Opinion ID: 1699278
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 8

Heading: Jury selection: Challenges for cause

Text: Defendant claims the trial court erred when it denied his challenges for cause to three jurors based on their inability to adjudicate his guilt based on the evidence presented at trial and/or their predisposition to impose the death penalty. Prejudice is presumed when a trial court erroneously denies a challenge for cause and the defendant has exhausted his peremptory challenges. An erroneous ruling depriving an accused of a peremptory challenge violates his substantial rights and constitutes reversible error. State v. Cross, 93-1189 (La.6/30/95), 658 So.2d 683, 686; Bourque, 622 So.2d at 225. [18] A trial court is vested with broad discretion in ruling on challenges for cause, and these rulings will be reversed only when a review of the voir dire record as a whole reveals an abuse of discretion. Cross, 658 So.2d at 686-87; State v. Robertson, 92-2660 (La.1/24/94), 630 So.2d 1278, 1281. A trial judge's refusal to excuse a prospective juror for cause is not an abuse of discretion notwithstanding that the juror has voiced an opinion seemingly prejudicial to the defense, when subsequently, on further inquiry or instruction, he has demonstrated a willingness and ability to decide the case impartially according to the law and evidence. Id.; Cross, 658 So.2d at 686-687. In this case, defendant exhausted his peremptory challenges and thus the only issue before us is whether the trial court erred when it denied his challenges for cause. A. Michael Hinderberger. Defendant claims the trial court should have excused Michael Hinderberger for cause based on his employment in law enforcement and his relationship with Mr. Pittman, one of the State's attorneys prosecuting him. [19] LA.CODE CRIM. PROC. ANN. art. 797 provides, in pertinent part, that the defendant may challenge a juror for cause on the grounds that: (2) The juror is not impartial, whatever the cause of his impartiality. An opinion or impression as to the guilt or innocence of the defendant shall not of itself be sufficient ground of challenge to a juror, if he declares, and the court is satisfied, that he can render an impartial verdict according to the law and the evidence; (3) The relationship, whether by blood, marriage, employment, friendship, or enmity between the juror and the defendant, the person injured by the offense, the district attorney, or defense counsel, is such that it is reasonable to conclude that it would influence the juror in arriving at a verdict. Even where a prospective juror's affiliations raise an issue regarding his ability to be impartial, if, after voir dire examination, the trial court is satisfied the prospective juror can render an impartial verdict according to the law and evidence, it is the trial court's duty to deny defendant's challenge for cause. State v. Timon, 28,747 (La.App. 2 Cir. 10/30/96), 683 So.2d 315, writ denied, 96-2880 (La.4/25/97), 692 So.2d 1081. A juror's association with law enforcement agencies or personnel will not alone disqualify him from service. State v. Loyd, 35,637 (La.App. 2 Cir. 2/27/02), 810 So.2d 1214, 1223, writ denied, 02-1159 (La.4/21/03), 841 So.2d 779. The fact that a prospective juror is friends with, or related to, law enforcement officials or the district attorney is not grounds for automatic exclusion for cause. Connolly, 700 So.2d at 818. A cause challenge should be granted when the juror's responses as a whole reveal facts from which bias, prejudice, or inability to render a fair judgment may be reasonably inferred. State v. Jones, 474 So.2d 919, 926 (La.1985), cert. denied, 476 U.S. 1178, 106 S.Ct. 2906, 90 L.Ed.2d 992 (1986). Looking more particularly at the suitability of an actively employed law enforcement officer as a criminal juror, this Court's jurisprudence shows an interesting history. In State v. Simmons, 390 So.2d, 1317, 1318 (La.1980), this Court broadly held that an actively employed criminal deputy sheriff is not a competent criminal juror. The Simmons court further noted that ... [t]he guarantee of an impartial trial in Article 1, Section 16 of the Louisiana Constitution of 1974 is offended by the presence on a jury of a badge-wearing law enforcement officer. Simmons, 390 So.2d at 1318. Following Simmons, however, courts of appeal limited its holding and carved out exceptions for law enforcement personnel not actively engaged in the field in making arrests and enforcing the law. See e.g. State v. Valentine, 464 So.2d 1091, 1095 (La.App. 1 Cir.), writ denied, 468 So.2d 572 (La.1985)(correctional officer for DOC in St. Gabriel Prison for Women not incompetent to serve although she also had four first cousins who worked for the sheriff in East Baton Rouge Parish); State v. Henderson, 566 So.2d 1098, 1103-1104 (La.App. 2 Cir.1990) (field sergeant at Wade Correctional Institute was competent to serve). Ultimately, in State v. Ballard, 98-2198 (La.10/19/99), 747 So.2d 1077, we unanimously overruled Simmons, holding that if a law enforcement officer indicates during voir dire that he can be an impartial juror, the trial court has the discretion to determine whether or not a cause challenge is warranted. In the present case, Hinderberger testified on direct examination during voir dire that he could decide the case based on the evidence presented at trial. However, he then stated he knew several of the witnesses based on his employment as an officer with the Shreveport Police Department. Hinderberger initially indicated that because of his employment, he might find the testimony of a police officer more credible than that of a lay witness, but later stated he knew from personal experience that law enforcement personnel could be mistaken and accordingly, he wouldn't be inclined to believe them any more than any other witness. (R., vol.VIII, p.1900). He also advised the