Source: http://openjurist.org/469/us/412
Timestamp: 2014-11-21 02:26:13
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Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 2254', '§ 2254', '§ 2254', '§ 2254', '§ 2254', '§ 2254', '§ 2254', '§ 2254', '§ 2254', '§ 2254', '§ 2254', '§ 2254', '§ 2254']

469 US 412 Wainwright v. Witt | OpenJurist
469 U.S. 412 - Wainwright v. Witt	Home469 us 412 wainwright v. witt
469 US 412 Wainwright v. Witt 469 U.S. 412
105 S.Ct. 844
83 L.Ed.2d 841
Louie L. WAINWRIGHT, Secretary, Florida Department of Corrections, Petitionerv.Johnny Paul WITT.
No. 83-1427.
Argued Oct. 2, 1984.
Respondent was tried by a jury in a Florida state court and convicted of first-degree murder. In accordance with the jury's recommendation, he was sentenced to death. On appeal, respondent claimed that several prospective jurors had been improperly excluded for cause because of their opposition to capital punishment, in violation of the decision in Witherspoon v. Illinois, 391 U.S. 510, 88 S.Ct. 1770, 20 L.Ed.2d 776, but the Florida Supreme Court affirmed the conviction and sentence. After unsuccessfully seeking postconviction review in the state courts, respondent filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus in Federal District Court under 28 U.S.C. § 2254. That court denied the petition. The Court of Appeals reversed and granted the writ, holding that, on the basis of the voir dire questioning by the prosecutor, one of the prospective jurors was improperly excused for cause under Witherspoon. The court drew the standard for determining when a juror may properly be excluded from Witherspoon, supra, at 522, n. 21, 88 S.Ct., at 1777, n. 21, which states that jurors may be excluded for cause if they make it "unmistakably clear" that they would "automatically" vote against capital punishment without regard to the evidence or that their attitude toward the death penalty would prevent them from making an impartial decision as to the defendant's "guilt."
1. The proper standard for determining when a prospective juror may be excluded for cause because of his views on capital punishment is whether the juror's views would "prevent or substantially impair the performance of his duties as a juror in accordance with his instructions and his oath." Adams v. Texas, 448 U.S. 38, 45, 100 S.Ct. 2521, 2526, 65 L.Ed.2d 581. In addition to dispensing with Witherspoon § reference to "automatic" decisionmaking, this standard does not require that a juror's bias be proved with "unmistakable clarity." Here, given this standard, the Court of Appeals at a minimum erred in focusing unduly on the lack of clarity of the questioning of the prospective juror, and in focusing on whether her answers indicated that she would "automatically" vote against the death penalty. Pp. 418-426.
2. On a petition for habeas corpus under 28 U.S.C. § 2254, the question of challenge of a prospective juror for bias is a "factual issue" subject to § 2254(d), which requires a federal reviewing court to accord any findings of the state courts on "factual issues" a "presumption of correctness." Patton v. Yount, 467 U.S. 1025, 104 S.Ct. 2885, 81 L.Ed.2d 847. This rule applies to a trial court's determination, such as the one made in this case, that a prospective capital sentencing juror was properly excluded for cause. Pp. 426-430.
3. Under the facts of this case, the prospective juror in question was properly excused for cause. There were adequate "written indicia" of the trial judge's factual finding to satisfy § 2254(d). The transcript of voir dire shows that the prospective juror was questioned in the presence of both counsel and the trial judge, that at the end of the colloquy between the prosecutor and the juror the prosecutor challenged for cause, and that the challenge was sustained. Nothing more was required. The judge was not required to write a specific finding or announce for the record his conclusion that, or his reasons why, the prospective juror was biased. The judge's finding is therefore "presumed correct" absent anything in the record showing one of the reasons enumerated in the statute for avoiding the presumption. The question under the statute is whether the trial court's findings are fairly supported by the record, and here there is ample support for the trial judge's finding that the prospective juror's views would have prevented or substantially impaired the performance of her duties as a juror. Pp. 430-435.
714 F.2d 1069 (CA11 1983) and 723 F.2d 769, (CA11 1984) reversed.
Robert J. Landry, New Orleans, La., for petitioner.
William C. McLain, Fort Myers, Fla., for respondent.
This case requires us to examine once again the procedures for selection of jurors in criminal trials involving the possible imposition of capital punishment, see Witherspoon v. Illinois, 391 U.S. 510, 88 S.Ct. 1770, 20 L.Ed.2d 776 (1968), and to consider standards for federal courts reviewing those procedures upon petition for a writ of habeas corpus.
