Opinion ID: 2618245
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 41

Heading: Newspaper Articles

Text: Shortly after the jurors and alternates were sworn, three newspaper articles were published referring to cases and jury selections. A Los Angeles Times article assertedly made the following comment: For example, Judge Robert D. Fratianne is now entering the sixth week of jury selection for a Van Nuys trial of three men accused of two murders nearly two years ago. Fratianne started with 300 jurors. 180 have been eliminated. The judge has personally questioned 120 jurors, but the trial is perhaps a month away. Fratianne is convinced at least two or three weeks could be shaved off lengthy trials if the jury selection process is reformed. [¶] `But you still have to take into account the overall picture of due process and a fair trial,' Fratianne said. `In deference to the prosecution and the defense, you have to give them a chance to make sure the jury is composed of rational jurors.' In addition, the jurors and attorneys were apparently aware of two articles that appeared in the Los Angeles Daily News. [24] Both articles present the opinion of several commentators that court reform was necessary, although neither article refers to defendants' trial or crime. Significantly, Judge Fratianne, the judge presiding over defendants' trial, is quoted in the first article. It reads: `Even with the number of problems and the magnitude of the problems, in the long run justice is done,' said Judge Robert D. Fratianne of Van Nuys Superior Court. `And, that's the problem. It would be better if justice were done in the short run. [¶] But the problems are not insurmountable,' Fratianne said. In addition, Judge Fratianne's picture appears in the first article. The second article does not quote Judge Fratianne or refer to defendants' trial. The trial judge explained that he was led to believe that his remarks would not be published for six months. Moreover, he stated without contradiction that he did not mention anything to reporters about the present trial, which was then pending. The judge then conducted a voir dire of the jury and discovered that 10 of 12 jurors (and all 6 of the alternate jurors) had either read or had heard of the articles. Three jurors expressed general concerns that the judicial system was too slow. Defense counsel moved for a mistrial due to juror misconduct, for removal of one of the jurors for cause, and for dismissal due to the alleged politicization of the criminal justice system by the district attorney's office. All the motions were denied. One prospective alternate (Katz) was then challenged peremptorily, apparently due to her having read the article in question. (49) It is well settled that it is misconduct for a juror to read newspaper accounts of a case on which he is sitting. ( People v. Holloway, supra, 50 Cal.3d at p. 1108.) It is equally well settled that such juror misconduct raises a presumption of prejudice that may be rebutted by proof that no prejudice actually resulted. ( Ibid. ) (50) Such is the case here. None of the newspaper articles in question contained accounts of defendants' trial, nor anything else of a prejudicial nature. At most, the articles presented generalized arguments concerning the criminal justice system as a whole. We conclude that even if we assume a presumption of prejudice arose, it was amply rebutted by the evidence. Accordingly, we find the actions of the jurors did not violate defendants' rights under the Sixth, Eighth, and Fourteenth Amendments to the federal Constitution. Because there is no evidence in the record that Judge Fratianne spoke to reporters about defendants' case, we similarly reject the claim that we must reverse the judgment for judicial misconduct. (See Cal. Code Jud. Conduct, canon 3A(6) [judges prohibited from commenting on pending cases, but not prohibited from explaining for public information the procedures of the court].)