Opinion ID: 1133490
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: House's Claims of Prejudice in Doņa Ana County

Text: {80} House asserts that he was prejudiced by the change of venue to Doņa Ana County. Throughout the legal proceedings in this case, House and his supporters have accused the prosecution of vilifying House because he is a Native American.50 Consistent with this accusation, he charges that the State sought to offensively use the venue statute against him by obtaining a new venue that is largely devoid of Native Americans. Furthermore, House argues that, with this scheme to deprive him of a racially fair jury pool, the State intended to seat a jury that would be more likely to convict. The Court of Appeals in the opinion below focused on whether the trial court abused its discretion in concluding that Taos was a biased venue. The Court did not address House's claim, discussed in the briefs of both parties to this Court, that he suffered prejudice from the choice of Doņa Ana County as a venue. {81} The trial court and all the participants in this trial were well aware that Taos County has a 6.5% Native American adult population while Doņa Ana County has only about 0.8%. See Venue Order, slip op. at 19 (Finding of Fact 21). House claimed that the State sought a venue free from the influence of Native American jurors because it could not get a conviction of a Native American defendant after twice trying unsuccessfully in a district with a significant Native American population. Thus, House argues that the district court abused its discretion by acceding to the move to Doņa Ana County and by failing to earnestly question the State's motives in seeking a venue with a Native American population of less than 1%. {82} The practical impact of such a venue, according to House, is that it deprived him of a jury that would understand aspects of his defense that were cognizable only in the context of Native American culture. For example, much was made of the fact that House did not mention to emergency room personnel that he was suffering from a migraine headache when he was brought to the hospital immediately after the accident. This showed, according to the State, that House was disoriented, not because of a blinding headache, but because he was drunk. House countered with evidence that he did not mention the headache because Navajos do not discuss pain and are taught to deal with it on an internal basis. Navajo medicine men testified at trial about these cultural traditions and House's earlier treatment for migraine headaches.51 The President of the Navajo Nation wrote a letter to Judge Blackmer, urging him to select a venue that would be sensitive to this type of evidence: It would be a travesty of justice to see the third trial take place in a community that has little or no familiarity with our customs or culture. We have often experienced misunderstanding and discrimination. We realize that stereotypes are common where contact and communication with our people does not occur. We ask that you consider the importance of having jurors who are not hostile to nor ignorant of our culture consider this case. Letter from Albert Hale, President of the Navajo Nation to Hon. James F. Blackmer (circa April 5, 1995). Thus, House suggests that he suffered prejudice from the change of venue because his defense rested largely on such cultural evidence and would not be understood by jurors in Doņa Ana County. Though House's claims of prejudice may raise disturbing questions, these claims are inconsequential unless there is substantial evidence in the record proving that he received an unfair trial in Doņa Ana County. No such evidence was provided.