Opinion ID: 712987
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 11

Heading: Voir Dire on Mitigating Factors

Text: 130 Mr. McCullah contends that the district court erred by restricting the voir dire regarding the jurors' ability to consider mitigating factors. We have reviewed the record and disagree. 131 The trial court retains great latitude in its oversight of voir dire. Mu'Min v. Virginia, 500 U.S. 415, 424, 427, 111 S.Ct. 1899, 1904-05, 1906, 114 L.Ed.2d 493 (1991). In Morgan v. Illinois, 504 U.S. 719, 727-31, 119 L.Ed.2d 492, 112 S.Ct. 2222, 2229-30 (1992), the Supreme Court held that a juror who would automatically vote for the death penalty in every case was not impartial because the presence of aggravating or mitigating factors was irrelevant to such a juror. Voir dire must adequately identify such unqualified jurors, and to this end, certain inquiries must be made in capital cases. Morgan, 504 U.S. at 729-31, 112 S.Ct. at 2230. 132 Under Morgan, general fairness and follow the law questions alone are insufficient to insure against a death-biased jury. Id. at 732-36, 112 S.Ct. at 2232-2233. However, despite Mr. McCullah's assertions to the contrary, the voir dire in this case extended beyond mere general impartiality and follow the law questions and adequately explored jurors' views on mitigation. The district court was not required, as Mr. McCullah suggests, to allow inquiry into each juror's views as to specific mitigating factors as long as the voir dire was adequate to detect those in the venire who would automatically vote for the death penalty. See id. at 732-34, 112 S.Ct. at 2232. The record reveals that the district court specifically asked each juror whether he would recommend against the death penalty if the law and the evidence justified it and allowed counsel to elicit information on jurors' views toward mitigating circumstances and toward automatic imposition of the death penalty. Morgan requires no more. 133