trial court that he could set aside any relationship with these individuals and base his decision on defendant's guilt or innocence on the evidence presented. Finally, he stated he had not spoken to any of the witnesses about the facts of the case and that he could remain impartial. On cross-examination, Hinderberger stated he had worked with the prosecuting attorney on a vehicular homicide case in Caddo Parish three or four years earlier. He admitted he was not currently working with the prosecuting attorney and had no present contact with him. He also answered affirmatively when asked whether it was possible other jurors would emphasize his discussion in the jury room and that he would be able to assert undue influence on the other jurors in this case as a result of his employment as a police officer. (R., vol.XIII, p.1940). Defendant challenged Hinderberger for cause based on his employment as a police officer investigating violent crimes and his relationship with the prosecutor. The trial court denied the challenge, stating: [T]he fact that he is a police officer is not grounds for challenge for cause. The only challenge for cause would be to show that he could not be fair and impartial ... because of his relationship with Mr. Pitman  I specifically asked him a follow-up question and he said he had no personal relationship with Mr. Pitman, that they had worked on one case at one time together and that [he] could be fair and impartial. And I believe that to be true, and that challenge for cause was [sic] denied. (R., vol.IX, p.2072). Considering the well established jurisprudence on this issue, it is now clear that the fitness of a prospective juror, including an actively employed law enforcement officer, should rightly be determined on a case-by-case basis after consideration of the grounds to support a challenge for cause set forth in LA.CODE CRIM. PROC. ANN. art. 797. Ballard, 747 So.2d at 1080. Here, there is no indication that Hindenberger as a police officer employed by the Shreveport Police Department had a sufficiently close relationship either with the District Attorney's office in Bossier Parish or with law enforcement agents in that parish to suggest that the officer might not be fair and impartial. While Officer Hindenberger had worked four or five years earlier on a case with the Assistant District Attorney and stated he knew three of the State's witnesses through his employment with a law enforcement agency in a neighboring parish, he also candidly admitted to the trial court he could be fair and impartial in the present case. After reviewing the record of Hindenberger's voir dire examination, we find no abuse of discretion has been shown in the trial court's analysis and appraisal of the prospective juror's testimony and in denying defendant's challenge for cause. [20] This argument lacks merit. B. Jason Roshto. Next, defendant claims the trial court should have granted his cause challenge to prospective juror Jason Roshto because at the time of defendant's trial he was on probation for domestic battery and had a pending charge for DWI in Bossier City. Defendant argues that given the tenuous status of Roshto's own freedom from incarceration as a result of the pending charge and his probationary status, Roshto was likely to align himself with the prosecution's case to ingratiate himself with the State. During voir dire examination, the juror admitted he had previously pled guilty to DWI, was currently on probation for simple domestic battery, and had a second DWI charge pending against him. The juror also stated his grandfather had served some years in prison for cultivating marijuana. When asked on cross-examination whether he would bargain with the pending charge, Roshto and defense counsel engaged in the following colloquy: Q: But you're ... hoping for a plea bargain on your DWI case when you ... go to court? A: I'm not  not exactly a bargain, just to get the  whatever sentence might be lessened a little bit. Q: Some leniency? A: Yes. That's the reason I'm paying a lawyer. (R., vol.XII, p. 2904). Counsel for defendant challenged Roshto for cause, arguing: He has a pending DWI and he is expecting leniency, hoping for a lesser sentence. He will be prosecuted by the  the powers in Bossier for that and that may be something that would be on his mind when he goes to court. So his expectations of leniency would, in my opinion be a challenge for cause. (R., vol.XII, pp. 2905-06). The State responded that the municipal authority in Bossier City, not the District Attorney's Office for Bossier Parish, would prosecute Roshto and that he had no authority over the city attorney's office. (R., vol.XII, p. 2906). Ultimately, the trial court allowed defendant to recall Roshto and when defense counsel asked point-blank whether he expected leniency for his pending charges if the jury returned a guilty verdict and/or imposed the death penalty, he responded, It had never crossed my mind until you just brought it up. (R., vol.XII, p. 2911). Later, Roshto explained he hired an attorney before he had even been summoned for jury duty and that he wouldn't expect the [c]ity or the [s]tate to get together to try to help me out because I'm expecting my lawyer to do that with the [c]ity or whoever for me. (R., vol.XII, p. 2912). In the end, the trial court reseated Roshto on the venire and he served as a juror in the case. Although the prospective juror stated unequivocally he did not expect any favorable treatment from the State in exchange for his service, defendant nonetheless maintains that after the issue had been raised ..., there could be little question that the seed of temptation for such an exchange was firmly planted in Roshto's mind.... Brief for Appellant, p. 25. Accordingly, comparing Roshto's predicament to that of a State witness, defendant claims the trial court erred when it denied his challenge for cause. Cf. State v. Williams, 