Opinion ID: 2613515
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Failure to Submit Questionnaire to Jurors

Text: Defendant separately claims that the trial judge's failure to use his questionnaire precluded defendant from determining the jurors' prejudices and, consequently, denied defendant the right to intelligently exercise his peremptory challenges and challenges for cause. We believe this issue is also waived for failure to make a specific contemporaneous objection, but it is, in any event, meritless. Defendant has not shown that the judge's failure to submit his questionnaire to the jury resulted in a biased jury or rendered his trial fundamentally unfair. See State v. Walden, 183 Ariz. 595, 608, 905 P.2d 974, 987 (1995), cert. denied, ___ U.S. ___, 116 S.Ct. 1444, 134 L.Ed.2d 564 (1996). Defendant offers no evidence of bias or prejudice of the jurors, but merely argues that we cannot be sure that racial animus did not tip the scales. Defendant further contends that if race had been considered during voir dire, a juror with strong racial feelings could have raised his or her hand to indicate potential bias or prejudice. However, this speculation is insufficient to meet defendant's burden of proving that he was not provided a fair and impartial jury. See id.; State v. Blackhoop, 162 Ariz. 121, 122, 781 P.2d 599, 600 (1989); State v. Arnett, 119 Ariz. 38, 50, 579 P.2d 542, 554 (1978). Defendant cites to the recently amended Rule 18.5(d), [6] Ariz. R.Crim. P. Although the rule refers to jury questionnaires, it does not, in any way, require the submission of such questionnaires. The extent of voir dire examination is left to the sound discretion of the trial court. State v. Murray, 162 Ariz. 211, 214, 782 P.2d 329, 332 (App. 1989); Smith, 114 Ariz. at 418, 561 P.2d at 742. After reviewing the transcript of the jury voir dire examination and the proposed questionnaire, we find that the trial judge did not abuse his discretion by not submitting the questionnaire to the jury.