Boca Teeca Corp. v. Palm Beach County, 72--974
| Decision Date | 28 February 1974 |
| Docket Number | No. 72--974,72--974 |
| Parties | BOCA TEECA CORPORATION, Appellant, v. PALM BEACH COUNTY, a political subdivision of the State of Florida, Appellee. |
| Court | Florida District Court of Appeals |
Jos. D. Farish, Jr., of Farish & Farish, West Palm Beach, for appellant.
Michael B. Small, Co. Atty., and H. Adams Weaver, Asst. Co. Atty., West Palm Beach, for appellee.
Under its power of eminent domain, Palm Beach County took a parcel of appellant's property for road right-of-way. Appellant, being dissatisfied with the amount of compensation awarded by the jury, appealed from the judgment entered thereon. We conclude that the judgment must be reversed and the cause remanded for a new trial because appellant was denied the right to a fair and impartial jury.
In this case, one of the prospective jurors who had been seated in the jury box stated upon voir dire examination that he was at that time an employee of Palm Beach County. He described his employment as being a janitor at the County Home on 45th Street in West Palm Beach. He stated that he was also a minister of the Pentecostal Church. He affirmed unequivocably that his employment by Palm Beach County would not affect his determination of the issues submitted and that he would be a fair and impartial juror in the case. At the conclusion of the voir dire examination and prior to the jury panel being sworn to try the issues, appellant's counsel challenged this juror for cause on the grounds that he was an employee of Palm Beach County, a party to the suit. The court denied the motion to excuse this juror for cause. Appellant exhausted its peremptory challenges on other veniremen, and the panel was sworn with this juror remaining.
The right of a party to challenge a juror for cause is governed by F.S. Section 53.021(1), F.S.A. 1 The several grounds of challenge for cause are in the disjunctive, and the existence of any ground entitles the party to have the challenge sustained and the juror excused for cause. In other words, once it was shown indisputably that the juror was at that time an employee of the plaintiff, Palm Beach County, the defendant was entitled to have its timely challenge for cause sustained and the juror excused without more, notwithstanding the fact that the juror might be (and, indeed, probably was) fair and impartial, standing indifferent as to the parties or the action. A fair and impartial jury denotes jurors who are not only fair...
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