Opinion ID: 775562
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 8

Heading: Failure to Question Juror Regarding Possible Bias

Text: 81 Navarro argues that the District Court erred by not questioning a juror to ascertain if she was biased against him. The juror in question sent the judge a note on the fourth day of the trial, requesting that Navarro stop staring at her. The note said: it doesn't bother me, he doesn't scare me, it's just that I don't like it. Id. On the following trial day, Navarro's counsel asked that the juror be stricken from the jury because she harbor[ed] specific feelings toward Mr. Navarro [that are] negative. Id. The District Court denied the motion to strike the juror, stating: [T]here is nothing I have heard that would allow me to conclude that this particular [juror] is necessarily harboring feelings of negativity towards the defendant Navarro. 12 On appeal, Navarro argues that the note shows that the juror was biased toward him, and that the Court should have questioned the juror in order to explore the issue before making this determination. We review the District Court's handling of this matter under an abuse of discretion standard. See United States v. Murray, 103 F.3d 310, 323 (3d Cir. 1997) (We review the district court's ruling [not to excuse a juror for cause] for an abuse of discretion.) 82 Navarro relies on Gov't of the Virgin Islands v. Dowling, 814 F.2d 134 (3d Cir. 1987), to support his contention. In Dowling, the trial judge received a note from a juror indicating that the jury had been exposed to extra-record information about the facts of the case and about Dowling's past criminal record. Id. at 135. The note identified one specific juror as the one who was discussing these matters. Id. at 136. The judge excused the juror identified in the note, id. at 136, but denied the defendant's motion for a mistrial after addressing the entire jury panel, none of whom indicated that they had been exposed to any information that had rendered [him or her] incapable of giving a fair trial. Id. at 135. We held that the failure to question the jurors individually was not an abuse of discretion, but we reversed on the grounds that the trial judge erred when he failed to develop a record sufficient to permit evaluation of the potential prejudice to the defendant and failed to make a finding regarding the jurors' ability to perform their assigned task which took into account whatever information they had received. Id. at 141. 83 While Dowling does support Navarro's argument that in camera questioning of an individual juror is appropriate in some instances to determine prejudice, its reasoning focused on juror exposure to prejudicial extra-record information. While there may be circumstances which would warrant an extension of Dowling, we find that Dowling does not apply to the facts of this case. Here, the judge had obviously observed the defendant and the proceedings and was not confronted with the exertion of an outside influence. 13 While the judge might have questioned the juror, the note states that the juror was not bothered by Navarro's alleged conduct, giving rise to a clear inference that she was not negatively affected by it. Dowling also stands for the proposition that the trial judge must be given considerable latitude when making such decisions, as the trial judge develops a relationship with the jury during the course of a trial that places him or her in a far better position than an appellate court to measure what a given situation requires. Id. at 137. 84 In addition, our reasoning in United States v. Murray, 103 F.3d 310 (3d Cir. 1997), though involving somewhat different facts, provides additional support for the District Court's conclusion. Murray involved a challenge to a District Court's denial of a motion to disqualify a juror (during jury selection) because he disclosed during voir dire that he had read an article regarding the case. Id. at 322. In affirming the District Court, we stated:In determining whether a particular juror should be excused for cause, our main concern is whether the juror holds a particular belief or opinion that will prevent or substantially impair the performance of his duties as a juror.... Determining whether a prospective juror can render a fair verdict lies peculiarly within a trial judge's province.... The trial judge's resolution of such questions is entitled, even on direct appeal, to special deference. 85 Id. at 323 (internal quotation marks and citations omitted). The District Court here made an assessment of the situation as required by Murray. We see nothing in the record here to indicate that the District Court should have concluded that the juror in question was incapable of render[ing] a fair verdict, or that it was obligated to question the juror in order to make that determination. See id.; see also United States v. Hursh, 217 F.3d 761, 768-69 (9th Cir. 2000) (holding that though judge did not question juror individually, note from juror to judge requesting private meeting to ask legal question did not suggest juror would not base verdict on evidence). Accordingly, we find that the District Court's decision not to question the juror before ruling on Navarro's motion to strike was well within its discretion.