Jury Deliberation
107 linesJUDGE WHEELER: Okay, I'm going to read the last instruction to you.
JUDGE WHEELER: So if you go to page 11, please.
JUDGE WHEELER: In just a few moments, you will be taken to the jury room by the bailiff. The first thing you should do is choose a foreperson who will preside over your deliberations.
JUDGE WHEELER: The foreperson should see to it that your discussions are carried on in an organized way and that everyone has a fair chance to be heard.
JUDGE WHEELER: It is also the foreperson's job to sign and date the verdict form when all of you have agreed on a verdict and to bring the verdict form back to the courtroom when you return.
JUDGE WHEELER: During deliberations, jurors must communicate about the case only with one another and only when all the jurors are present in the jury room. If a juror goes to the restroom, the deliberation should stop until the juror returns.
JUDGE WHEELER: You are not to communicate with any person outside the jury about this case.
JUDGE WHEELER: Until you have reached a verdict, you must not talk about this case in person or through the telephone, writing, or electronic communication such as a blog, Twitter, email, or text message, or any other means. Do not contact anyone to assist you during deliberations. These communications rules apply until I discharge you at the end of the case.
JUDGE WHEELER: If you become aware of any violation of these instructions or any other instruction I have given in this case, you must tell me by giving a note to the bailiff.
JUDGE WHEELER: Many of you may have cell phones, tablets, laptops, or other electronic devices here in the courtroom.
JUDGE WHEELER: The rules do not allow you to bring your phones or any of those types of electronic devices into the jury room during deliberations.
JUDGE WHEELER: Kindly leave those devices with the bailiff while you deliberate.
JUDGE WHEELER: If you need to communicate with me, send a note through the bailiff. If you have voted, do not disclose the actual vote in the note.
JUDGE WHEELER: If you have a question, I will talk with the attorneys before I answer, so it may take some time.
JUDGE WHEELER: You may continue your deliberations while you wait for my answer. I will answer any questions, if I can, in writing or orally here in open court.
JUDGE WHEELER: During the trial, items were received into evidence as exhibits.
JUDGE WHEELER: You may examine whatever exhibits you think will help you in your deliberations. These exhibits will be sent into the jury room with you when you begin to deliberate. If you wish to use the audio headphones provided in the courtroom, please request that in writing. In closing, let me remind you that it is important that you follow the law spelled out in these instructions in deciding your verdict. There are no other laws that apply to this case. Even if you do not like the laws that must be applied, you must use them.
JUDGE WHEELER: For more than two centuries we have lived by the Constitution and the law.
JUDGE WHEELER: No juror has the right to violate rules we all share. All right, so you'll be taking your instructions back with you, also a short instruction in regards to your notes.
JUDGE WHEELER: You may also take any notes that you took during this trial back to the deliberation room. As previously instructed, your notes are a tool to aid your memory. You should not compare your notes with those of other jurors in determining the content of any testimony or in evaluating the importance of any evidence.
JUDGE WHEELER: Notes are for the note-taker's personal use in refreshing his or her recollection of the evidence.
JUDGE WHEELER: They are not evidence, and above all, your memory should be your greatest asset in your recollection of the evidence. All right, at this time I need to discharge the alternate jurors. We have two alternate jurors who will not be going back to deliberate in the jury room, and the alternate jurors are Ms. Crump — you are an alternate juror — and Ms. Gillier. Gill — your, is it Gillier? Ms. Gillier, you are also an alternate juror. Okay, I want to thank you very much for your service. You have been extremely dedicated, and I know that you've sat here for the two weeks and you're not going back to the jury room, but it wasn't all for nothing. We appreciate all your time and efforts in regards to this case. The bailiff is going to escort you back to the jury room so you can gather any personal belongings, and then you'll be excused out the back door. Okay, you can leave anything that you have right there on your chair, any notes or the jury instructions. All right, thank you both very much. Okay, once the deputy has returned to tell me that they are out of the jury room, then you will be going back to begin your deliberations. Okay, lunch is back there waiting for you, and so that will be provided for you. And so the timing of your deliberations, of course, is now completely up to you. Okay, so we'll just wait just a moment for the bailiff to return.
JUDGE WHEELER: All right, okay, the — the deputy will now take you back so that you can begin your deliberations.
JUDGE WHEELER: Yeah, you need to gather with them.
JUDGE WHEELER: Yes, okay. The jury's back in the jury room, and the door is closed. The deputy's gathering their phones at this time.
JUDGE WHEELER: And so for the record, any objection to the jury instructions as read from the defense?
MS. KAWASS: No, Your Honor.
JUDGE WHEELER: Any objection to the jury instructions as read?
MS. CAPPLEMAN: No, sir.
JUDGE WHEELER: Thank you.
