Opinion ID: 1454621
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Discovery of the Prosecutor's Jury Book

Text: (1) Defendant begins his challenge to the jury selection process by arguing that the trial court erred in refusing to order discovery of the prosecutor's jury book. Before jury selection began, defendant moved to discover prosecution records showing the arrest records of venirepersons and how they had voted as jurors in other trials. The prosecutor responded that his office kept evaluation sheets summarizing the prior jury service of each prospective juror, which included a date of trial, charges against the defendant, the verdict, a rating presumably directed to the desirability of the juror from the prosecution standpoint (excellent, satisfactory, or unsatisfactory), and comments. He argued that the evaluation and comments of the deputy district attorney filling out the evaluation sheet were protected work product. The trial court denied the defense motion. In People v. Murtishaw (1981) 29 Cal.3d 733, 765-767 [175 Cal. Rptr. 738, 631 P.2d 446], we announced a rule giving trial judges discretionary authority to permit defense access to jury records and reports of investigations available to the prosecution. ( Id. at p. 767.) The rule was founded on our power to supervise the administration of criminal procedure and arose from a concern that prosecutors would have more information about prospective jurors than defense lawyers because of their superior ability to finance investigations of the venire. As we stated: Such a pattern of inequality reflects on the fairness of the criminal process. ( Id. at pp. 766-767.) In People v. Johnson (1989) 47 Cal.3d 1194, 1225 [255 Cal. Rptr. 569, 767 P.2d 1047], we declined to decide whether the defense was improperly precluded from questioning jurors with prior jury experience about the result reached by the prior jury, holding that any error in precluding such questioning was harmless. Johnson is applicable here. Even assuming the trial court abused its discretion in failing to order discovery of arrest records and prior jury votes from prosecution records, defendant fails to demonstrate prejudice. Murtishaw itself endorses this result in the following observation: As the prior cases have pointed out, in any individual case it is entirely speculative whether denial of access caused any significant harm to the defense. Consequently, under the test of prejudice established in the California Constitution (art. VI, § 13) and People v. Watson [(1956)] 46 Cal.2d 818, 836 [299 P.2d 243], the denial of access is not reversible error. ( People v. Murtishaw, supra, 29 Cal.3d at p. 767.) Having shown no impairment of his defense resulting from the absence of the prosecutor's jury book at defense counsel table, defendant is not entitled to reversal. [2]