* Respondent Johnny Paul Witt was convicted of first-degree murder in Florida and sentenced to death. The murder was committed while respondent and a friend were bow-and-arrow hunting. The evidence at trial showed that the two had spoken together on other occasions about killing a human, and had even stalked persons as they would stalk animal prey. On the day in question, respondent, then aged 30, and his younger accomplice were hunting in a wooded area near a trail often used by children. When the victim, an 11-year-old boy, rode by on his bicycle, respondent's accomplice hit the child on the head with a star bit from a drill. Respondent and his accomplice then gagged the stunned victim, placed him in the trunk of respondent's car, and drove to a deserted grove. Upon opening the trunk, the conspirators discovered that the victim had died by suffocating from the gag. The two committed various sexual and violent acts on the body, then dug a grave and buried it.
Respondent was tried by a jury and convicted of first-degree murder. In accordance with the recommendation of the jury, the trial judge sentenced him to death. On appeal to the Florida Supreme Court respondent raised a number of claims, one of which was that several prospective jurors had been improperly excluded for cause because of their opposition to capital punishment, in violation of this Court's decision in Witherspoon v. Illinois, supra. The Florida Supreme Court affirmed the conviction and sentence, and this Court denied certiorari. Witt v. State, 342 So.2d 497, cert. denied, 434 U.S. 935, 98 S.Ct. 422, 54 L.Ed.2d 294 (1977). After unsuccessfully petitioning for postconviction review in the state courts, see Witt v. State, 387 So.2d 922 (Fla.), cert. denied, 449 U.S. 1067, 101 S.Ct. 796, 66 L.Ed.2d 612 (1980), respondent filed this petition for a writ of habeas corpus in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida, raising numerous constitutional claims. That court denied the petition. On appeal, the Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit reversed and granted the writ. 714 F.2d 1069 (CA11 1983), modified, 723 F.2d 769 (CA11 1984).
The only claim the Eleventh Circuit found meritorious was respondent's Witherspoon claim. The court found the following exchange during voir dire, between the prosecutor and veniremember Colby, to be insufficient to justify Colby's excusal for cause:1
"[Q. Prosecutor:] Now, let me ask you a question, ma'am. Do you have any religious beliefs or personal beliefs against the death penalty?
"[A. Colby:] I am afraid personally but not—
"[Q]: Speak up, please.
"[A]: I am afraid of being a little personal, but definitely not religious.
"[Q]: Now, would that interfere with you sitting as a juror in this case?
"[A]: I am afraid it would.
"[Q]: You are afraid it would?
"[A]: Yes, Sir.
"[Q]: Would it interfere with judging the guilt or innocence of the Defendant in this case?
"[A]: I think so.
"[Q]: You think it would.
"[A]: I think it would.
"[Q]: Your honor, I would move for cause at this point.
"THE COURT: All right. Step down." Tr. 266-267.
Defense counsel did not object or attempt rehabilitation.
In Witherspoon, this Court held that the State infringes a capital defendant's right under the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments to trial by an impartial jury when it excuses for cause all those members of the venire who express conscientious objections to capital punishment. As the Court of Appeals in this case noted, however, the Witherspoon Court also recognized the State's legitimate interest in excluding those jurors whose opposition to capital punishment would not allow them to view the proceedings impartially, and who therefore might frustrate administration of a State's death penalty scheme. The Court of Appeals drew the standard for determining when a juror may properly be excluded from Witherspoon § footnote 21; jurors may be excluded for cause if they make it
"unmistakably clear (1) that they would automatically vote against the imposition of capital punishment without regard to any evidence that might be developed at the trial of the case before them, or (2) that their attitude toward the death penalty would prevent them from making an impartial decision as to the defendant's guilt." 391 U.S., at 522, n. 21, 88 S.Ct., at 1777, n. 21 (emphasis in original).
The Court of Appeals construed our decisions to require that jurors expressing objections to the death penalty be given "great leeway" before their expressions justify dismissal for cause. "A prospective juror may even concede that his or her feelings about the death penalty would possibly color an objective determination of the facts of a case without admitting of the necessary partiality to justify excusal." 714 F.2d, at 1076-1080. The court concluded that the colloquy with venireman Colby reprinted above did not satisfy the Witherspoon standard. Colby's limited expressions of "feelings and thoughts" failed to "unequivocally state that she would automatically be unable to apply the death penalty . . . ." Id., at 1082. In part, the court found the ambiguity in the record was caused by the lack of clarity of the prosecutor's questions. The prosecutor's question whether Colby's feelings about the death penalty would "interfere" with her sitting was ambiguous, because the fact of such "interference" failed to satisfy Witherspoon § requirement that she be unable to apply the death sentence under any circumstances. The court found its holding consistent with Circuit precedent applying the Witherspoon standard. See Granviel v. Estelle, 655 F.2d 673 (CA5 1981); Burns v. Estelle, 626 F.2d 396 (CA5 1980).
