Ellis v. State

Citations

• 25 Fla. 702

Syllabus

<p>1. The defendant filed a plea in abatement setting up that at a former trial of the cause (in which the jury failed to agree upon a verdict) the defendant had been in jeopardy, in that at the former trial of the cause, and after the jurors were tendered and accepted, but before being sworn in chief, and before the defendant’s peremptory challenges were exhausted, he challenged one W., one of the jurors tendered and accepted; that the court refused to allow the challenge, and that the juror challenged sat on the jury, whereby a mistrial was had, instead of a verdict of not guilty, except for the presence of said W., on the-jury: Held, That the court erred in refusing to allow the challenge to the juror, as the defendant had the right to peremptorily challenge the juror at any time before he was sworn in chief, and that if the jury had convicted the defendant at the former trial such error would have been cause for reversal, but that such former trial, under the circumstances, was no bar to a subsequent trial of the cause ; and that there was no error in the court treating such plea as a nullity.</p> <p>2. The discharge of a jury, in case of manifest necessity, such as-sudden sickness of a juror, the illness of the prisoner, or other urgent cause, will not exempt the prisoner from again being tried for the same offense.</p> <p>3. Jurors, when examined as to their qualifications, should be sworn on their voir dire, but when a person interested objects to a juror being excused he should make his objection before the juror is excused, and it is too late to object after the juror is excused.</p> <p>4. A man is not disqualified, nor exempt from jury duty by reason of being Assessor of Taxes for a city or town, but it is not error for a court in the exercise pi a sound discretion, to excuse a man from jury duty, when the interests of the public require the ex-eroise of such discretion.</p> <p>5. A venireman was asked upon his voir dire if he was under prosecution for any