Opinion ID: 170276
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Dual juries and cross-examination

Text: Mr. Brown next argues that the implementation of the dual jury mechanism prejudiced his defense by stifling effective cross-examination and creating a conflict of interest in defense counsel's representation of him at trial. For example, to the extent Mr. Brown and Mr. Wilson maintained antagonistic defenses, his counsel had to seek permission to remove Mr. Wilson's jury from the courtroom. Similarly, in his questioning, Mr. Brown's counsel was required to take extra precautions not imposed upon most defendants. He needed to prepare his case jointly and thus presented Mr. Brown's defense with a potentially less effective strategy, so as to avoid the courtroom disruptions that would have resulted from the removal of Mr. Wilson's jury. There is little doubt, he argues, that the physical uprooting of the jury at too many turns would only impress upon the exiting jury that something was amiss. The trial court recognized that counsel would have to work a little harder. Brown, 989 P.2d at 921. It instructed the juries that each would at times leave the courtroom, and that they could not attempt to draw any inference, or come to any conclusions, or guess at what evidence may be presented or is being presented at the time when [it was] outside of the courtroom. Id. at 921-22. Based largely on these cautionary instructions, the OCCA concluded that the dual system did not prejudice Mr. Brown. In our view, the OCCA's rejection of Mr. Brown's challenge to the use of dual juries was not an unreasonable application of federal law. The trial court was careful and meticulous in its instructions. The OCCA plausibly reasoned that the trial court's instructions to the juries about leaving the courtroom adequately resolved concerns about the prejudicial effects of the practice. Similarly, as the OCCA reasoned, counsel could diffuse any conflict of interest he encountered by informing the judge when his questions might lead to answers that would not be admissible in the codefendant's trial. And, in the end, counsel could object. We acknowledge that counsel had to be more prepared, anticipating, the impact of certain lines of questioning. Thus, the dual jury system may well impose unique burdens upon defense counsel not typically present in a criminal jury trial. Here, however, Mr. Brown does not point to specific instances where he was prejudiced, nor has our review of the record revealed any.