JUDGE WHEELER: All right, and I'm going to ask one member of each council team to come up, take a look at the exhibits before we send them back. I want to get on the record that there's no objection to the exhibits that are going back. I know you've made other objections during the course of the trial, but I want to make sure that you view those, and also the verdict form, and then we'll take those back to the jury. The attorneys can leave their cell phone numbers with Madam Clerk.
JUDGE WHEELER: Okay, and then if we hear from the jury either with a verdict or with a question or otherwise, then we will notify you, but please don't go far so that we can gather back in the courtroom promptly. Okay, so if two of the attorneys can come on up and take a look at the exhibits so that we can send those back to the jury along with the verdict form.
JUDGE WHEELER: Just one, that's all that's necessary. Ms. Cappleman?
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Judge, may I be permitted at this time to introduce a couple items as court exhibits for the record. I have the Dolce Transcript, the emails, the wire call transcripts, and the closing PowerPoint. I'd like to have those marked as court exhibits.
JUDGE WHEELER: Okay, so as — and so the exhibits that are not going back to the jury, just as court exhibits for the file, all right, we'll put those into the file. And Madam Clerk, with those being numbered or lettered or how? Okay, all right, so court's exhibit, and those will be numbered, and we'll take special precautions to make sure that those don't go back to the jury. Okay.
JUDGE WHEELER: All right, who's going to take a look at the exhibits for the state? Okay, and Mr. DeCoste, you for the defense. All right, then I want to get that on the record, please.
JUDGE WHEELER: Ms. Cappleman, you're satisfied with the exhibits? Going back to the jury?
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Yes, Your Honor.
JUDGE WHEELER: Thank you.
JUDGE WHEELER: All right. It's my understanding that we have a question from the jury.
JUDGE WHEELER: All right. It says, "Judge, could we please get an inventory list? Of the evidence, so we can navigate what communications are here." And it's signed by the foreperson.
COURT CLERK: And I've highlighted the state's columns in pink and the defense columns.
JUDGE WHEELER: All right, so this is the criminal exhibit sheet that is prepared by the clerk, which lists both the state's exhibits and the defense exhibits. And a short description of each exhibit.
JUDGE WHEELER: All right. Have both parties had an opportunity to take a look at this?
JUDGE WHEELER: Okay. And any objection to this going back? Any objection from the state?
MS. CAPPLEMAN: No, Your Honor.
JUDGE WHEELER: Any objection from the defense?
MS. KAWASS: No, Your Honor.
JUDGE WHEELER: Okay. All right. So we will send this back. The criminal exhibit sheet. I guess we should mark it in some form, since it's going back to the jury. As a court's exhibit.
JUDGE WHEELER: Yeah. So let's mark that as a court's exhibit, since it's going back.
JUDGE WHEELER: I want to keep this separate from the previous court's exhibit.
JUDGE WHEELER: All right, and if you could keep this note for the court file, please.
JUDGE WHEELER: And we'll send this exhibit sheet back through the deputy, and then we'll be back in recess, okay?
JUDGE WHEELER: All right. Thank you.
JUDGE WHEELER: All right. We're back on the record. We have a question.
JUDGE WHEELER: All right. So, "Your Honor, could we please get the headsets for an audio file?"
JUDGE WHEELER: All right. So they want to use the headsets, and so we're going to have to bring them back into the courtroom for that.
JUDGE WHEELER: So they're going to need to identify what they want to hear.
JUDGE WHEELER: My proposal is, I'll just write a response, and I'll state, "We will need to bring the jury back into the courtroom to hear an audio file with the headset."
JUDGE WHEELER: "Please identify the audio file, and we will prepare it for the jury."
MS. KAWASS: No objection.
JUDGE WHEELER: Okay. All right. Let me write this down, then.
JUDGE WHEELER: All right. If you could please take that back to the jury, and once they review it, then get their response. Thank you.
JUDGE WHEELER: All right. We're back on the record.
JUDGE WHEELER: "Please prep the Dolce Vita audio slash video."
JUDGE WHEELER: "Do you need the video disc?"
JUDGE WHEELER: Yes, the one that's in evidence. They have it in there, correct? I want to use the one that's prepared in evidence. Okay, all right. So could you, and just inform them that, I mean, we can play that pretty readily, right? It's not going to take as much time. So if they could provide us with the disc, and then we'll bring them right out to watch the video.
MS. CAPPLEMAN: Yeah, it's a thumb drive.
JUDGE WHEELER: Okay.
MR. DECOSTE: Given the fact that they are in deliberations, that we cannot be in the room, that the only person that can be in the room is going to be the bailiff. Because otherwise you've got other people interacting with them during their deliberations. They may also have the view that we wait in here and remain while they make their decision, which could force them to go faster. Having dealt with this before, I believe the appropriate way is that it is set up and it is played by, uh, the — I'm sorry, I don't know how to refer to — bailiff, or Leon County Sheriff's Office, to have that been played, but that everybody is outside of the courtroom.
