Hoyt v. Florida

A Student’s Guide to Essential Primary Sources
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Hoyt v. Florida
Overview
Document Text
https://doi.org/10.3735/9781961844025.book-part-113

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Abstract

In 1957, Gwendolyn Hoyt was arrested in Florida for the murder of her husband. She pleaded not guilty by reason of temporary insanity. A Floridastate court convicted her of second-degree murder. First, she appealed to the Florida Supreme Court, asserting that her right to an impartially selected jury was violated because the jurors were all men. During this time, a Florida jury statute exempted women from jury duty due to their domestic and maternal roles, but women could volunteer for jury duty. Her defense argued that women jurors would have been better suited to understand the aspects of the case, but the Florida Supreme Court upheld the conviction.

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