On the motion of any party, all challenges shall be addressed to the court outside the hearing of the jury panel in a manner selected by the court so that the jury panel is not aware of the nature of the challenge, the party making the challenge, or the basis of the court’s ruling on the challenge, if for cause.
RULE 3.315. EXERCISE OF CHALLENGES
- On any party's motion, all jury challenges must be made outside the hearing of the prospective jurors.
- This is typically done at a "sidebar" conference with the judge.
- The purpose is to prevent the jury panel from being prejudiced by knowing which party made a challenge or the reason for the court's ruling.
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1980 Adoption. With the exception of “Upon the motion of any party,” the language is taken directly from Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.431(c)(3). This rule had no counterpart in the criminal rules.