Opinion ID: 2575291
Heading Depth: 6
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Excusal of Prospective Juror C.S.

Text: On her juror questionnaire, when asked whether defendant was guilty of the charges, Prospective Juror C.S. wrote Yesat least some of the chargesthe murder charges, but I don't know if it's first degree. On voir dire, she repeatedly stated she did not know whether she could set aside her impressions and opinions about the case and base her decision upon the evidence presented in court. She stated her work in policy analysis did not involve arbitrarily setting aside information, and therefore she did not know whether she could set aside what she had heard out of court. The prosecutor challenged C.S. for cause under Bittaker, supra, 48 Cal.3d 1046, because she could not make an affirmative declaration that she could set aside the views she derived from pretrial publicity. Defense counsel objected, contending that the prosecutor lacked standing, and that C.S. in fact could set aside what she might know about the case and her conclusions about the case. My sense of listening to her and watching her is that the ambivalence that she has expressed doesn't have to do with her inability to go through the mental or intellectual exercise of setting things aside; it has to do more with the emotional level or the responsibility of making a decision involving someone else's life. The trial court sustained the challenge. With regard to this juror, the Court cannot get a clear indication of her state of mind based on her ambivalent and ambiguous answers. I don't think that she can be fair and impartial. She said that she cannot set aside her opinions of the Defendant's guilt. When I asked her if she would make every effort to set aside those opinions, she said she didn't know, she didn't know whether she could do it. Under those circumstances, her opinion is that the Defendant is guilty, and she would have a very difficult time setting aside those opinions, and so the Court will grant the challenge based upon her inability to be fair and impartial in this case.