Supreme Court of Florida September 26, 2013, No. SC11-1617 (Matarranz v. State)

lead-opinion

LEWIS, J.

In his final remarks to the jury, Atticus Finch, the heroic protagonist of Harper Lee’s iconic novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, proclaims

I’m no idealist to believe firmly in the integrity of our courts and in the jury system — -that is no ideal to me, it is a living, working reality. Gentlemen, a court is no better than each man of you sitting before me on this jury.