Opinion ID: 1771702
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 18

Heading: Use of Peremptory Challenges Before a Full Panel of Jurors Was Impaneled

Text: Defendant claims that the trial court erred in requiring the defense to simultaneously exercise its last three peremptory challenges after both sides provisionally accepted individual jurors under La.Code Crim.Proc. art. 788, but before the court swore the jury panel as a whole under La.Code Crim.Proc. art. 790. See La.Code Crim.Proc. art. 795B(1). Defense counsel had exercised nine of his twelve peremptory challenges before the court provisionally seated the twelfth juror. Defense counsel then sought to exercise his remaining peremptory challenges on jurors who had been previously sequestered. The prosecutor did not object to this request to exercise back strikes. However, the prosecutor argued that defendant should be required to use all of his remaining peremptory challenges in one stroke, rather than exercising one and then assessing the next voir dire panel before exercising each subsequent challenge. After a recess, the court allowed defendant to exercise his remaining peremptory challenges simultaneously. Both prosecutor and defendant may exercise remaining peremptory challenges against individually sworn jurors before the swearing of the full jury panel under La.Code Crim.Proc. arts. 790, 795. State v. Watts, 579 So.2d 931 (La.1991). In the instant case, defendant was not denied his remaining peremptory challenges, and we cannot say that the trial judge abused his discretion in conducting the voir dire as he did. In any event, this matter is subject to harmless error analysis. State v. Taylor, 93-3301, p. 24 (La.2/28/96); 669 So.2d 364, 377, cert. denied, 519 U.S. 860, 117 S.Ct. 162, 136 L.Ed.2d 106 (1996). In Taylor, the trial court denied the defendant's request to exercise his remaining four peremptory challenges at the conclusion of jury selection. Id. Despite the violation of the Watts rule, no reversible error occurred because the voir dire did not violate the constitutional right to full voir dire examination of prospective jurors.... La. Const. art. I § 17; Taylor, 669 So.2d at 378. In the instant case, jury selection had begun twelve days earlier, and 134 jurors were questioned during voir dire. Cf. Taylor, 669 So.2d at 378 (seventy potential jurors examined over eleven days). In this situation, defendant fails to show prejudice, especially since he was not deprived of any peremptory challenges.