Villalobos v. State

• Decision Date: 23 July 2014
• Docket Number: No. 3D13–614.,3D13–614.
• Citation: 143 So.3d 1042
• Parties: Pierson VILLALOBOS, Appellant, v. The STATE of Florida, Appellee.
• Court: Florida District Court of Appeals

143 So.3d 1042

Pierson VILLALOBOS, Appellant,

v.The STATE of Florida, Appellee.

No. 3D13–614.

District Court of Appeal of Florida,

Third District.

July 23, 2014.

Carlos J. Martinez, Public Defender, and James Moody, Assistant Public Defender, for appellant.

Pamela Jo Bondi, Attorney General, and Jill D. Kramer, Assistant Attorney General, for appellee.

Before SUAREZ, EMAS and SCALES, JJ.

EMAS, J.

Appellant, Pierson Villalobos (“Villalobos”) appeals from a judgment of conviction and sentence, challenging the trial court's failure to dismiss a juror after that juror revealed, during the trial, his knowledge of and relationship with a testifying state witness.

Villalobos was charged with two counts of DUI manslaughter following a car accident in Monroe County. During voir dire, the court read a list of potential witnesses to the jury venire and specifically inquired whether any of the venire members knew of, or had a prior business or social relationship with, anyone on the witness list. The list included blood analyst “Jody Gyokeres of Marathon.” Venire members James Stelzer and John Arvidson remained silent in response to the court's question and did not acknowledge that they knew Ms. Gyokeres. Stelzer and Arvidson were both eventually selected as jurors.¹

Trial ensued and the State presented evidence that while intoxicated and driving in Monroe County, Villalobos crossed the median line and struck another car, killing both the driver and passenger. On the third day of trial, Trooper Elmo Williams was called to the stand and testified that after responding to the accident scene, he accompanied Villalobos to the hospital to conduct a blood draw, at which time he observed Gyokeres draw Villalobos' blood. During a break in the trooper's testimony, and outside the presence of the other jurors, juror Stelzer revealed to the court and counsel that he knew witness Gyokeres. During the questioning that followed, Stelzer explained that he believed he used to live in the same building as Gyokeres' boyfriend, that Stelzer and Stelzer's wife had known the couple for a few years, they had dinner together a couple of times, and that a few days before the trial, Stelzer's wife attempted to make plans with Gyokeres. In response to further questioning, Stelzer said he did not believe his relationship with Gyokeres would affect his ability to render a fair and impartial decision. Nonetheless, and at the defense's request, the trial court dismissed Stelzer due to his relationship with the witness.

Thereafter, trial resumed with the remainder of Trooper Williams' testimony. During a break at the conclusion of the trooper's testimony, juror Arvidson asked to speak to the court. Outside the presence of the other jurors, Arvidson revealed the following information to the court and counsel:

—Arvidson had been employed by Gyokeres as a carpenter/handyman to perform work on her house at various times over the past four years;

—Arvidson saw Gyokeres around town every three to four months;

—Arvidson performed repair work for Gyokeres approximately two months before the trial;

—Gyokeres paid Arvidson directly, writing him checks for the work performed;

—Arvidson would occasionally run into Gyokeres at the grocery store; and

—The last time Arvidson saw Gyokeres was at the grocery store about two weeks before the trial. At that time Arvidson gave Gyokeres a hug because he knew she was undergoing cancer treatment.

The court, the State and the defense inquired as to Arvidson's ability to be fair and impartial in deciding this case despite Arvidson's relationship with Gyokeres. Arvidson consistently answered that he could be fair and impartial, and that “she's just another person testifying to me.”

The defense moved to dismiss Arvidson, contending that despite his claim that he could be impartial, Arvidson was employed by Gyokeres, had social interaction with her, and was sympathetic to Gyokeres' medical condition. ² The State, on the other hand, believed this situation was different from the prior juror (Stelzer), since Arvidson did not have an ongoing social relationship with Gyokeres, the relationship was limited to some random repair work, and Arvidson would weigh her credibility in the same manner as any other witness. The trial court reasoned as follows:

THE COURT: I agree. Mr. Stelzer indicated that he had a social relationship with that witness, that his wife spoke with her, that they were in more frequent contact on a social basis, that he did offer an opinion about her veracity.

