Opinion ID: 1654574
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: whether the circuit court impermissibly restricted the defense's voir dire.

Text: ¶ 3. Morris complains that the circuit court cut off his voir dire regarding the venirepersons' feelings about a child being killed. The standard of review in examining the conduct of voir dire is abuse of discretion. Jackson v. State, 791 So.2d 830, 835 (Miss.2001). An appellant must show actual harm or prejudice before this Court will reverse a trial court's limitation on voir dire. Stevens v. State, 806 So.2d 1031, 1054 (Miss.2001). ¶ 4. During voir dire, Morris asked the venirepersons several questions about their feelings about a child being killed and if those feelings would affect their judgment. He also asked several questions about the presumption of innocence which the circuit court ruled were out of context. Morris contends that none of the venirepersons responded to his questions, but the record shows tacit responses, either raising or not raising their hands or nodding or shaking their heads. ¶ 5. Morris' voir dire was not limited by the trial court. He asked the same question over and over again. The trial court told defense counsel that what he was asking was confusing. Indeed, the trial court itself did not understand the questions. Only after it was clear that further questioning would be futile did the trial court cut defense counsel off. ¶ 6. Morris alleges that none of the venire responded to his questions and he was not given an opportunity to ask follow-up questions. The record clearly shows that, even though there was no verbal response, venirepersons were either nodding or shaking their heads or raising their hands in response to defense counsel's questions. Defense counsel had an opportunity right then to ask follow-up questions, but he did not choose to avail himself of this opportunity. ¶ 7. Morris claims that he was not allowed to present a correct statement of the law as to the presumption of innocence. The trial court held that what defense counsel was stating was clearly erroneous. In any event, per arguendo, any error was harmless because the trial court instructed the jury on the presumption of innocence, and juries are presumed to follow the instructions of the court. McCollum v. State, 785 So.2d 279, 283-84 (Miss. 2001). ¶ 8. Finally, and most importantly, Morris has presented absolutely no evidence that he was harmed or prejudiced in any way by the alleged limitation of his voir dire. This issue is without merit.