JUDGE WHEELER: Well, I mean, I've never done that before, and I've probably done this two zillion times. But, um, if that's what you're requesting, do you have any — I mean, is there any case law that supports that? I mean, I think they know we're not sitting around waiting here in the courtroom, but, so I don't think that's an issue. But if you're saying that there could be some influence on the jury because they're in deliberations and we're sitting in here and they're watching the video.
MR. DECOSTE: Yes.
JUDGE WHEELER: Do you have an objection to, uh — well, somebody's going to have to put it in and play it, correct?
MR. DECOSTE: I believe that it should be court staff, not any of the parties.
JUDGE WHEELER: I don't think I have any court staff here at this point.
MR. DECOSTE: If you would allow Ms. Kawass — Kristen Kawass — you can address if there is case law on this.
MS. KAWASS: I'm sorry, Your Honor. I'm looking on my phone... Court of Appeal of the Third District — it says that the trial court is not required to be present when jury views a muted cell phone video, audio, as long as it's not a readback of testimony, like audio.
JUDGE WHEELER: The trial court is not what?
MS. KAWASS: Required to be present when they ask to have anything — say, that's not testimony.
JUDGE WHEELER: All right. Well, I'm not required to be present. That doesn't mean I have to clear the courtroom.
MS. KAWASS: I'm sorry, I'm just not looking this up, um, but I mean, that would still be our position, that we would prefer that no one would be in there. I can continue to look, though, Your Honor. I'm literally on with all on that.
JUDGE WHEELER: All right. I'm going to deny that request. Um, we do this routinely. I don't think the jury — we're not going to have any discussions in here. Nobody's going to say anything.
JUDGE WHEELER: I'm going to bring them in. I'm going to sit them down. I'm going to tell them, "We're going to play the audio and video for you right now." We're going to turn it on, and we're going to let them — they're going to see it. And then we're going to go back and bring them back so that they continue their deliberations. They're not going to be talking or say anything, nor is anyone here in the courtroom. Okay, if you could please escort them out along with the video disc, please. Okay.
JUDGE WHEELER: So Exhibit 116.
JUDGE WHEELER: Ms. Dugan, these exhibits are marked both on the bag and on the flash drive itself, and that flash drive says what? 116?
MS. DUGAN: Yes, sir.
JUDGE WHEELER: Okay.
JUDGE WHEELER: All right, it's queued up from the start. All right, let's bring the jury in, please.
JUDGE WHEELER: Please be seated.
JUDGE WHEELER: We will now play Exhibit 116 for you, along with your use of the headphones.
JUDGE WHEELER: Madam Court Reporter, do you need to use these headphones?
JUDGE WHEELER: Okay, all right, you may proceed.
AUDIO RECORDING: Yeah, but obviously that was a — it's kind of a change, but it's a small change, but it's a kind of a, yeah, it's been dropped off, it's one of the things that I think is a lot of times, it's a lot of things that are more priceless, you know, today is, yeah, so when they call me to the office, my dad works Monday, Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday, like, you know, it's probably either, you know, on the beach or at any point, you know, and I just say, I don't want to do that. I don't want to go by narrative, I mean sometimes I want you to know that there's a lot of police, there's police in the law, and there's a lot of police in the law, and there's a lot of police in the law, and there's a lot of police in the law, and there's a lot of police in the law, and there's a lot of police in the law. And we didn't move, but he lost.
AUDIO RECORDING: That was the same all the way through the fall. He didn't move.
AUDIO RECORDING: He was a bad child.
AUDIO RECORDING: Guys, what's up to you?
AUDIO RECORDING: Tell them how to pay off. If you want to charge us something, charge us a non-changeable amount of money. You know, change the line. It's a super-savvy work.
AUDIO RECORDING: So, come now. We have a money pension. We can get a pension for the next 30 years. That will get a whole salary every month.
AUDIO RECORDING: Same thing with cameras. The only cameras are here.
AUDIO RECORDING: Thank you.
AUDIO RECORDING: I don't know if you can see it, but I'm trying to test it for you.
AUDIO RECORDING: I'm going to go ahead and test it.
AUDIO RECORDING: Thank you.
JUDGE WHEELER: We'll send you back now to resume your deliberations.
JUDGE WHEELER: Okay, jury's out of the courtroom. The door is closed. Let's return the piece of evidence, please.
JUDGE WHEELER: And I'm going to wait until about 6:30 or so. And if they're still deliberating at that time, then I'll provide them with some more food at that time at 6:30.
JUDGE WHEELER: All right, we'll be in recess until we hear again from the jury. Thank you.