Opinion ID: 891601
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Juror Interruption During Opening Statement

Text: {20} During the State's opening argument, the trial judge stopped the proceedings after a juror signaled for his attention and appeared as if she was getting ready to leave the jury box. The judge conducted an individual voir dire of the juror in chambers where the juror stated that she was physically affected by the opening statements and felt she was unable to continue sitting through the trial. The trial judge excused the juror for cause, and Defendant requested a mistrial based on the juror's highly unusual interruption and high-profile replacement. {21} `We review a trial court's denial of a motion for mistrial under an abuse of discretion standard.' State v. Fry, 2006-NMSC-001, ¶ 52, 138 N.M. 700, 126 P.3d 516 (quoting State v. Gonzales, 2000-NMSC-028, ¶ 35, 129 N.M. 556, 11 P.3d 131). An `[a]buse of discretion exists when the trial court acted in an obviously erroneous, arbitrary, or unwarranted manner.' Id. ¶ 50 (quoting State v. Stills, 1998-NMSC-009, ¶ 33, 125 N.M. 66, 957 P.2d 51 (alteration in original)). {22} It is not contested that the trial court properly excused the affected juror. Instead, Defendant argues that the dismissal of one juror may have tainted the remaining jurors, thereby implicating his right to a fair trial by an unbiased jury. Cf. State v. Gardner, 2003-NMCA-107, ¶ 12, 134 N.M. 294, 76 P.3d 47 (holding that trial court did not abuse its discretion by declining to grant mistrial after dismissing one juror for cause in absence of evidence of bias among remaining jurors). We recognize that a lone biased juror undermines the impartiality of an entire jury, id. ¶ 10, and therefore, a mistrial may be warranted if the juror's interruption and dismissal unfairly affected the jury's deliberative process and resulted in an unfair jury, id. ¶ 12 (internal quotation marks and citation omitted). See also 50A CJS Jury § 518 (A mistrial generally should be granted only when bias is fixed in the minds of the jurors so as to preclude a fair and objective verdict.). However, to prevail on his claim, Defendant bears the burden to establish that the jury was not fair and impartial, and must demonstrate bias or prejudice on the part of the remaining jurors. See Gardner, 2003-NMCA-107, ¶¶ 9-10, 134 N.M. 294, 76 P.3d 47; State v. Price, 104 N.M. 703, 708, 726 P.2d 857, 862 (Ct.App. 1986). {23} Defendant has not presented any evidence to establish that the dismissal of the affected juror compromised the remaining jurors' ability to be fair and impartial. See Gardner, 2003-NMCA-107, ¶ 10, 134 N.M. 294, 76 P.3d 47. Here, the trial judge stated that he had watched the jurors as they listened to the State's opening argument, but the judge offered no indication that the remaining members of the panel were impacted by the interruption. Defendant has made no claim that there were improper communications among the jurors that would tend to indicate bias. We consider it unlikely that the affected juror's personal bias infected the remaining panel because the trial court excused her from service and replaced her with an alternate, which is the appropriate remedy when a juror exhibits apparent bias. Id. ¶ 12. Given the early stage of the trial, the discreet way the juror signaled the judge, and the judge's observation that the other jurors were paying attention, a mistrial was not indicated in this case. Therefore, we conclude that the trial court's finding was not against the logic and effect of the facts and circumstances before the court, and the trial judge properly rejected Defendant's request for a mistrial. Id. (internal quotation marks and citation omitted). {24} Before resuming with the trial after the juror's excusal, the judge and counsel discussed what course of action to take. Defense counsel requested that the trial court individually voir dire the remaining jurors. The State responded that the jurors should be presumed to follow the trial court's instruction, but suggested that the court offer a curative instruction to explain the juror's absence. The trial court ultimately declined both suggestions in an effort to avoid calling additional attention to the matter. Although a voir dire of the remaining jurors would have produced a helpful record for our review, the trial judge offered a compelling reason for his decision, fearing that additional instruction might prove more prejudicial than helpful. We have recognized that [i]n the case of alleged juror misconduct, a decision of the trial court to voir dire a jury is a matter of discretion limited only by the essential demands of fairness. If there is no evidence of probable juror impropriety, the trial court does not abuse its discretion by refusing to voir dire the jury. State v. Case, 100 N.M. 714, 719, 676 P.2d 241, 246 (1984). We find no abuse of discretion in this instance.