Opinion ID: 3000706
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Juror Propes

Text: Sloan also argues that his Sixth Amendment right to an impartial jury was compromised by the continued presence of Juror Ryan Propes on the jury. Before opening statements, Juror Propes had informed the district court’s courtroom deputy of his concerns about his ability to remain impartial since, in his mind, the case involved Christianity. Following opening statements and the presentation of some evidence, the district court brought the concerns of Juror Propes to the attention of the parties, outside the presence of the other jurors. Juror Propes informed the district court and the parties that he might have a conflict of interest because of the use of the term “Christian” in the case and his role as a deacon in his church. In response, the district court stated its opinion to Juror Propes that issues of Christianity were tangential to the issues in the case. The district court then asked Juror Propes whether he agreed with its opinion. Juror Propes agreed. Sloan’s trial attorney did not object to the colloquy, did not ask that Juror Propes be removed from the jury, and did not move for a mistrial. Our review, therefore, is for plain error only. See Fed. R. Crim. P. 52(b); United States v. Davis, 15 F.3d 1393, 1407 (7th Cir. 1994). There is little doubt that the district court’s colloquy with Juror Propes was leading: the district court asked No. 06-2392 13 Juror Propes to agree with its own opinion.3 We recognize that there is a power differential between a United States District Court judge and a juror. Generally, a juror would be hard-pressed to disagree with a premise stated by the district court with which the district court asks the juror to agree. The better practice is for the district court to ask non-leading questions when examining a juror for bias. 3 The colloquy went as follows: The district court: Hold on just a second and let me say out loud what I was told; that you thought it might—when you got to thinking about it more, you thought it might have been Christian, although we covered it several ways, and you apparently were concerned because you’re a deacon in your church, that you might have some conflict of interest or something? Juror Propes: Yes, I don’t know if I just didn’t catch it the whole time or exactly what it was, but I have an issue with making money with churches. I’m a member of a church, I’m a faithful member of a church, and I know we have different ways of acquir- ing money, and it’s not through anything like this. I just totally disagree with this. The district court: All right. You can tell now from having heard both the opening statements and more of the evidence that the issues of the Christian religion are really tangen- tial to this dispute. So I don’t foresee any way in which there would be a conflict of interest. And I just wanted to raise that with you and make sure that you were of the same way of thinking, that it shouldn’t conflict with your religious beliefs. Do you agree with that? Juror Propes: Yes. 14 No. 06-2392 That being said, Sloan has made no showing that he was denied his right to an impartial jury. There was no indication during the questioning by the district court that Juror Propes had any bias. Juror Propes was selected as a juror because he swore that he could be impartial and base his verdict only on the evidence that was presented. After expressing his concerns and having them assuaged by the district court’s explanation, he agreed that there was no conflict. The district court was satisfied by Juror Propes’ response, as are we.