Pedraza v. State (Majority, with Dissenting)
Annotate this CaseAppellant was charged with the capital murder of his two-year-old stepdaughter. After jury selection for Appellant’s trial began, the parties reached a plea agreement under which Appellant agreed to plead guilty to first-degree murder and be sentenced by the as yet unsworn jury. After a sentencing trial, the jury sentenced Appellant to life imprisonment. Appellant appealed his sentence, arguing that the circuit court erred in denying his request to conduct additional voir dire of the selected but unsworn jury after the plea agreement had been consummated. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the circuit court did not abuse its discretion or violate Appellant’s rights to due process and an impartial jury in refusing to allow additional proffered voir dire.
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.