Opinion ID: 1925281
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Waiver of the Statutory Right to a Citizen Jury

Text: Because we hold that the right to a jury composed of U.S. citizens is of a statutory, rather than constitutional, dimension, we consider whether Owens waived this right under applicable standards. Cubbage v. State, 304 Md. 237, 241, 498 A.2d 632, 634-35 (1985) (Just as constitutional rights may be waived, so may nonconstitutional rights be waived.). As opposed to waiver of a constitutional right, which ordinarily must meet more stringent standards, [41] a statutory right may be deemed waived by a lesser showing. Generally, most rights, whether constitutional, statutory or common-law, may be waived by inaction or failure to adhere to legitimate procedural requirements. State v. Rose, 345 Md. 238, 248, 691 A.2d 1314, 1319 (1997). In the case of the statutory right to a citizen jury, there exist three levels of screening to preserve that right. Boyd, 341 Md. at 441, 671 A.2d at 38 (Maryland courts screen juror qualifications on at least three levels: a statutorily-required qualification form, appearance before the jury judge or commissioner at the courthouse, and the trial judge's observance of each juror during the voir dire. ). In the event that the court's internally-administered means of automatically disqualifying prospective jurors has failed to eliminate a disqualified juror, [42] we have recognized the voir dire process as a proper procedural occasion to verify juror qualifications. Williams v. State, 394 Md. 98, 112, 904 A.2d 534, 542 (2006) ([V]oir dire is the mechanism by which we give substance to the constitutional guarantee to criminal defendants of a fair and impartial jury trial.); see Jenkins v. State, 375 Md. 284, 331, 825 A.2d 1008, 1035 (2003); Dingle v. State, 361 Md. 1, 9, 759 A.2d 819, 823 (2000) (citing Boyd, 341 Md. at 435, 671 A.2d at 35, Grogg v. State, 231 Md. 530, 532, 191 A.2d 435, 436 (1963), Hill v. State, 339 Md. 275, 280, 661 A.2d 1164, 1166 (1995), and Bedford v. State, 317 Md. 659, 670, 566 A.2d 111, 116 (1989)). Thus, a defendant's failure to pursue the opportunity to question prospective jurors as to citizenship during voir dire constitutes a waiver of the statutory means of protecting the right to a citizen jury. See Hunt v. State, 345 Md. 122, 144, 691 A.2d 1255, 1265-66 (1997) (construing Cts. & Jud. Proc.  8-211) (holding that if a party fails to pose a challenge to a potential juror after voir dire, that party has lost the statutory remedy and must labor under constitutional or common law principles.). The record in this case reveals that Owens did not propose any questions for the judge to ask of the venire regarding the citizenship status of the potential jurors, including the non-citizen, Alade. Owens argues, however, that his request for such a voir dire question would have been futile because our precedent in Boyd leaves it to the discretion of the trial court whether actually to put the question to the venire. In Boyd, the Court reviewed two consolidated appeals raising the issue of whether it was an abuse of discretion for a trial judge to refuse to ask the venire a voir dire question seeking to discover any potential jurors with physical infirmities that may compromise their ability to serve. 341 Md. at 433, 671 A.2d at 34. The defendants argued that under Davis v. State, 333 Md. 27, 633 A.2d 867 (1993), and Casey v. Roman Catholic Archbishop, 217 Md. 595, 143 A.2d 627 (1958), it was mandatory for the court to pose the question. The Boyd Court distinguished Casey, which concerned a voir dire question seeking to uncover bias, from the Boyd cases, which concerned voir dire questions directed to the minimum statutory qualifications for jury service. In neither of the consolidated cases in Boyd was the physical impairment question attributable to any specific bias linked to the armed robbery and second-degree murder charges faced by the defendants. 341 Md. at 438, 671 A.2d at 36-37. Further, the question would not have uncovered an automatic cause for disqualification. Boyd, 341 Md. at 438, 671 A.2d at 37. Our predecessors in Boyd also distinguished Davis on the ground that it concerned voir dire questions seeking to expose bias on the part of potential jurors rather than their ability to meet minimum statutory qualifications. Id. Also, the bias question in Davis would not have exposed grounds for immediate disqualification. Boyd, 341 Md. at 439, 671 A.2d at 37. Although Davis indicated that questions bearing on the satisfaction of the minimum statutory qualifications fell generally into the category of mandatory questions, the key inquiry was whether the given inquiry would be reasonably likely to reveal cause for disqualification. 333 Md. at 35-36, 633 A.2d at 871. Based on these distinctions, the Boyd Court opined that the defendants' requested question regarding physical infirmities was not mandatory because it would not be reasonably likely to lead to [discovery of] cause for disqualification of a juror. 