Opinion ID: 1133490
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: Fixed opinions

Text: {73} In addressing the prejudicial effect of pretrial publicity, this Court, in the past, has adopted the pronouncement in Patton v. Yount, 467 U.S. at 1035, 104 S.Ct. 2885, that [t]he relevant question is not whether the community remembered the case, but whether the jurors . . . had such fixed opinions that they could not judge impartially the guilt of the defendant. See, e.g., Chamberlain, 112 N.M. at 726, 819 P.2d at 676; State v. McGuire, 110 N.M. 304, 311, 795 P.2d 996, 1003 (1990). House insists that it is impossible for a court, without questioning prospective jurors in voir dire, to obtain direct evidence that any members of a community have formed inflexible opinions about a particular case. He argues that the question of fixed opinions has been limited exclusively to determinations of actual prejudice. See, e.g., Chamberlain, 112 N.M. at 726, 819 P.2d at 676 (concluding that no more than voir dire was required to determine whether jurors had fixed opinions); McGuire, 110 N.M. at 311, 795 P.2d at 1003 (relying upon voir dire in concluding that jurors did not have fixed opinions); Patton, 467 U.S. at 1034-35, 104 S.Ct. 2885 (determining whether voir dire revealed fixed opinions); Harris v. Pulley, 885 F.2d 1354, 1363-64 (9th Cir.1988) (indicating that actual prejudice is established by the presence of fixed opinions). We do not believe the inquiry into fixed opinions is necessarily so limited. {74} In this case, the trial court in its Order did not expressly conclude that fixed opinions predominate in Taos County. It did, however, discuss a number of events and factors that tended to reinforce and solidify the sentiments of the local populace. See Venue Order, slip op. at 4 (Finding of Fact 7). Similarly, the court also surmised that television publicity likely would cause viewers to form opinions and make decisions about the case before trial-and thus more likely to be biased and prejudiced against one Party or the other. Id. at 10-11 (Finding of Fact 17(A)). The dissent below outlines a number of factors, including opinion polls, published statements by members of the community, and evidence from the jury selection during the first two trials, that tend to show a significant number of people in Taos had formed opinions about the case. See House Dissent, 1998-NMCA-018, ķķ 112-17, 124 N.M. 564, 953 P.2d 737. But see House Majority, 1998-NMCA-018, ķķ 30-31, 124 N.M. 564, 953 P.2d 737 (disputing value of opinion polls). These types of evidence circumstantially establish the presence of fixed opinions in Taos. {75} A venue change based upon a presumption of prejudice does not require empirical proof of the presence of fixed opinions when, as in this case, there is relentless inflammatory publicity that brings a case to the attention of a substantial percentage of a comparatively small community. If anything, it is unreasonable in this particular case to assume that a great many citizens did not follow the news about the case, discuss it with their neighbors, and form their own opinions. If, as Patton says, the relevant question is whether or not there are fixed opinions, the essential objective of this entire inquiry is to guard against even the probability of an unfair trial. Murchison, 349 U.S. at 136, 75 S.Ct. 623. It is reasonably probable that the frenzied publicity in this case tended to solidify the opinions of so many Taos residents that the fairness of a third trial in that community would be questionable.