In a footnote, the Court of Appeals noted its uncertainty over whether a state trial court's finding of bias should be accorded a presumption of correctness under the federal statute governing habeas corpus proceedings, 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d). The court stated, however, that under the circumstances it would reach the same result regardless of the standard of review. 714 F.2d, at 1083, n. 10. Because this case raises questions on which there is considerable confusion in the lower courts, concerning the degree of deference that a federal habeas court should pay to a state trial judge's determination that a juror may be excused for cause under Witherspoon, see Darden v. Wainwright, 725 F.2d 1526, 1528-1530 (CA11 1984); O'Bryan v. Estelle, 714 F.2d 365 (CA5 1983), cert. denied, 465 U.S. 1013, 104 S.Ct. 1015, 79 L.Ed.2d 245 (1984); Texas v. Mead, 465 U.S. 1041, 1043, 104 S.Ct. 1318, 1320, 79 L.Ed.2d 714 (1984) (REHNQUIST, J., dissenting from denial of certiorari), and because of what seemed to us as more general confusion surrounding the application of Witherspoon, we granted certiorari. 466 U.S. 957, 104 S.Ct. 2168, 80 L.Ed.2d 551. We reverse.
"In trials for murder it shall be a cause for challenge of any juror who shall, on being examined, state that he has conscientious scruples against capital punishment, or that he is opposed to the same." Witherspoon, 391 U.S., at 512, 88 S.Ct., at 1772.
Pursuant to this statute, nearly half the veniremen at Witherspoon's trial were excused for cause because they "expressed qualms about capital punishment." Id., at 513, 88 S.Ct., at 1772. This Court held that under this procedure the jury obtained would not be the impartial jury required by the Sixth Amendment, but rather a jury "uncommonly willing to condemn a man to die." Id., at 521, 88 S.Ct., at 1776. It concluded that "a sentence of death cannot be carried out if the jury that imposed or recommended it was chosen by excluding veniremen for cause simply because they voiced general objections to the death penalty or expressed conscientious or religious scruples against its infliction." Id., at 522, 88 S.Ct., at 1777.
Despite Witherspoon § limited holding, later opinions in this Court and the lower courts have referred to the language in footnote 21, or similar language in Witherspoon § footnote 9, as setting the standard for judging the proper exclusion of a juror opposed to capital punishment. See, e.g., Maxwell v. Bishop, 398 U.S. 262, 265, 90 S.Ct. 1578, 1580, 26 L.Ed.2d 221 (1970); Boulden v. Holman, 394 U.S. 478, 482, 89 S.Ct. 1138, 1140, 22 L.Ed.2d 433 (1969);2 Hackathorn v. Decker, 438 F.2d 1363, 1366 (CA5 1971); People v. Washington, 71 Cal.2d 1061, 1091-1092, 80 Cal.Rptr. 567, 584-585, 458 P.2d 479, 496-497 (1969). Later cases in the lower courts state that a veniremember may be excluded only if he or she would "automatically" vote against the death penalty, and even then this state of mind must be "unambiguous," or "unmistakably clear." See, e.g., Burns v. Estelle, supra, at 398.
But more recent opinions of this Court demonstrate no ritualistic adherence to a requirement that a prospective juror make it "unmistakably clear . . . that [she] would automatically vote against the imposition of capital punishment . . . ." In Lockett v. Ohio, 438 U.S. 586, 595-596, 98 S.Ct. 2954, 2959-2960, 57 L.Ed.2d 973 (1978), prospective capital jurors were asked:
" '[D]o you feel that you could take an oath to well and truely [sic ] try this case . . . and follow the law, or is your conviction so strong that you cannot take an oath, knowing that a possibility exists in regard to capital punishment?' "
We held that the veniremen who answered that they could not "take the oath" were properly excluded. Although the Lockett opinion alluded to the second half of the footnote 21 standard, dealing with a juror's inability to decide impartially a defendant's guilt, the Court did not refer to the "automatically" language. Instead, it simply determined that each of the excluded veniremen had made it " 'unmistakably clear' that they could not be trusted to 'abide by existing law' and 'to follow conscientiously the instructions' of the trial judge." Id., at 596, 98 S.Ct., at 2960.
