FloridaJury Nullification
In Florida a statute has the judge charge the jury only on the law of the case, and the jury decides the facts. The standard instructions tell jurors they must follow that law. State law sets a jury of twelve in capital cases and six in all other criminal cases. No verdict can be returned unless every juror agrees to it.
Overview
Juries in Florida
Florida law has the judge charge the jury on the law of the case once the arguments are over. The jury decides the facts, and a court rule says no verdict may be returned unless all of the jurors agree to it.
The last thing a Florida jury hears before it goes out is a set of rules for deliberating. The first rule is about following the law. What it says, and what the other rules cover, is in the Florida chapter of the guide.
The Florida constitution keeps the right to a jury trial and leaves the number of jurors to the legislature, with a floor of six. State law sets twelve for a capital case and six for every other criminal case. What else the constitution says is in the chapter.
The Florida chapter
What's in the Guide for Florida?
Jury selection
Florida law lists twelve grounds for removing a possible juror for cause. The chapter goes through the ones that turn on a person's beliefs or state of mind, and what the statute says about an opinion a juror has already formed.
What the judge tells you
What the rules for deliberation read to every Florida criminal jury say about the law, the evidence and the sentence, and what the judge's charge has to include by statute.
How the verdict works
What it means that every one of the six or twelve jurors has to agree to the same verdict in Florida, and how a verdict is read back, questioned and recorded.
Protections and risks
How Florida law treats a juror as a court official, what that means for anyone who harasses or retaliates against one, and what the judge has to warn jurors about before they separate.
The law in plain English
The Florida laws behind the chapter in everyday words. They include the statutes on the judge's charge, on the number of jurors, on challenges for cause, on tampering with and retaliating against court officials, and on how jury lists are built, with the court rule on verdicts and the jury section of the state constitution.
Official state resources
Links to Florida's official sources, each one checked. They cover the statutes and constitution on the legislature's site, the criminal procedure rules and standard jury instructions hosted by The Florida Bar, and the Florida Courts' juror information page.
Your summons
Called for Jury Duty in Florida?
In Florida the clerk of court sends the summons, working from a list of names supplied by the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. It asks you to come in and, if you are picked, to decide the facts of a case.
The Florida Courts have a juror information page. It covers reporting, who can serve, and how to ask to be excused.
That page covers the summons. The grounds for removing a juror, the rules for deliberation, and how Florida law protects the people on a jury are covered in the Florida chapter of the guide.
Your Florida summons
- Sent byThe clerk of court
- Names come fromThe Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles
- It asks you toCome in and, if you are picked, decide the facts of a case
- Jury size6 in most criminal cases, 12 in a capital case