Opinion ID: 1233313
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 8

Heading: deprivation of a peremptory challenge.

Text: Appellant urges that Raymond Kraatz, contrary to his testimony on voir dire, was actually hostile to the Teamsters Union. The appellant was forced to use a peremptory challenge to keep Kraatz off of the jury. Evidence of the prospective juror's claimed duplicity was brought to the attention of the trial court for the first time in the motion for a new trial. It is the appellant's contention that had the juror's true attitude been known to the court during the voir dire examination of Kraatz, he would have been excused for cause; and appellant would have thus been saved a peremptory challenge. The purpose of the voir dire examination is to enable the parties to learn the state of mind of the prospective juror, and to demonstrate, if possible, that the prospective juror is subject to a challenge for cause. The appellant does not contend that any basis was developed for a challenge for cause in the examination of Kraatz. Had Kraatz served on the jury, and had it developed that the appellant had been deceived by his false answers to questions on voir dire, an entirely different question would be presented; but, even were that the claimed situation, the bias of the juror would have to be established by something more reliable than hearsay affidavits. Casey v. Williams (1955), 47 Wn. (2d) 255, 287 P. (2d) 343; State v. Maxfield (1955), 46 Wn. (2d) 822, 285 P. (2d) 887; State v. Patterson, supra ; State v. Dalton (1930), 158 Wash. 144, 290 Pac. 989; State v. Simmons (1909), 52 Wash. 132, 100 Pac. 269; State v. Wilson (1906), 42 Wash. 56, 84 Pac. 409. Here, Kraatz did not deceive the appellant; he was, in fact, excused. That, after all, is what peremptory challenges are for. The purpose of such challenges is to get off of the jury the person whose bias a party knows or suspects but can't establish on his voir dire examination. If we assume the bias of Kraatz, it would be a new development in the field of criminal law to hold that a defendant, who had used all of his peremptory challenges, was entitled to a new trial if he could show, at some time before the motion for a new trial was argued, that one of the prospective jurors (excused by a peremptory challenge) had an actual bias. Appellant has presented no authority for such a holding, and we are satisfied there is none.