This Court again examined the Witherspoon standard in Adams v. Texas, 448 U.S. 38, 100 S.Ct. 2521, 65 L.Ed.2d 581 (1980). Adams involved the Texas capital sentencing scheme, wherein jurors were asked to answer three specific questions put by the trial judge. The court was required to impose the death sentence if each question was answered affirmatively. A Texas statute provided that a prospective capital juror " 'shall be disqualified . . . unless he states under oath that the mandatory penalty of death or imprisonment for life will not affect his deliberations on any issue of fact.' " Id., at 42, 100 S.Ct., at 2525. Before deciding whether certain jurors had been properly excluded pursuant to this statute, this Court attempted to discern the proper standard for making such a determination. The Court discussed its prior opinions, noting the Witherspoon Court's recognition, in footnote 21, that States retained a "legitimate interest in obtaining jurors who could follow their instructions and obey their oaths." 448 U.S., at 44, 100 S.Ct., at 2526. The Court concluded:
"This line of cases establishes the general proposition that a juror may not be challenged for cause based on his views about capital punishment unless those views would prevent or substantially impair the performance of his duties as a juror in accordance with his instructions and his oath. The State may insist, however, that jurors will consider and decide the facts impartially and conscientiously apply the law as charged by the court." Id., at 45, 100 S.Ct., at 2526 (emphasis added).
The Court went on to hold that as applied in that case certain veniremen had been improperly excluded under the Texas statute, because their acknowledgment that the possible imposition of the death penalty would or might "affect" their deliberations was meant only to indicate that they would be more emotionally involved or would view their task "with greater seriousness and gravity." Id., at 49, 100 S.Ct., at 2528.3 The Court reasoned that such an "effect" did not demonstrate that the prospective jurors were unwilling or unable to follow the law or obey their oaths.
There is good reason why the Adams test is preferable for determining juror exclusion. First, although given Witherspoon's facts a court applying the general principles of Adams could have arrived at the "automatically" language of Witherspoon's footnote 21, we do not believe that language can be squared with the duties of present-day capital sentencing juries. In Witherspoon the jury was vested with unlimited discretion in choice of sentence. Given this discretion, a juror willing to consider the death penalty arguably was able to "follow the law and abide by his oath" in choosing the "proper" sentence. Nothing more was required. Under this understanding the only veniremembers who could be deemed excludable were those who would never vote for the death sentence or who could not impartially judge guilt.
After our decisions in Furman v. Georgia, 408 U.S. 238, 92 S.Ct. 2726, 33 L.Ed.2d 346 (1972), and Gregg v. Georgia, 428 U.S. 153, 96 S.Ct. 2909, 49 L.Ed.2d 859 (1976), however, sentencing juries could no longer be invested with such discretion. As in the State of Texas, many capital sentencing juries are now asked specific questions, often factual, the answers to which will determine whether death is the appropriate penalty. In such circumstances it does not make sense to require simply that a juror not "automatically" vote against the death penalty; whether or not a venireman might vote for death under certain personal standards, the State still may properly challenge that venireman if he refuses to follow the statutory scheme and truthfully answer the questions put by the trial judge. To hold that Witherspoon requires anything more would be to hold, in the name of the Sixth Amendment right to an impartial jury, that a State must allow a venireman to sit despite the fact that he will be unable to view the case impartially.4
Second, the statements in the Witherspoon footnotes are in any event dicta. The Court's holding focused only on circumstances under which prospective jurors could not be excluded; under Witherspoon's facts it was unnecessary to decide when they could be. This Court has on other occasions similarly rejected language from a footnote as "not controlling." See McDaniel v. Sanchez, 452 U.S. 130, 141, 101 S.Ct. 2224, 2231, 68 L.Ed.2d 724 (1981).
