Opinion ID: 1133490
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: House Received a Fair Trial

Text: {104} The importance of cultural evidence to House's defense does indicate the potential for prejudice in a venue whose jurors might be insensitive to Native American culture. However, House has not offered any evidence of actual, presumed, or probable prejudiceâ nor even the appearance of prejudiceâ during the third trial in Doņa Ana County. The dearth of any evidence in the record that House received an unfair trial, more than any other factor, persuades us that the Court of Appeals should be reversed and the trial court affirmed. {105} House offered no evidence that the petit jury selection process in his third trial was anything but proper. He did not contend that the prosecution used peremptory challenges to impermissibly distort the racial composition of the petit jury. If House were to challenge, on equal-protection grounds, the racial fairness of the petit jury selection process, he would have had to establish a prima facie case that potential jurors were excluded from the jury for reasons of race. Cf. Aragon, 109 N.M. at 198, 784 P.2d at 17 (discussing exclusion of jurors of defendant's race). We note that equal protection in this context does not necessarily turn on the race of the defendant. See Georgia v. McCollum, 505 U.S. 42, 48-55, 112 S.Ct. 2348, 120 L.Ed.2d 33 (1992) (concluding that a defendant's discriminatory exercise of a peremptory challenge is a violation of equal protection). Our cases list several indicia that circumstantially demonstrate purposeful exclusion by the State. Aragon, 109 N.M. at 200, 784 P.2d at 19 (listing such factors as `disproportionate number of peremptories against' a racial group (quoting Fields v. People, 732 P.2d 1145, 1156 (Colo.1987))). House brought no such challenge to the selection of the jury in Doņa Ana County. {106} Moreover, House offered no proof that he was tried before a biased jury in Doņa Ana County. He presented no evidence that any of the jurors who actually heard the case were in any way tainted by publicity, fixed opinions, racial prejudice, or any other factor that would bring the fairness of his trial into question. Cf. Shawan, 77 N.M. at 357-58, 423 P.2d at 42 (describing jurors who had been influenced by prejudicial publicity). {107} Similarly, House attempted to make no prima facie case that would show that the venire was unconstitutionally selected. If House were to bring a prima facie equal-protection challenge to the racial composition of the venire, he would have to prove the degree of under representation [of a particular racial group] by comparing the proportion of the group in the total population to the proportion called to serve as . . . jurors, over a significant period of time. Castaneda v. Partida, 430 U.S. 482, 494, 97 S.Ct. 1272, 51 L.Ed.2d 498 (1977). He would then need to support the presumption raised by the statistical evidence with evidence of a selection procedure that is susceptible of abuse or is not racially neutral. Id. [A] factual inquiry is necessary in each case that takes into account all possible explanatory factors. Alexander v. Louisiana, 405 U.S. 625, 630, 92 S.Ct. 1221, 31 L.Ed.2d 536 (1972). House made no such challenge. In fact, though Doņa Ana County has a Native American population of 0. 8%, Native Americans comprised 4.42% of the jury pool in the third trial. {108} Though House emphasizes that a small number of Native Americans lived in Doņa Ana County, he offers no evidence that Doņa Ana County was an unfair venue in which to try this case. He never suggests that the people of that community, as reflected by the opinions of prospective jurors in voir dire, had such fixed opinions about this case that the jurors were incapable of laying aside their preconceived notions and basing their judgment exclusively on the evidence presented at trial. In other words, he makes no showing of actual prejudice. Similarly, he offers no evidence of the kind of presumed prejudice that rendered Taos County an unfair venue in this case. If anything, the trial court offered strong evidence to the contrary, showing that there was no inundation in the community of inflammatory publicity that would give reason to presume that the trial would be unfair. We conclude, based upon exhaustive examination of the record, that House did receive a fair trial in Doņa Ana County. {109} The trial court diligently sought a fair venue in which to hold the third trial. Judge Blackmer, in examining the various venues proffered by the parties, attempted to balance the demographic composition of the community with the amount of prejudicial publicity to which the citizens had been exposed. The trial court noted that the television stations in Albuquerque had, more than any other television market, given the House case extensive and inflammatory coverage. Doņa Ana County was among those New Mexico counties that receive little coverage from Albuquerque broadcasters. See Venue Order, slip op. at 11-12 (Finding of Fact 17(A)). The trial court drew similar conclusions about the limited influence of Albuquerque radio and newspaper coverage on Doņa Ana County. See Id. at 13-14 (Findings of Fact 17(B)-(C)). {110} In Doņa Ana County the trial court conducted extensive voir dire that included questions about pre-trial publicity and inquiry about racial attitudes. The trial court granted all but one of House's challenges for cause. House struck from the panel two of the jurors who identified themselves as Native Americans. House has offered no evidence that any of the prosecution's challenges involved the ethnicity of any juror. House did not object to the racial composition of the jury that was eventually seated. See United States v. Morales, 815 F.2d 725, 732-34 (1st Cir.1987) (describing, in sensational case in small community, exhaustive voir dire of nearly 200 potential jurors which lasted 17 days and concluding that the record shows jury was impartial). The trial court's determination as to the impartiality of jurors may be set aside only for manifest error. Id. at 733. There is no evidence in the record that the trial court's decision departed from the dictates of law, caution, and prudence. Alaniz, 55 N.M. at 318, 232 P.2d at 985. {111} Trial courts have not only the duty to insure a fair trial, but also significant power to take precautions when prejudice threatens to deny the defendant an impartial jury. See Martin v. Beto, 397 F.2d at 749. The court can fulfill this duty by such measures as beginning the trial after prejudicial publicity has dissipated, conducting rigorous voir dire directed at exposing prejudice in the community, and changing venue to a community that has little awareness of the case. See id. (listing steps court can take to insure fair trial); Mu'Min, 500 U.S. at 424, 111 S.Ct. 1899 ([T]he trial court retains great latitude in deciding what questions should be asked on voir dire. ). House fails to show any abuse of discretion in the trial court's efforts to insure a fair trial.