341 Md. at 440, 671 A.2d at 37. First, as in Casey and Davis, a physical disability would not have served as an automatic cause for disqualification. Id. Even if a disability were discovered, accommodations are more likely to precede dismissal. Id. Second, Boyd stated that posing questions already covered by the processes preceding voir dire would be redundant and unnecessary. 341 Md. at 441, 671 A.2d at 38. Thus, Boyd ostensibly stands for the proposition that voir dire questions concerning the minimum statutory qualifications of a potential juror are only mandatory should they reflect a reasonable likelihood of bias or prejudice against the defendant. It is this rationale that Owens invokes in his argument that he did not waive his right to challenge a non-citizen juror. Essentially, he complains that because Boyd leaves it entirely to the trial judge's discretion whether to pose a citizenship question in a case where citizenship is not a likely source of bias, his request of such a question would have been futile. We cannot agree entirely with this complaint. The rule in Boyd that voir dire questions concerning minimum statutory qualifications are not mandatory when sought was animated, in part, by a belief that such questions duplicate needlessly the efforts of the pre- voir dire screening methods which focus on statutory disqualifications. That cases such as the present one occur demonstrate a correctable weakness in this reasoning. Because the pre- voir dire screening methods failed to identify and excuse Alade, a non-citizen, it is evident that voir dire questions regarding minimum statutory qualifications are not always redundant and unnecessary. [43] In fact, our cases ruminate that the pre- voir dire processes of screening out disqualified jurors are not fail-safe. See supra note 42. We are persuaded, and so hold, that it is in the better interests of justice to require trial judges to pose voir dire questions directed at exposing constitutional and statutory disqualifications when requested by a party. Accordingly, we overrule Boyd to the extent that it conflicts with this holding. Notwithstanding our limited overruling of Boyd, the result in this case is not affected. Simply because it is not mandatory for a judge to pose a particular question does not make it a prohibited question. Had Owens sought, and the trial judge refused, a citizenship question in the present case, the propriety of the denial would have been preserved for appellate review as an abuse of discretion. But because Owens did not suggest the question, he may not complain reasonably that a non-citizen was empanelled on his jury. Indeed, the Circuit Court noted in its opinion denying Owens's motion for a new trial that [h]ad such a question been requested, the court would in all likelihood have made the inquiry (as it did sua sponte regarding the issue of pending jury trials) and Mr. Alade would have been excused as a disqualified juror. Owens, 170 Md.App. at 59, 906 A.2d at 1002. We agree with the intermediate appellate court that there is no reason not to credit the Circuit Court on this point. Owens, 170 Md.App. at 77, 906 A.2d at 1012. There exist several persuasive authorities supplying examples of waived objections to potential jurors who otherwise would have been disqualified had a defendant proposed and a judge asked a pertinent voir dire question. In Kohl, the Supreme Court held that a defendant's failure to object to the non-citizen status of a juror as a disqualification, whether done voluntarily, negligently, or unknowingly, was not grounds to upset the murder conviction against the defendant. 160 U.S. at 302, 16 S.Ct. at 307. In Hansel v. Collins, this Court held that a defendant waived his objection to a West Virginia resident serving on the jury that found him liable for trespass when he waited four months after the verdict to raise his objection and could not show that the presence of the out-of-state resident prejudiced him. 180 Md. 100, 103, 23 A.2d 1, 2-3 (1941). The Court stated that the defendant's ignorance of the juror's non-resident status was immaterial because he just as easily could have inquired into the matter. 180 Md. at 104, 23 A.2d at 3. In Johns v. Hodges , our predecessors concluded that a trial court did not abuse its discretion in refusing to grant a new trial to a defendant who, after the case was decided against him, discovered that two jurors empanelled to hear the matter were below the minimum statutory age for jury service. 60 Md. 215, 220 (1883). The Johns Court reasoned that the defendant should not have assumed that the statutory screening devices produced an entire jury of qualified persons, but rather, he should have undertaken to protect his interests through his own inquiry. 