[Arvidson] had indicated no social interaction other than what might occur in a small community, which we are. He did work for her during which their exchange had to do with receiving payment, perhaps talking about a trip she was taking. He ventured no opinion about her trustworthiness or lack of trustworthiness and expressed absolutely no doubt about his ability to weigh her testimony. He did not have any specific knowledge of what her job is or was at the hospital, and what he did venture as what her job may have been is certainly nothing that she was involved with in this incident. And I'm going to allow him to keep his seat.

In announcing its ruling, the court did not determine whether the defense would likely have used a peremptory challenge to strike juror Arvidson had his relationship with Gyokeres been disclosed during voir dire.

Gyokeres was subsequently called to the stand. She testified that although she did not actually remember performing the blood draw, she was the person who drew the blood, that the blood drawn was from Villalobos, and that she followed the correct procedures because she signed off on the paperwork. Her testimony served to establish a chain of custody for the blood sample, and she further testified that Villalobos had a blood alcohol content of .391 on the night of the accident. On cross-examination, the defense sought to impeach Gyokeres, given that she had no independent recollection of the events in question and could not identify Villalobos as the person from whom she drew the blood. The defense also questioned her at length regarding the maintenance of the testing equipment and the handling and chain of custody of the blood test kit.³

At the conclusion of the evidence, the defense renewed its objection to juror Arvidson remaining on the jury and moved for a mistrial.⁴ The trial court denied the motion, finding that Arvidson's relationshipwith Gyokeres would not affect the weight or credibility Arvidson gave to Gyokeres' testimony. The jury convicted Villalobos as charged and the court sentenced him to 30 years in state prison. This appeal followed.

We review the trial court's action (in denying the motion to dismiss the juror and for mistrial) for an abuse of discretion. Conde v. State, 860 So.2d 930, 939 n. 6 (Fla.2003). However, to the extent the claim involves the application of the correct law by the trial court in exercising its discretion, our standard of review is de novo. Collett v. State, 28 So.3d 224 (Fla. 2d DCA 2010).

In determining whether juror Arvidson should have continued to serve as a juror in light of his newly-disclosed information, the trial court applied the incorrect standard. The trial court focused its inquiry, and ultimately the exercise of its discretion, on whether there was any reasonable doubt that juror Arvidson could be fair and impartial. Such a standard is to be utilized in determining whether a juror should be stricken “for cause.” See Singleton v. State, 783 So.2d 970 (Fla.2001); Whitby v. State, 933 So.2d 557 (Fla. 3d DCA 2006). The trial court instead should have applied the standard for juror nondisclosure, as established in De La Rosa v. Zequeira, 659 So.2d 239 (Fla.1995). In De La Rosa, the Supreme Court of Florida outlined the three-prong test to be utilized in determining whether a juror's nondisclosure of information during voir dire warrants a new trial ⁵:

First, the complaining party must establish that the information is relevant and material to jury service in the case. Second, that the juror concealed the information during questioning. Lastly, that the failure to disclose the information was not attributable to the complaining party's lack of diligence.

Id. at 241.

There is little doubt that the second and third prongs of De La Rosa were satisfied in this case.⁶ We therefore turn to the first prong and analyze whether the information was relevant and material.

First, “the complaining party must establish not only that the nondisclosed matter was ‘relevant’ ... but also that it is ‘material to jury service in the case.’ ” Estate of Roberts v. Tejada, 814 So.2d 334, 339 (quoting De La Rosa, 659 So.2d at 241). Materiality in this context is shown where the “omission of the information prevented counsel from making an informed judgment-which would in all likelihood have resulted in a peremptory challenge.” Id. (quoting De La Rosa, 659 So.2d at 242). A trial court errs when it focuses on whether the juror may be biased or partial when considering or deliberating the case as opposed to “what Appellant's counsel would have done during voir dire had the ... history been disclosed.” Fine v. Shands Teaching Hosp. and Clinics, Inc., 994 So.2d 426 (Fla. 1st DCA 2008). See also Tripp v. State, 874 So.2d 732 (Fla. 4th DCA 2004).

Here, Arvidson acknowledged that he had a business relationship with Gyokeres. He performed carpentry/handyman work at Gyokeres' home for which Gyokeres personally wrote him checks, and he performed such work as recently as two months before the trial. According to Arvidson, he and Gyokeres ran into each other every three to four months.

Further, Arvidson described a connection with Gyokeres that was, at least to some degree, not simply a business relationship but a personal one as well: Arvidson had seen Gyokeres at a local grocery store just two weeks before trial. When he saw her at the store, Arvidson was aware that Gyokeres was undergoing...