Opinion ID: 1684899
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Difficulty Encountered in Actually Selecting a Jury

Text: Notwithstanding that some pretrial publicity did exist here, the record establishes that the jurors were not so infected that they could not possibly put these matters out of their minds. Rolling, 695 So.2d at 284; see Knight, 866 So.2d at 1209 (holding that there was no abuse of discretion for denying the motion to change venue because although there had been some publicity surrounding the murder, an independent review of the record demonstrates that there was no difficulty in seating the jury). During voir dire, most of the prospective jurors assured the trial court that they could be impartial despite any extrinsic knowledge. Overton does not provide any reason why this demonstrated jury impartiality has been rebutted. See Rolling, 695 So.2d at 286 (discussing that although not dispositive, assurances from prospective jurors that they are impartial despite their extrinsic knowledge support the presumption of a jury's impartiality). Moreover, Overton does not and cannot contend that any of the prospective jurors who stated they could not be impartial due to their extrinsic knowledge actually entered the jury box as a member of the venire. Instead, it appears from the record that the trial court was able to obtain a jury of impartial jurors from an even greater pool of prospective jurors who confirmed that they could be impartial. Thus, there is no established prejudice that resulted from any of the pretrial publicity. [24] See Rivera, 859 So.2d at 511 (holding that there was no ineffective assistance due to appellate counsel's failure to challenge the trial court's denial of the motion to change venue because the defendant failed to show actual prejudice ). It is reasonable to conclude that the selection of the venire was not such a difficult process that it reflected a pervasive community bias against Overton. Rolling, 695 So.2d at 287. Accordingly, this certainly does not support Overton's argument that an abuse of discretion occurred under the second prong, which analyzes any difficulty encountered in the actual selection of a jury. In conclusion, appellate counsel was not ineffective for the failure to challenge the trial court's denial of the motion to change venue because had it been presented, the claim would have likely been found to have no merit.