Opinion ID: 889643
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: Framework and Standard of Review

Text: ¶ 32 In light of the foregoing discussion of federal and Montana cases, we now clarify the standards and procedures for analyzing the two different types of prejudice. As the basis of a motion for change of venue, the defendant may allege presumed prejudice, actual prejudice, or both. Where presumed prejudice is allegedmeaning that the court is being asked to presume that jurors selected from the community cannot be impartialthe bar is extremely high. The defendant must demonstrate that an irrepressibly hostile attitude pervades the jury pool or that the complained-of publicity has effectively displaced the judicial process and dictated the community's opinion as to the defendant's guilt or innocence. Presumed prejudice, necessitating a change of venue, will be found only in situations analogous to Rideau, Sheppard, Spotted Hawk, Dryman, and Coburn i.e., circumstances amounting to a circus atmosphere or lynch mob mentality. Where such extreme circumstances are not present, and actual prejudice is alleged, the defendant must show through voir dire or other means that the jury pool harbors actual partiality or hostility against the defendant that cannot be laid aside. The same standards apply if the prosecutor moves for a change of venue under § 46-13-203, MCA. ¶ 33 Furthermore, because media coverage may occur throughout the pretrial period and the trial itself, and because new publicity may generate new concerns about the defendant's ability to receive a fair and impartial trial, a motion for change of venue may be made or renewed at any point during the pretrial period, voir dire, or the trial, as circumstances dictate. We have adopted a similar approach with respect to speedy trial motions, explaining that such motions must be evaluated based on the facts existing at the time the motion is decided and that if further delay or changed circumstances justify reconsideration of the issue, then a renewed motion for a speedy trial must be made. State v. Hendershot, 2009 MT 292, ¶¶ 30-32, 352 Mont. 271, 216 P.3d 754. Likewise, if subsequent events raise new concerns regarding juror impartiality or the ability to receive a fair trial in the current venue, then a renewed motion for change of venue or a post-trial motion for a new trial may be filed. Correspondingly, on appeal, a party will not be heard to complain that a trial court was wrong for refusing to grant a change of venue based on publicity or concerns that arose after the request was made. See e.g. State v. Brandon, 264 Mont. 231, 247, 870 P.2d 734, 743 (1994); cf. Hendershot, ¶ 32. ¶ 34 Lastly, it is necessary to address our standard of review. Kingman notes that since territorial days, this Court has reviewed a trial court's change-of-venue ruling for abuse of discretion. See e.g. Territory v. Corbett, 3 Mont. 50, 57 (1877); Paisley, 204 Mont. at 194, 663 P.2d at 324; Devlin, ¶ 15. Kingman asks us to revise this standard where, as here, the defendant alleges presumed prejudice. He argues in this regard, first, that the standard of review under federal law is de novo where the motion is based on presumed prejudice and, second, that we should adopt the same standard for purposes of Montana law because a motion to change venue on account of prejudicial publicity is rooted in the defendant's constitutional rights to due process and a fair trial by an impartial jury. ¶ 35 We decline to adopt this approach. First, it is true that [t]his Court cannot adopt a lower standard to protect any right in the United States Constitution than the United States Supreme Court has recognized. State v. Lone Elk, 2005 MT 56, ¶ 20, 326 Mont. 214, 108 P.3d 500, overruled on other grounds, State v. Brinson, 2009 MT 200, ¶ 9, 351 Mont. 136, 210 P.3d 164; accord State v. Bentley, 156 Mont. 129, 134, 477 P.2d 345, 347 (1970) (Montana cannot guarantee less protection for a citizen under its laws than is demanded by the Constitution of the United States.). Yet, contrary to Kingman's implication, there is no clearly established federal lawleast of all by the Supreme Courtholding that de novo review applies to claims of presumed prejudice. ¶ 36 In support of this proposition, Kingman cites McVeigh, 153 F.3d at 1179, where the Tenth Circuit stated, on one hand, that it would undertake de novo review of whether the complained-of publicity and the circumstances surrounding that publicity were of such a nature as to render impartiality impossible (presumed prejudice), but, on the other hand, that it would review for abuse of discretion whether the seated jury could remain impartial in the face of negative pretrial publicity (actual prejudice). We note that the Fifth Circuit stated the same dual standards in U.S. v. Skilling, 554 F.3d 529, 557-58 (5th Cir.2009) (We review de novo whether presumed prejudice tainted a trial.... In reviewing actual