Opinion ID: 1058852
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Conducting Voir Dire in Panels of Five

Text: Juniper also contends the trial court erred in conducting voir dire of the potential jurors regarding questions of death in panels of five. His argument is based on the contention that individual voir dire is the best process for ensuring that truly unbiased, unprejudiced jurors are chosen to sit in judgment of the defendant. We have previously ruled that the manner of conducting voir dire rests within the [trial] court's discretion. Fisher v. Commonwealth, 236 Va. 403, 410-11, 374 S.E.2d 46, 50 (1988), cert. denied, 490 U.S. 1028, 109 S.Ct. 1766, 104 L.Ed.2d 201 (1989). In Beavers v. Commonwealth, 245 Va. 268, 276-77, 427 S.E.2d 411, 417-18, cert. denied, 510 U.S. 859, 114 S.Ct. 171, 126 L.Ed.2d 130 (1993), we expressly upheld the trial court's discretion to question prospective jurors in panels of five. Juniper makes no individualized claim of impartiality or prejudice as a result of the trial court's manner of conducting voir dire. Consequently, we find no reason to revisit our previous holdings on this issue.