Opinion ID: 1934851
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: sequestration and individual voir dire

Text: This court recently considered the question of a defendant's right to conduct the voir dire examination of each juror outside the presence of other chosen or prospective jurors in the case of State v. Bad Heart Bull, et al., S.D., 257 N.W.2d 715, in which the court concluded there is no `right' or `requirement' that prospective jurors be individually examined out of the presence of other jurors. That is a precautionary procedure which may be permitted, in the discretion of the trial court, in cases surrounded by massive publicity and involving controversial issues. For all the reasons stated in Section I, we find no abuse of discretion in the trial court's order denying the sequestration and individual voir dire of the prospective jurors in this case.