Finally, the Adams standard is proper because it is in accord with traditional reasons for excluding jurors and with the circumstances under which such determinations are made. We begin by reiterating Adams' acknowledgment that "Witherspoon is not a ground for challenging any prospective juror. It is rather a limitation on the State's power to exclude . . . ." Adams v. Texas, 448 U.S., at 47-48, 100 S.Ct., at 2527-2528. Exclusion of jurors opposed to capital punishment began with a recognition that certain of those jurors might frustrate the State's legitimate interest in administering constitutional capital sentencing schemes by not following their oaths. Witherspoon simply held that the State's power to exclude did not extend beyond its interest in removing those particular jurors. But there is nothing talismanic about juror exclusion under Witherspoon merely because it involves capital sentencing juries. Witherspoon is not grounded in the Eighth Amendment's prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment, but in the Sixth Amendment. Here, as elsewhere, the quest is for jurors who will conscientiously apply the law and find the facts. That is what an "impartial" jury consists of, and we do not think, simply because a defendant is being tried for a capital crime, that he is entitled to a legal presumption or standard that allows jurors to be seated who quite likely will be biased in his favor.
As with any other trial situation where an adversary wishes to exclude a juror because of bias, then, it is the adversary seeking exclusion who must demonstrate, through questioning, that the potential juror lacks impartiality. See Reynolds v. United States, 98 U.S. 145, 157, 25 L.Ed. 244 (1879). It is then the trial judge's duty to determine whether the challenge is proper. This is, of course, the standard and procedure outlined in Adams, but it is equally true of any situation where a party seeks to exclude a biased juror. See, e.g., Patton v. Yount, 467 U.S. 1025, 1036, 104 S.Ct. 2885, 2891, 81 L.Ed.2d 847 (1984) (where a criminal defendant sought to excuse a juror for cause and the trial judge refused, the question was simply "did [the] juror swear that he could set aside any opinion he might hold and decide the case on the evidence, and should the juror's protestations of impartiality have been believed").
We therefore take this opportunity to clarify our decision in Witherspoon, and to reaffirm the above-quoted standard from Adams as the proper standard for determining when a prospective juror may be excluded for cause because of his or her views on capital punishment. That standard is whether the juror's views would "prevent or substantially impair the performance of his duties as a juror in accordance with his instructions and his oath."5 We note that, in addition to dispensing with Witherspoon's reference to "automatic" decisionmaking, this standard likewise does not require that a juror's bias be proved with "unmistakable clarity." This is because determinations of juror bias cannot be reduced to question-and-answer sessions which obtain results in the manner of a catechism. What common sense should have realized experience has proved: many veniremen simply cannot be asked enough questions to reach the point where their bias has been made "unmistakably clear"; these veniremen may not know how they will react when faced with imposing the death sentence, or may be unable to articulate, or may wish to hide their true feelings.6 Despite this lack of clarity in the printed record, however, there will be situations where the trial judge is left with the definite impression that a prospective juror would be unable to faithfully and impartially apply the law. For reasons that will be developed more fully infra, this is why deference must be paid to the trial judge who sees and hears the juror.
Given this standard, it is clear that the Court of Appeals below erred at least in part; the court focused unduly on the lack of clarity of the questioning of venireman Colby, and on whether her answers indicated that she would "automatically" vote against the death penalty. Since there are portions of the Court of Appeals' opinion that suggest that its result could be squared with Adams, however, we proceed to discuss another very important question in the administration of Witherspoon challenges—the degree of deference that a federal habeas court must pay to a state trial judge's determination of bias.
This case arises from respondent's petition for habeas corpus under 28 U.S.C. § 2254, and therefore a federal reviewing court is required to accord any findings of the state courts on "factual issues" a "presumption of correctness" under 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d).7 Although the District Court relied on this section and accorded deference to the state trial judge's finding of bias, Witt v. Wainwright, No. 80-545-CIV-T-GC (MD Fla., May 14, 1981), the Court of Appeals did not decide whether this finding was subject to the presumption because in its opinion the facts of the case required reversal of the sentence "under even the least rigorous standard of appellate review." 714 F.2d, at 1083, n. 10. The court did note confusion over whether § 2254(d) applies to a Witherspoon finding, however, and subsequently the Eleventh Circuit adopted the position that such a finding was a "mixed question of law and fact" not subject to the section. See Darden v. Wainwright, 725 F.2d, at 1528-1530.
