Opinion ID: 1353958
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 9

Heading: Failure to Repeat Voir Dire Questions

Text: Sanders alleges that the failure of trial counsel to question potential jurors either as a group or individually about their knowledge of the case was ineffective. He claims that additional questioning would have produced information sufficient to support striking jurors for cause. We disagree. The decisions of counsel during voir dire are generally considered to be matters of trial strategy. Hodge v. Commonwealth, Ky., 17 S.W.3d 824 (2000). The trial judge questioned jurors about their relationships to the victims and their families as well as asking about exposure to pretrial publicity. Defense counsel did not have to repeat such questions. The voir dire was conducted in three phases. In the first phase, the trial judge questioned the panel; next, the jurors were questioned individually in chambers, and finally the prosecution and defense questioned the remaining potential jurors as a group. There is nothing in this procedure which shows that the decisions of the defense counsel were so ill chosen that they could affect the entire proceedings. There was no ineffective assistance of counsel and there was no prejudice demonstrated by Sanders.