In Re: Amendments to Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.453 ( 2023 )

Supreme Court of Florida
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No. SC2022-0803
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IN RE: AMENDMENTS TO FLORIDA RULE OF CIVIL
PROCEDURE 1.453.
March 30, 2023
PER CURIAM.
This matter is before the Court for consideration of proposed
amendments to the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure. We have
jurisdiction. See art. V, § 2(a), Fla. Const. On June 20, 2022, the
Civil Procedure Rules Committee (Committee) filed a report
proposing the adoption of new Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.453
(Jury Request to Review Testimony). This Court previously
published the proposed amendments for comment, and no
comments were received.
Having considered the proposed amendments, the Court
hereby adopts new rule 1.453 as proposed by the Committee. New
rule 1.453 articulates how trial courts are to proceed when a juror
in a civil case asks for trial transcripts or asks for trial testimony to
be read or played back. If a juror asks for a readback or playback
of trial testimony, the trial court may, after giving notice to counsel
for the parties, read or play back the testimony in open court. In
the alternative, the trial court may, in its discretion, respond to the
request in writing, as long as the parties are afforded an
opportunity to place objections on the record. If a juror asks for
trial transcripts, the trial court must notify the jury that transcripts
are unavailable but that a request for a readback or playback may
be made and that such a request may or may not be granted at the
court’s discretion.
Accordingly, we hereby amend the Florida Rules of Civil
Procedure as reflected in the appendix to this opinion. New
language is indicated by underscoring. The amendments shall
become effective immediately upon release of this opinion.
It is so ordered.
MUÑIZ, C.J., and CANADY, POLSTON, LABARGA, COURIEL,
GROSSHANS, and FRANCIS, JJ., concur.
THE FILING OF A MOTION FOR REHEARING SHALL NOT ALTER
THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF THESE AMENDMENTS.
Original Proceeding – Florida Rules of Civil Procedure
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Landis V. Curry III, Chair, Civil Procedure Rules Committee,
Tampa, Florida, Jason Paul Stearns, Past Chair, Civil Procedure
Rules Committee, Tampa, Florida, Joshua E. Doyle, Executive
Director, The Florida Bar, Tallahassee, Florida, and Heather Savage
Telfer, Bar Liaison, The Florida Bar, Tallahassee, Florida,
for Petitioner
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APPENDIX
RULE 1.453. JURY REQUEST TO REVIEW TESTIMONY
(a) Request for Readback or Playback of Testimony. If,
after retiring to consider their verdict, any juror requests a
readback or playback of testimony, the jury may be conducted into
the courtroom and the court may order the readback or playback of
testimony. The testimony may be read or played back only after
notice to counsel for the parties. Any readback or playback of
testimony must be in open court in the presence of all parties. In its
discretion, the court may respond in writing to a request for
readback or playback of testimony without having the jury brought
before the court, provided that the parties have received the
opportunity to place objections on the record and both the request
and response are made part of the record.
(b) Request for Transcripts. If any juror requests to have a
transcript of trial testimony, the court must inform the jury that
transcripts are not available but that they can request a readback
or playback of testimony, which request may or may not be granted
at the court’s discretion. If a juror makes only a general request for
transcripts, as opposed to identifying any particular witness’s
testimony that they wish to review, the court must also instruct the
jury that, if they request a readback or playback, they must specify
the particular trial testimony they wish to have read or played back.
If, after being properly instructed in accordance with this
subdivision, the jury requests a readback or playback of any trial
testimony, the court must follow the procedures set forth in
subdivision (a).
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