prejudice, however, we afford greater deference to the district court ....), vacated in part on other grounds, ___ U.S. ___, 130 S.Ct. 2896. ¶ 37 Notably, neither McVeigh nor the Fifth Circuit's Skilling opinion provides a satisfactory explanation for why a trial court is accorded greater deference in evaluating actual prejudice than it is accorded in evaluating presumed prejudice. More importantly, however, it appears that aside from these two cases, the federal courts of appeals uniformly recite an abuse of discretion standard of review for both presumed prejudice and actual prejudice. See U.S. v. Misla-Aldarondo, 478 F.3d 52, 58-59 (1st Cir.2007); U.S. v. Sabhnani, 599 F.3d 215, 232-34 (2d Cir.2010); U.S. v. Inigo, 925 F.2d 641, 654-55 (3d Cir.1991); U.S. v. Higgs, 353 F.3d 281, 307-09 (4th Cir.2003); U.S. v. Jamieson, 427 F.3d 394, 412-13 (6th Cir.2005); U.S. v. Nettles, 476 F.3d 508, 513-15 (7th Cir.2007); U.S. v. Rodriguez, 581 F.3d 775, 784-86 (8th Cir.2009); U.S. v. Collins, 109 F.3d 1413, 1416 (9th Cir.1997); U.S. v. Langford, 647 F.3d 1309, 1319, 1332-34 (11th Cir.2011). It should also be noted that the Tenth Circuit's and the Fifth Circuit's own precedents are inconsistent in requiring de novo review. Compare McVeigh, 153 F.3d at 1179, and Skilling, 554 F.3d at 557-58, with U.S. v. Abello-Silva, 948 F.2d 1168, 1176 (10th Cir. 1991) (acknowledging the two types of prejudice and then stating that [s]ince the decision to transfer venue is within the trial court's discretion, we review for an abuse of discretion), and U.S. v. Asibor, 109 F.3d 1023, 1037 (5th Cir.1997) (We review all questions concerning venue under the abuse of discretion standard. The trial court is entitled to broad discretion in ruling on motions to transfer venue, and its decision will be upheld absent an abuse of discretion.). ¶ 38 Second, it is also true that the mechanism allowing the defendant to obtain a change of venue is founded primarily on the principle that a defendant is constitutionally entitled to a fair trial by an impartial jury. And it is well established that we review questions of constitutional law de novo. State v. Stock, 2011 MT 131, ¶ 16, 361 Mont. 1, 256 P.3d 899; State v. Couture, 2010 MT 201, ¶ 47, 357 Mont. 398, 240 P.3d 987. A district court has no discretion in the correct interpretation of the Constitution. State v. Norquay, 2011 MT 34, ¶ 13, 359 Mont. 257, 248 P.3d 817. Hence, the question whether the defendant ultimately received a fair trial in accordance with due process is still a question over which we exercise plenary review. ¶ 39 However, in determining the more specific question whether, in light of extant circumstances, such prejudice exists as to necessitate a change of venue, the trial court must be afforded broad deference. Indeed, the nature of this determination simply does not lend itself to de novo review on the cold record. As the Supreme Court has pointed out, primary reliance on the judgment of the trial court makes especially good sense when pretrial publicity is at issue, because the judge sits in the locale where the publicity is said to have had its effect and may base her evaluation on her own perception of the depth and extent of news stories that might influence a juror. Skilling, 130 S.Ct. at 2918. The judge is also, we note, more intimately familiar with the defendant's reputation, what the local reaction to the crime has been, and the overall community sentiment. Conversely, appellate courts making after-the-fact assessments of the media's impact on jurors lack the on-the-spot comprehension of the situation possessed by trial judges. Skilling, 130 S.Ct. at 2918. Not only is this true with respect to claims of presumed prejudice, it is even more compelling in the context of alleged actual prejudice. Reviewing courts are properly resistant to second-guessing the trial judge's estimation of a juror's impartiality, for that judge's appraisal is ordinarily influenced by a host of factors impossible to capture fully in the recordamong them, the prospective juror's inflection, sincerity, demeanor, candor, body language, and apprehension of duty. In contrast to the cold transcript received by the appellate court, the in-the-moment voir dire affords the trial court a more intimate and immediate basis for assessing a venire member's fitness for jury service. Skilling, 130 S.Ct. at 2918 (citation omitted). ¶ 40 In short, the trial judge is uniquely positioned to assess whether a change of venue is called for due to prejudice in the community. For this reason, and because there is no clearly established law under the United States Constitution mandating de novo review of presumed prejudice claims, we will continue to review for abuse of discretion a trial court's ruling on a motion for change of venue. We reiterate, though, that in exercising its discretion, the court is bound to uphold the defendant's constitutional right to a trial by an impartial jury. Devlin, ¶ 15.