This Court has recently decided several cases dealing with the scope of the § 2254(d) presumption. See, e.g., Patton v. Yount, 467 U.S. 1025, 104 S.Ct. 2885, 81 L.Ed.2d 847 (1984); Rushen v. Spain, 464 U.S. 114, 104 S.Ct. 453, 78 L.Ed.2d 267 (1983); Marshall v. Lonberger, 459 U.S. 422, 103 S.Ct. 843, 74 L.Ed.2d 646 (1983); Sumner v. Mata, 455 U.S. 591, 102 S.Ct. 1303, 71 L.Ed.2d 480 (1982) (Sumner II ); Sumner v. Mata, 449 U.S. 539, 101 S.Ct. 764, 66 L.Ed.2d 722 (1981) (Sumner I ). These cases have emphasized that state-court findings of fact are to be accorded the presumption of correctness. See Sumner II, supra, 455 U.S., at 597, n. 10, 102 S.Ct., at 1307, n. 10; Cuyler v. Sullivan, 446 U.S. 335, 342, 100 S.Ct. 1708, 1715, 64 L.Ed.2d 333 (1980).8 Last Term, in Patton, supra, we held that a trial judge's finding that a particular venireman was not biased and therefore was properly seated was a finding of fact subject to § 2254(d). We noted that the question whether a venireman is biased has traditionally been determined through voir dire culminating in a finding by the trial judge concerning the venireman's state of mind. We also noted that such a finding is based upon determinations of demeanor and credibility that are peculiarly within a trial judge's province.9 Such determinations were entitled to deference even on direct review; "[t]he respect paid such findings in a habeas proceeding certainly should be no less." Id., 467 U.S., at 1038, 104 S.Ct., at 2892.10
Patton's holding applies equally well to a trial court's determination that a prospective capital sentencing juror was properly excluded for cause. In Darden v. Wainwright, supra, at 1529, the Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit reached a contrary conclusion because it viewed the exclusion of jurors under Witherspoon as a "mixed question of law and fact." But the Darden court reached its conclusion because it labored under the misapprehension that the standard for determining exclusion was that found in Witherspoon's footnote 21—which imposed "a strict legal standard" and "a very high standard of proof." 725 F.2d, at 1528. Given this rather complex law, the court reasoned, a prospective juror's answers would not alone decide the issues; the trial judge must still interpret them in light of the legal standard. Since the trial court's function was application of law to fact, the determination was subject to independent review.
It will not always be easy to separate questions of "fact" from "mixed questions of law and fact" for § 2254(d) purposes, cf. Patton, supra, 467 U.S., at 1037, n. 12, 104 S.Ct., at 2892, n. 12. But it is nevertheless clear, based on the foregoing discussion concerning the standard for exclusion, that reasoning such as that found in Darden is destined for the same end as the footnote upon which it is based. Once it is recognized that excluding prospective capital sentencing jurors because of their opposition to capital punishment is no different from excluding jurors for innumerable other reasons which result in bias, Patton must control. The trial judge is of course applying some kind of legal standard to what he sees and hears, but his predominant function in determining juror bias involves credibility findings whose basis cannot be easily discerned from an appellate record. These are the "factual issues" that are subject to § 2254(d).
In so holding, we in no way denigrate the importance of an impartial jury. We reiterate what this Court stressed in Dennis v. United States, 339 U.S. 162, 168, 70 S.Ct. 519, 521, 94 L.Ed. 734 (1950): "[T]he trial court has a serious duty to determine the question of actual bias, and a broad discretion in its rulings on challenges therefor. . . . In exercising its discretion, the trial court must be zealous to protect the rights of an accused."
Turning to the facts, we conclude that juror Colby was properly excused for cause. Applying the analysis required by § 2254(d), we have already determined that the question of challenge for bias is a "factual issue" covered by the section. Nor does respondent seriously urge that the trial court's decision to excuse juror Colby for bias was not a "determination after a hearing on the merits." Respondent does argue, however, that this conclusion was not "evidenced by a written finding, written opinion, or other reliable and adequate written indicia . . . ." We disagree.
Our conclusion is strengthened by a review of available alternatives. We decline to require the judge to write out in a separate memorandum his specific findings on each juror excused. A trial judge's job is difficult enough without senseless make-work. Nor do we think under the circumstances that the judge was required to announce for the record his conclusion that juror Colby was biased, or his reasoning. The finding is evident from the record. See Marshall v. Lonberger, 459 U.S., at 433, 103 S.Ct., at 850. In this regard it is noteworthy that in this case the court was given no reason to think that elaboration was necessary; defense counsel did not see fit to object to juror Colby's recusal, or to attempt rehabilitation.11
The finding of the trial judge is therefore "presumed correct" unless one of the enumerated reasons for avoiding the presumption is present here. Respondent does not suggest that paragraphs 1 through 7 are applicable; he must therefore rest his case on the exception in paragraph 8—that the finding of bias is "not fairly supported" by the record viewed "as a whole." Resp