule 2.451. New
language is indicated by underlining, and deleted language is indicated by
struck-through type. In authorizing the publication and use of these
instructions, we express no opinion on their correctness and remind all
interested parties that this authorization forecloses neither requesting
additional or alternative instructions nor contesting the legal correctness of
the instructions. We further caution all interested parties that any comments
associated with the instructions reflect only the opinion of the Committees and
are not necessarily indicative of the views of this Court as to their
correctness or applicability. The instructions as set forth in the appendix
shall become effective when this opinion becomes final.

It is so ordered. (LABARGA, C.J., and PARIENTE, LEWIS, QUINCE, CANADY,
POLSTON, and PERRY, JJ., concur.)

[Editor’s note: The Appendix is not included in this report, due to its
length. It may be viewed in its entirety in our Rule Revisions section of our
website at www.FloridaLawWeekly.com at no charge. Subscribers may call our
office at 800-351-0917 to request a copy.]

__________________

1With regard to the Criminal Jury
Instructions, the amendments as reflected in the appendix are to the Criminal
Jury Instructions as they appear on the Court’s website at
www.floridasupremecourt.org/jury_instructions/instructions.shtml. We recognize
that there may be minor discrepancies between the instructions as they appear on
the website and the published versions of the instructions. Any discrepancies as
to instructions authorized for publication and use after October 25, 2007,
should be resolved by reference to the published opinion of this Court
authorizing the instruction.