Opinion ID: 2463565
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: mr. boyle failed to preserve the voir dire issue for appeal

Text: ¶ 11 The court of appeals correctly concluded that Mr. Boyle failed to preserve for appeal the claim that voir dire questioning was inadequate. The claim was not preserved because Mr. Boyle's counsel never objected that the district court's questions insufficiently addressed tort reform, nor did he seek additional questioning during the voir dire process before affirmatively approving the jury selected. In approving the composition of the jury, he was implicitly approving the process by which the jury had been selected. We have stated that [i]f a party is dissatisfied with the thoroughness of voir dire . . . that party may. . . propose additional questions, or ask the court for further questioning. But where a party affirmatively expresses to the trial court his assent to the composition of the jury, that party cannot challenge the composition of the jury on appeal. State v. Lee, 2006 UT 5, ¶ 18, 128 P.3d 1179 (citation omitted). Using the same logic, Mr. Boyle cannot approve the composition of the jury and later challenge the process used to select it unless he has registered a relevant objection. ¶ 12 In spite of this rule, Mr. Boyle argues that (1) the tort reform questions that he submitted to the judge before voir dire should be sufficient alone to preserve the issue on appeal, and (2) there was no opportunity to object or request additional questions during voir dire. We disagree. ¶ 13 In arguing that his submitted tort reform questions should be sufficient to preserve the appeal, Mr. Boyle relies on Utah Rule of Civil Procedure 46: Formal exceptions to rulings or orders of the court are unnecessary. It is sufficient that a party, at the time the ruling or order of the court is made or sought, makes known to the court the action which he desires the court to take or his objection to the action of the court and his grounds therefor; and, if a party has no opportunity to object to a ruling or order at the time it is made, the absence of an objection does not thereafter prejudice him. Relying on this rule, Mr. Boyle claims he was not required to object to the district court's voir dire questions because they constituted a ruling or order, and Mr. Boyle had already submitted differently formulated questions before the district court decided on its own list. ¶ 14 The problem with this reasoning is that the district court's list of voir dire questions did not constitute a ruling or order as those terms are used in rule 46. Voir dire questions cannot be fully defined until after the voir dire process is completed. Until that point, the district court may agree to additional or revised questioning. Here, the district court accepted questions from both parties, and then constructed its own questions in an effort to accommodate both sides. The district court's new questions presented a new issue to the parties: did the revised questions sufficiently address both parties' concerns and legal entitlements? If Mr. Boyle believed the tort reform issues had been inadequately addressed in the district court's new questions, he had an obligation to notify the district court so it could examine the issue. As we have stated: In order to preserve an issue for appeal[,] the issue must be presented to the trial court in such a way that the trial court has an opportunity to rule on that issue. This requirement puts the trial judge on notice of the asserted error and allows for correction at that time in the course of the proceeding. For a trial court to be afforded an opportunity to correct the error (1) the issue must be raised in a timely fashion[,] (2) the issue must be specifically raised[,] and (3) the challenging party must introduce supporting evidence or relevant legal authority. Issues that are not raised at trial are usually deemed waived. 438 Main St. v. Easy Heat, Inc., 2004 UT 72, ¶ 51, 99 P.3d 801 (alterations in original) (citations omitted) (internal quotation marks omitted); see also UTAH R.APP. P. 24(a)(5)(A) (requiring an appellant's brief to contain a citation to the record showing that the issue was preserved in the trial court). Where parties fail to object to inadequate questioning in voir dire, the district court cannot be expected to second-guess that silence. It is not unreasonable to require attorneys to voice concerns they have regarding voir dire questions at the time of voir dire so that the district court can immediately address the issues, rather than allow them to remain silent and appeal later. This approach conserves judicial resources and promotes speedy justice for all concerned. [2] ¶ 15 Mr. Boyle claims that even were he required to make some objection, he was given no reasonable opportunity to do so. After reviewing the transcript of the jury selection in this case, we disagree. We find there were multiple opportunities for an objection or request for additional questioning. If Mr. Boyle had an advance copy of the district court's revised questions (a fact disputed by the parties and unclear from the record), he could have voiced his concern when the district court judge asked both parties whether they were ready to proceed. However, even if he did not receive the questions in advance, he heard the questions posed to each juror. When asked whether he had challenges for cause, Mr. Boyle's counsel could have registered his concern. Indeed, when opposing counsel was asked whether she had additional challenges for cause, she said she wanted to further question one of the jurors and was allowed to do so. Even when Mr. Boyle's counsel was asked whether he had further questions of that same juror, he did not raise his concern. Furthermore, both counsel met with the district court judge in chambers during a recess as soon as the judge had finished his original questioning of the jurors and before asking the attorneys whether they had challenges for cause. Presumably, if Mr. Boyle's counsel had concerns about making legal arguments to the judge before the jury, he could have registered his concerns with the judge in this conference, and, if the judge were unrelenting, he could have placed his objection on the record upon return to the courtroom. [3] ¶ 16 Mr. Boyle has argued that if he did not preserve the voir dire issue for appeal, we should apply a plain error review. We will not do so because, where the appellant affirmatively proclaims the acceptability of the jury in the trial court, the doctrine of invited error applies and denies appellate review. Lee, 2006 UT 5, ¶¶ 16-20, 128 P.3d 1179; see also State v. Hamilton, 2003 UT 22, ¶ 54, 70 P.3d 111 (noting that parties invite error where they affirmatively represent to the court that they have no objection). When Mr. Boyle's counsel made no objections regarding inadequate questioning and then affirmatively passed the jury for cause [4] stating that he had no objection to discharging the remaining panel members, this qualified as an affirmative representation that there were no objections based on inadequate questioning in voir dire. Because any error by the district court regarding inadequate questioning was therefore invited error, we refrain from a plain error analysis and affirm the court of appeals on this issue.