Opinion ID: 844251
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The jury selection process and written questionnaire

Text: At the beginning of the jury selection process, the trial court proposed to pare down the jury pool to a size the courtroom could accommodate by using the questionnaires defendant had requested, and helped to draft, in order to eliminate prospective jurors whose questionnaire responses reflected death penalty views that precluded their service in a capital case. The prosecutor concurred, and defense counsel raised no objection. Thereafter, during a discussion of the questionnaires, the prosecutor expressed his understanding that the two sides had agreed on everything. Defense counsel responded, That's fine, Your Honor. The court read 111 completed juror questionnaires, each 21 pages long. The court and counsel then addressed, one by one, certain prospective jurors whom the court had preliminarily identified, by reason of their written responses, as questionable. During this process, defense counsel expressly stipulated to the excusal of several prospective jurors, based solely on their questionnaire answers. Thereafter, the court and counsel discussed one by one the remaining prospective jurors, and the prosecutor stipulated to the excusals for cause of Prospective Jurors R.A., J.S., R.G., G.H., and P.F. Counsel submitted each matter. In addition, with respect to Prospective Jurors R.A. and J.S., defense counsel declined the court's offer to conduct oral voir dire. The court then excused each of these prospective jurors for cause, based solely on their questionnaire responses.