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A Long-Overdue Decision

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 6, 2008

Updated: 01/04/2008 08:33 pm

Regarding "State Jurors Gain Power To Question" (front page, Jan. 4):

Kudos to the Florida Supreme Court for allowing judges in criminal cases to permit jurors to submit questions when they believe they need to have an answer(s) that may be crucial to their ability to ascertain "reasonable doubt." By joining Arizona, Colorado, and Indiana in this practice, Florida has significantly advanced and improved the system of jurisprudence in Florida. The next step should be to mandate that judges allow vetted questions from a juror to be asked.

Having served on three juries in Florida - one criminal, two civil - I recall one case where we, the jurors, three times informed the judge we were deadlocked. Each time we were sent back instructions to attempt to reach a verdict - which we eventually did late into the night. Had we been able to ask and have answered one simple question, I have no doubt whatsoever we would have been able to reach a verdict without the wasted time of all parties and, most importantly, the compromise verdict we had to choose.

The voice of reason has been visited upon the Courts of Florida, and it is long overdue.

DAVID HECKMAN

Valrico

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