Opinion ID: 2623326
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Prospective Juror Leonard B.

Text: On voir dire, Prospective Juror Leonard B. said he might have difficulty if he was asked to decide the penalty and such a decision would weigh on his conscience. He also said he had been opposed to the death penalty for a number of years. On further questioning by the prosecutor, Leonard B. said: I can conceive of situations, maybe where I had a personal emotional involvement, where I would go along with it. But, in general, it would be very disturbing to me to feel for the rest of my days that I voted in favor of the death penalty. He reiterated the point later when he stated, It's conceivable to me that I would vote in favor of the death penalty but I doubt it very much. He ended by declaring, I'm a flexible person but not that flexible, I think. After considering defense counsel's argument pointing out that the juror had stated there were circumstances under which he could vote for the death penalty, the trial court sustained the prosecutor's challenge for cause. The ruling was not an abuse of discretion. A prospective juror may not be excused for cause simply because of a strong opposition to capital punishment if the juror can nevertheless follow the trial court's instructions and fairly consider imposing the death penalty in a specific case. ( Adams v. Texas (1980) 448 U.S. 38, 44-45, 100 S.Ct. 2521, 65 L.Ed.2d 581; see also Wainwright v. Witt, supra, 469 U.S. at p. 424, 105 S.Ct. 844; People v. Ashmus (1991) 54 Cal.3d 932, 963, 2 Cal.Rptr.2d 112, 820 P.2d 214 [prospective juror who expresses opposition to death penalty not properly excused for cause if juror reveals ability to consider imposing death penalty as a reasonable possibility].) Here, however, Leonard B. did not merely acknowledge his opposition to the death penalty, he said he doubted very much he would vote for the death penalty, and he thought he was not flexible enough to do so against his personally held views. These comments amply support the trial court's conclusion that Leonard B.'s death penalty views would substantially impair his ability to follow the court's instructions and the law.