Opinion ID: 1699278
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 7

Heading: Other factors likely to affect the candor and veracity of the prospective jurors on voir dire

Text: Finally, defendant claims the rural close-knit nature of the community prevented prospective jurors from responding truthfully when questioned during voir dire. Specifically, defendant claims five venire members knew the victim and/or her relatives and 21 were familiar with either members of law enforcement or employees of the District Attorneys' offices involved in the case. In addition, defendant asserts seven venire members either knew or thought they knew defense counsel. Finally, defendant contends 16 venire members claimed familiarity with the case from sources other than the media, presumably from discussing it with neighbors or friends. Defendant's claim that these relationships affected the venire members' responses during voir dire are nothing more than speculation. Notably, in State v. Clark, this Court flatly rejected the defendant's claim that smaller, rural parishes are improper venues for capital cases as a result of the local population's familiarity with the offense. Clark, 851 So.2d at 1075. [13] While the record reveals some jurors possessed a general knowledge of the case, defendant fails to demonstrate the existence of an overriding prejudice in the community that prevented him from receiving a fair trial. Notably, even in his argument related to purportedly erroneously denied challenges for cause, see infra, defendant does not single out one juror the trial court should have excused as a result of preconceived notions of his guilt resulting from pretrial publicity about the case. Even assuming every defense cause challenge and joint cause challenge was based on the prospective juror's potential bias in the case, the index of voir dire examination shows that of 93 venire persons questioned to select the panel and alternates, 30 were excused for cause, or slightly less than one-third of the total number of jurors examined. That percentage falls in a range that this Court has found insufficient to justify a presumption of communitywide prejudice. See State v. Connolly, 96-1680 (La.7/1/97), 700 So.2d 810(43%); State v. Frank, 99-0553 (La.1/17/01), 803 So.2d 1(30%); see Murphy v. Florida, 421 U.S. 794, 802-03, 95 S.Ct. 2031, 44 L.Ed.2d 589 (1975) (The length to which the trial court must go in order to select jurors who appear to be impartial is another factor relevant in evaluating those jurors' assurances of impartiality.). Moreover, as discussed above, this Court has approved several rulings in which the trial court has denied the defendant's motion for a change of venue in which a far greater percentage of jurors expressed a familiarity with the case. See Frank, 803 So.2d at 16; Hoffman, 768 So.2d at 555; Connolly, 700 So.2d at 815. Finally, as discussed above, the trial court was not required to move the case to a different parish solely because the crime occurred in a rural community. Clark, 851 So.2d at 1075. Considering the various elements enunciated in Bell, defendant fails to show the trial court abused its discretion when it denied the motion for a change of venue. This argument lacks merit.