60 Md. at 222-23. Maryland appellate cases also demonstrate that even when a voir dire question is posed to the venire, false or withheld responses do not necessarily entitle the defendant to a new trial. See, e.g., Hunt, 345 Md. at 144-46, 691 A.2d at 1265-66 (citing United States v. Boney, 977 F.2d 624, 633 (D.C.Cir.1992)); Leach v. State, 47 Md.App. 611, 618-19, 425 A.2d 234, 238-39 (1981) (refusing to strike a juror, who upon cross-examination at trial, was discovered to be an old neighbor and acquaintance of a State's witness when the trial judge was satisfied that the juror had no bias); Burkett v. State, 21 Md.App. 438, 445, 319 A.2d 845, 849 (1974) (refusing to grant new trial on the ground that an unbiased juror inadvertently failed to reveal that he was the father of a secretary in the State's Attorney's Office, despite voir dire question asking jurors to reveal their relation to any prosecutor's office personnel). Most instructive is Hunt v. State , where a prospective juror, Diana Void, was arrested on a misdemeanor theft charge several days after returning her juror qualification form, on which she stated (then-truthfully) that she had not been charged or convicted of a serious crime. 345 Md. at 140-41, 691 A.2d at 1263-64. When summonsed for jury service, Void failed to respond affirmatively to questions regarding pending criminal charges during her orientation and, again, during voir dire. Hunt, 345 Md. at 141, 691 A.2d at 1264. Subsequent to his conviction, during a second petition for post-conviction relief, the defendant, Hunt, challenged Void's presence on the jury that convicted him on the ground that she was disqualified statutorily. The Court disagreed with Hunt's argument, concluding that because Void had been empanelled, Hunt lost the opportunity to exercise the statutory remedy of challenging jurors. Hunt, 345 Md. at 145-46, 691 A.2d at 1266. Owens argues that his situation is different than the scenario presented in Hunt because his objection to an unqualified juror came much closer in time after the verdict. Hunt and our other appellate decisions belie any validity in this point of distinction. Although the objection raised in Hunt came during the defendant's second petition for post-conviction relief, the Court did not rely on length of delay in denying the objection. Rather, the Court specifically noted that the statutory right to challenge a juror expires at least as early as when a juror is empanelled. [44] Hunt, 345 Md. at 145-46, 691 A.2d at 1266. This principle also is illustrated in Leach, where the Court of Special Appeals upheld a trial court's decision not to strike a juror who was discovered during cross-examination at trial to have been an acquaintance of a State's witness. 47 Md.App. at 618-19, 425 A.2d at 238-39. Even in 19th century practice, the Court of Appeals noted that [t]he usual method is by challenge before the juror is sworn or the trial begins. Johns, 60 Md. at 221. Hunt indicates that the reason for this narrow allowance of time for statutory challenges to juror qualifications advances the goal of finality in judicial decision-making. 345 Md. at 144, 691 A.2d at 1266. Owens mistakenly argues that because he raised his objection to the non-citizen juror within the ten-day post-trial motion period, the concerns of finality and judicial economy are not impacted. A verdict was reached by, what appeared to the trial judge to be, impartial jurors. [45] After Alade's non-citizen status was revealed, the trial judge held a hearing on the matter and satisfied himself that there was no showing that Mr. Alade's non-citizen status in any way or manner prejudiced the Defendant's case, his consideration of the evidence, or the jury's deliberations. [46] Related to the goal of judicial economy is the object of integrity of the process. Our cases highlight the necessity for foreclosing statutory challenges to jurors after voir dire in the interests of preventing an abuse of those challenges. In Hansel, our predecessors noted the wisdom of the earlier Johns decision, admonishing courts not to allow new trials based on challenges to juror qualifications after a verdict has been rendered, lest parties be allowed a second bite at the apple whenever the litigation does not end in their favor. 180 Md. at 104, 23 A.2d at 3 (citing Johns, 60 Md. at 220); see also Johns, 60 Md. at 223. This Court also noted the potential for collusion between defendants and venal jurors to invalidate guilty verdicts by subsequently revealing or conjuring some disqualifying trait in order to obtain a new trial. Young v. Lynch, 194 Md. 68, 73-74, 69 A.2d 787, 789 (1949) (citing Hollars v. State, 125 Md. 367, 376-77, 93 A.2d 970, 974 (1915)). Because Owens waited until after voir dire (indeed, after a verdict was reached) to challenge Alade's presence on the jury, he waived his statutory right to challenge an unqualified juror. [47] Simply because Boyd did not require the citizenship question to be a mandatory one for the trial judge to pose to the venire does not excuse Owens of exercising due diligence in requesting the question. Had he done so, Owens's request most likely would have been granted and Alade would have been excused. Even if the trial judge had refused to pose the question, the issue would have been preserved for appellate review. In either instance, the result is far better than the waiver we find due to Owens's lack of foresight in at least proposing the question. Accordingly, we find no abridgement of Owens's right to a trial by jury.