02-1406 (La.4/9/03), 844 So.2d 832, 835 (per curiam) ([w]itness's bias or interest may arise from arrests or pending criminal charges, or the prospect of prosecution, even when he has made no agreements with the state regarding his conduct.). We find the trial court did not abuse its discretion when it denied the cause challenge. The juror stated he did not expect leniency on the pending DWI charge in exchange for his service on the jury and he appeared to have no prior relationship with the district attorneys prosecuting the case. Notably in situations in which prospective jurors have given the appearance of being more indebted to the State, this Court has held the trial judge did not err when denying the defense challenges for cause. See e.g., Bourque, 622 So.2d at 229 (no abuse of discretion when trial court denied challenge for cause to juror previously charged with petty theft and who agreed that district attorney had done him a favor by allowing him to pay a fine rather than risk jail time); State v. Lee, 559 So.2d 1310, 1317 (La.1990) (fact that juror had previously hired district attorney on unrelated legal matter and stated that he might do so in the future insufficient basis to grant challenge for cause absent a showing that relationship with prosecutor would influence his deliberations). This claim lacks merit. C. Debra Pijanowski. Finally, defendant claims the trial court erred when it denied his challenge for cause to prospective juror Debra Pijanowski. [21] Pijanowski stated she was the daughter of a retired Bossier City policeman; had recently graduated with a bachelor's degree in natural sciences; and had spent two years conducting DNA investigative work and analysis. She also indicated she had divorced in 1982 from a physically abusive husband who drank a lot. After Pijanowski stated she could consider both life imprisonment and the death penalty as punishments for first-degree murder, defense counsel sought to probe further about her views on capital punishment and she responded, You know, I think we have the death penalty as law to use as a deterrent so that people don't act like wild animals. Obviously, people still act like wild animals today. But it's part of the law and I would consider it. It's  It's in the law. (R., vol.X, pp. 2449-50). Defendant challenged the juror on several grounds, arguing: She indicated that her father was a retired Bossier City Police Officer after twenty years. She had also had a husband who drank a lot and was abusive to her and that we thought she might not be able to properly and adequately consider the mitigating circumstance, intoxication. And then she had also during her questioning referred to defendants and murder cases or some cases as wild animals. (R., vol.XI, pp. 2700-01). The trial court denied the challenge, stating: [T]he fact that somebody is the victim of a crime does not necessarily exclude them. This is not a situation of someone abusing his wife. She testified under oath that she could consider those. I believed her. I thought she was open and honest. She may be a little radical in some of her beliefs, but she's entitled to those beliefs and did not, in my opinion rise to a level that would allow her to be determined to be impartial [sic], and for that reason the challenge for cause was [sic] denied. (R., vol.XI, p. 2701). Defendant fails to show any abuse of discretion under LA.CODE CRIM. PROC. ANN. art. 797. Pijanowski stated that despite her father's former employment in law enforcement, she would not impute a greater weight to a police officer's testimony than that provided by a lay witness. Whatever expertise the juror possessed in DNA analysis and testing similarly does not provide any basis for her removal for cause. Because of Pijanowski's experience with an abusive alcoholic ex-husband some 20 years before defendant's trial, the prospective juror stated she would consider a defendant's intoxicated state as a mitigating factor. As to Pijanowski's purported predisposition to vote for the death penalty, the proper standard for determining when a prospective juror may be excluded for cause because of the juror's 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. Wainwright v. Witt, 469 U.S. 412, 424, 105 S.Ct. 844, 83 L.Ed.2d 841, (1985); State v. Sullivan, 596 So.2d 177 (La.1992), rev'd. on other grounds sub nom. Sullivan v. Louisiana, 508 U.S. 275, 113 S.Ct. 2078, 124 L.Ed.2d 182(1993). The basis of the exclusion under LA.CODE CRIM. PROC. ANN. art. 798(2)(a)and (b), which incorporate the standard of Witherspoon v. Illinois, 391 U.S. 510, 88 S.Ct. 1770, 20 L.Ed.2d 776(1968), as clarified by Witt, is that the juror would either automatically vote against the imposition of capital punishment without regard to any evidence that might be developed at the trial of the case before him ..., or that the juror's attitudes towards the death penalty would prevent or substantially impair him from making an impartial decision ... in accordance with his instructions and his oath.... In a reverse- Witherspoon  context, the basis of the exclusion is that the juror will not consider a life sentence and ... will automatically vote for the death penalty under the factual circumstances of the case before him.... State v. Robertson, 630 So.2d at 1284. [22] If a prospective juror's inclination toward the death penalty would substantially impair the performance of the juror's duties, a challenge for cause is warranted. State v. Ross, 623 So.2d 643, 644 (La.1993). Our careful review of the record shows that although Pijanowski stated she was glad the death penalty was an option in certain cases, she steadfastly maintained she would not be predisposed to voting for either life imprisonment or death until she considered the facts of the case. Accordingly, the trial court did not abuse its discretion when it denied the defense challenge for cause. This argument lacks merit.