Fourth DCA Case: West Palm Beach Litigants Can Back Strike Jurors

Are you in the process of picking a West Palm Beach jury?  Do you know what back striking is? Did you know that the Florida Supreme Court has expressly held that you have a right to back strike jurors and view the panel as a whole? Before you go ahead with your plans to pick a jury make sure to figure out what the panel will look like, and if the judge refuses to let you, make sure you preserve the issue on appeal.

Back Striking a Juror

• Do you know what back striking is?
• If you are going to trial chances are you will have to pick a jury.
• You will have a pool of potential candidates and then you will question them about various issues.
• Some jurors simply will be to prejudice to be fair and you may be able to strike them for cause.
• You may also strike someone without cause, up to a certain limit.
• These are known as peremptory strikes.
• The only limit on the use of these types of strikes is they have to be race/religion and gender neutral.
• Do you know why?
• Back striking is the right to use your peremptory strikes after you have looked at the entire panel.
• You actually have a right to strike up until the time that the jury is sworn in.
• That does not mean the judge knows that.

Preserving the Issue on Appeal

• West Palm Beach appeals courts do not hear any probate issue on appeal – you will have to preserve it on the record.
• Do you know what that means?
• For starters you better bring it up on the record in the hearing otherwise how can you say it was error for them not to rule a certain way?
• Check out this interesting case out of the Fourth District Court of Appeal where the court noted that no issues had been preserved but that a note had to be made on the practice of back striking.

Aquila v. Brisk Transportation.

• This was a personal injury case out of West Palm Beach in the Fourth District Court of Appeal that arose out of a Broward County Trial Court.
• None of the issues that had been appealed seemed to have merit but the court wanted to take a moment to note that the judge had made an error.
• The judge had prohibited the parties from using back striking on jurors after the other jurors had been excused.
• The panel had not been sworn, so that was an error.
• Do you know your rights in selecting a jury?
• The Florida Supreme Court has awarded you the right to back strike so make sure to use it if need be.

Want to learn more?

Check out the entire case by clicking here.