Law Brief
On the date of November 27, 2000, I visited the Hillsborough county Courthouse and witnessed the Thirteenth District Circuit Court of Florida in its proceedings. The case was the State of Florida v. Michael Canady and his honor that presided over the case was Judge William Fuente. The case was called at 10:30 AM and opened with the Judge splitting the charges against the defendant. The defendant was charged with a count of second-degree possession of cannabis with intent to sell and second-degree felon in possession of a firearm. It came to my attention from one of the bailiffs that the defendant was already sentenced to twenty-five years in prison for burglary. The judge says that jury selection for both cases will be today followed by the cases on the next day. The public defender assigned to the case asked for a continuance, which the judge denied. A jury panel of twenty-two members was brought in and by the bailiff. Judge instructs the panel to the specifics of the! case and introduces all parties involved. The case that the jury was being questioned for was the felon in possession charge.
He next asks the panel if they believe beyond a reasonable doubt meant that it had to be 100 percent. The prosecutor then asked if anyone had ever been accused of a crime or known anyone that had been accused of a crime. He then briefly explained reasonable doubt. The judge instructed the jury of the duty being asked of them and explained that in a criminal case, the prosecution must prove its case rather than the defense must disprove it. Trial was set for 8:00 AM November 2!8,2000. The jury then agreed that one of those men could have no intent what so ever. The judge then turned the voir dire questioning over to the state attorney. One of the panelists had a father that molested her and was sentenced to five years of jail and felt that sentence was not stern enough. I was very impressed by the prosecution for his example of the husband and wife. The prosecution immediately challenged the two panelists, which were African American. He then asked if these members !held any ill will towards the judicial system. This concluded the jury selection process. He then asked if any of the jurors would have any remorse if they had to return a verdict of guilty.
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Acceptance Essays
