Opinion ID: 509516
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Discussions In Jury Lounge

Text: 50 Harris claims that hostile and intense discussions in the jury lounge demonstrate actual or presumed prejudice and an impartial jury. While the individual voir dire examination was being conducted in the courtroom, prospective jurors waiting to be interviewed remained in the Jury Commissioner's Office. In the same room were persons summoned as prospective jurors in other criminal and civil matters. 51 The trial judge admonished all the jurors in this matter not to discuss the case with anyone. On the eighth day of jury voir dire, after 64 jurors had been examined, a juror stated during voir dire that prospective jurors and jurors not involved in the Harris matter were discussing this case. After examining the juror further, the trial judge observed that all jurors who have been questioned have been frank and honest and we have been getting the benefit of what they really know. Harris' counsel concurred in the court's assessment. Pursuant to Harris' counsel's suggestion, the court admonished the remaining 18 jurors to avoid any discussions in the jury lounge concerning the case. 3 This special cautionary instruction and the extensive and searching voir dire examination of the jury conducted by the court and counsel eliminated any potential for prejudice arising from the jury lounge discussions about the case. 52 Harris' characterization of the jury lounge discussions as hostile and intense is not supported by the record. Only two of the jurors who served on the petit jury overheard the discussions in the jury lounge. Juror LaValley walked away when he heard a prospective juror mention the Harris trial. Juror Earl only heard that Harris was accused of murder. Harris' trial counsel thoroughly examined both jurors. The jurors' responses did not disclose any bias against Harris. These prospective jurors not selected to serve in this matter who overheard the lounge discussions did not express any hostility or bias toward Harris. 53 The state trial judge concluded that the responses to the voir dire examination did not demonstrate that there was a reasonable likelihood that the jurors selected to sit on the petit jury could not provide Harris with a fair and impartial determination of the facts. The judge expressed his assessment of this issue in the following language: 54 I was impressed with the forthrightness of the jurors. I think the fact that they were interviewed individually and questioned individually even increases the desire on the part of the juror to tell us precisely what their feelings were.... I saw nothing ... in the examination to indicate to me that the jury or in any sense there was a feeling of hostility, that there was antagonism, that there was a knowledge so great as to create an atmosphere that would not allow for a fair trial. As a matter of fact, I think the reverse is true. I am satisfied that the jury that has been selected was very fairly selected. 55 A state trial court's findings of fact with respect to the prejudicial effect of pretrial publicity are presumed to be correct, 28 U.S.C. Sec. 2254(d); Chaney v. Lewis, 801 F.2d 1191, 1194 (9th Cir.1986), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 107 S.Ct. 1911, 95 L.Ed.2d 516 (1987); Austad, 761 F.2d at 1354, and will not be set aside unless the error is manifest. Irvin, 366 U.S. at 724, 81 S.Ct. at 1643; Patton, 467 U.S. at 1031-32 & n. 7, 104 S.Ct. at 2889 n. 7 (applying the manifest error standard of Irvin ). Our independent review of the record amply supports the state trial court's findings that the persons selected as petit jurors were not prejudiced against Harris as the result of the media publicity in this matter. Thus, Harris was not deprived of his right to an impartial jury. 56