Opinion ID: 879229
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 9

Heading: District Courts Voir Dire Rulings

Text: In the instant case, the District Court restricted the jury voir dire by prohibiting the attorneys from making references to their own personal experiences as a means of eliciting biases from prospective jurors. Brodniak contends that this ruling four days before trial, prejudiced his trial preparation. The State contends that by restricting the voir dire to exclude counsel's comments on their personal experience, the District Court acted within its discretion. The purpose of voir dire in a criminal proceeding is to determine the existence of bias and prejudice on the part of prospective jurors and to enable counsel to intelligently exercise their pre-emptory challenges. State v. Stuit (1978), 176 Mont. 84, 87, 576 P.2d 264, 266. Any questioning conducted to establish rapport or to educate the jury is extraneous to the legitimate objects of voir dire. State ex rel. Stephens v. District Court (1976), 170 Mont. 22, 27, 550 P.2d 385, 388. Counsel for Brodniak admitted that the purpose of counsel making references to personal experiences was to establish rapport with potential jurors. This being true, the District Court acted properly in limiting matters extraneous to the legitimate objects of voir dire based on Stephens, supra. We affirm. TURNAGE, C.J., and GULBRANDSON, HARRISON, WEBER and HUNT, JJ., concur.