Opinion ID: 1383657
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Limiting of Voir Dire

Text: During voir dire, appellant sought to question the jury venire about their knowledge of the Sumter County trial, the imposition of the death penalty in that case, and the prior Calhoun County trial. The trial court denied appellant's motion because he did not want to unnecessarily plant any prejudicial information in the minds of the jurors. Appellant contends this was error. We disagree. Appellant contends the trial judge erred in limiting his questions on voir dire. South Carolina Code Ann. § 16-3-20(D) (Supp.1995) grants a capital defendant the right to examine jurors through counsel. The manner in which these questions are pursued and the scope of any additional voir dire are matters of trial court discretion. State v. Smart, 278 S.C. 515, 299 S.E.2d 686 (1982). We hold the trial judge did not abuse his discretion. Additionally, in Mu'Min v. Virginia, 500 U.S. 415, 111 S.Ct. 1899, 1905, 114 L.Ed.2d 493 (1991), the United States Supreme Court held a defendant is entitled to specific questions only if the failure to ask them would render his trial fundamentally unfair. We hold the denial of appellant's motion did not render his trial fundamentally unfair.