Opinion ID: 583625
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Wrongful Dismissal of Prospective Jurors

Text: 23 Drew asserts that the trial court improperly excused for cause prospective jurors Grover Smith and Archie Cotton. This error, he contends, violated his Sixth and Fourteenth Amendment rights as recognized in Wainwright v. Witt, 469 U.S. 412, 105 S.Ct. 844, 83 L.Ed.2d 841 (1985). 24 In a capital case, a prospective juror may not be excluded for cause unless the juror's views would prevent or substantially impair the performance of his duties as a juror in accordance with his instructions and oath. Adams v. Texas, 448 U.S. 38, 100 S.Ct. 2521, 65 L.Ed.2d 581 (1980); accord Witt, 469 U.S. at 424, 105 S.Ct. at 852. Witt also explained that the presumption of correctness conditionally required under § 2254(d) applies to the trial court's determination of a challenge for bias. 469 U.S. at 430, 105 S.Ct. at 855. [S]uch a finding is based upon determinations of demeanor and credibility that are peculiarly within a trial judge's province. Id. at 428, 105 S.Ct. at 854 (footnote omitted). The trial court need not detail its reasoning or explicitly conclude that a prospective juror is biased, so long as it is evident from the record. Id. at 430, 105 S.Ct. at 855. 25 A review of Grover Smith's voir dire examination reveals that he stated on several occasions that he would hold the State to a higher burden of proof than the reasonable doubt standard in a capital case. Drew portrays Smith's statements as indicating not that he would hold the state to a higher burden of proof, but that Smith would permit the capital nature of the case to influence his perception of what constitutes proof beyond a reasonable doubt. Drew contends that Adams prohibits dismissal of a prospective juror on this ground. In Adams, the Court held that the Constitution did not permit exclusion of jurors 26 from the penalty phase of a Texas murder trial if they aver that they will honestly find the facts and answer the questions in the affirmative if they are convinced beyond a reasonable doubt, but not otherwise, yet who frankly concede that the prospects of the death penalty may affect what their honest judgment of the facts will be or what they may deem to be a reasonable doubt. Such assessments and judgments by jurors are inherent in the jury system, and to exclude all jurors who would be in the slightest way affected by the prospect of the death penalty or by their views about such a penalty would be to deprive the defendant of the impartial jury to which he or she is entitled under the law. 27 448 U.S. at 50, 100 S.Ct. at 2529. Here, however, prospective juror Smith did not merely state that he might apply the reasonable doubt standard differently in a capital case. He stated on numerous occasions during voir dire questioning that he would apply a standard higher than what he understood as the reasonable doubt standard. The trial court could correctly determine that Smith's insistence on such a high burden of proof would substantially impair his performance as a juror. 28 Archie Cotton's definition of continuing threat to society under the second special issue 3 prompted the trial court to dismiss him for cause. Cotton explained that he understood this question as requiring the State to prove the probability that the defendant would commit future murders. He indicated that he would answer the question affirmatively only if the evidence convinced him that the defendant was likely to murder again. Based on Smith's responses, the trial court could correctly conclude that this restrictive definition of future acts of violence would prevent or substantially impair the performance of Cotton's duties as a juror by requiring a more stringent burden of proof than the law requires. Because the record supports the conclusions of the trial court concerning prospective jurors Smith and Cotton, we presume that it is correct. Drew's arguments fail to overcome this presumption. Accordingly, we conclude that this claim lacks merit.