Opinion ID: 581438
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Right to an Impartial Jury

Text: 13 The Sixth Amendment guarantees the right to an impartial jury to all persons accused of crimes. 5 The Fourteenth Amendment extended this guarantee to defendants tried in state courts. Duncan v. Louisiana, 391 U.S. 145, 149, 88 S.Ct. 1444, 1447, 20 L.Ed.2d 491 (1968). While Johnson received a trial, his constitutional guarantee has not been granted if any member of the jury was biased. Rogers v. McMullen, 673 F.2d 1185, 1190 (11th Cir.1982), cert. denied, 459 U.S. 1110, 103 S.Ct. 740, 74 L.Ed.2d 961 (1983); United States v. Silverman, 449 F.2d 1341, 1344 (2d Cir.1971), cert. denied, 405 U.S. 918, 92 S.Ct. 943, 30 L.Ed.2d 788 (1972); Ford v. United States, 201 F.2d 300, 301 (5th Cir.1953); Presley v. State, 750 S.W.2d 602, 607 (Mo.App.) (en banc), cert. denied, 488 U.S. 975, 109 S.Ct. 514, 102 L.Ed.2d 549 (1988). While a federal court's oversight authority regarding non-constitutional state trial court errors justifiably is limited, this court is obligated to correct an error by even a state's highest court insofar as it deals with the application of the United States Constitution or laws to the facts in question. Sumner v. Mata, 449 U.S. 539, 543-44, 101 S.Ct. 764, 767, 66 L.Ed.2d 722 (1981); see also Rogers, 673 F.2d at 1189 (federal court must award habeas relief to state court prisoner who can demonstrate a member of his jury was biased or incompetent). 14 Our initial inquiry focuses on whether bias should be presumed when a juror convicts one defendant and then is empaneled on the jury hearing the case of a second defendant charged with the same crime, or whether the defendant in the second trial must prove actual bias. The Supreme Court has determined that the remedy for allegations of juror bias is a hearing at which the defendant has the opportunity to prove actual bias. Smith v. Phillips, 455 U.S. 209, 215, 102 S.Ct. 940, 945, 71 L.Ed.2d 78 (1982). In Phillips, the Court refused to imply bias to a juror who applied for a job with the district attorney's office during the time he served on a criminal jury. 15 Due process means a jury capable and willing to decide the case solely on the evidence before it, and a trial judge ever watchful to prevent prejudicial occurrences and to determine the effect of such occurrences when they happen. Such determinations may properly be made at a hearing like that ordered in Remmer 6 and held in this case. 16 Id. at 217, 102 S.Ct. at 946 (footnote added). 17 This court held in an early case that the mere presence of recycled jurors does not require reversal in every instance. In Lett v. United States, 15 F.2d 690 (8th Cir.1926), a jury convicted Zola Lett of possession and sale of morphine. Later that afternoon, members of Zola's jury were included in the venire called for the trial of her husband on similar charges. Lett's attorney sought additional preemptory strikes 7 to remove eight jurors who had sat on Zola Lett's trial. The request was denied and Lett was convicted. The Eighth Circuit reversed the conviction, finding that the presumption of prejudice is too great to be ignored. Id. at 691. Nevertheless, the court failed to articulate a per se rule implying bias to recycled jurors. [W]e do not think the course of justice in all cases should be delayed because of the unavoidable presence in court of jurors during the trial of cases thus related, unless the prejudice claimed is sufficiently apparent. Id. 18 The Fourth Circuit, likewise, declined to adopt a per se rule of bias toward jurors who had sat on the jury of a person convicted of a crime and then were empaneled on the jury of a second defendant charged in the same crime. In United States v. Malloy, 758 F.2d 979, 981 (4th Cir.), cert. denied, 474 U.S. 1009, 106 S.Ct. 535, 88 L.Ed.2d 465 (1985), a jury convicted William C. Webster of taking part in a bank robbery. Five weeks later, a jury convicted Malloy of taking part in the same robbery. Id. at 979. One person served on both juries. At voir dire during Malloy's trial, the juror remained silent when queried about bias or knowledge of the case. After exhausting his appeals, Malloy filed a habeas petition. Id. at 980. While announcing a rule that no juror should sit on the trials of two defendants charged with the same crime but tried separately, the Fourth Circuit upheld the conviction. Id. at 981. The court ruled that Malloy failed to prove in an evidentiary hearing that the presence of the recycled juror worked to his actual and substantial prejudice. Id. at 982-83 (emphasis in original) (quoting United States v. Frady, 456 U.S. 152, 170, 102 S.Ct. 1584, 1596, 71 L.Ed.2d 816 (1982)). 8 19 The lesson of Smith v. Phillips and its progeny is that the participation of a juror whose impartiality is suspect for reasons not known to defense counsel at the time of voir dire does not per se require a new trial. Instead, the verdict may be set aside if a post-trial hearing demonstrates that the juror was actually biased. 20 Malloy, 758 F.2d at 982. 21 Several other circuits have concluded that the Constitution does not require a presumption of bias in situations where jurors have been potentially prejudiced. Britz v. Thieret, 940 F.2d 226, 232 (7th Cir.1991) (no per se bias when six jurors had heard news accounts reporting defendant's prior conviction for the same crime and all twelve jurors had admitted some familiarity with the case); United States v. Pennell, 737 F.2d 521, 534 (6th Cir.1984) (no per se bias when five jurors reported receiving threatening phone calls during the trial), cert. denied, 469 U.S. 1158, 105 S.Ct. 906, 83 L.Ed.2d 921 (1985); United States v. Billups, 692 F.2d 320, 325 (4th Cir.1982) (no per se bias when juror concealed information during voir dire about her son's affiliation with a labor union), cert. denied, 464 U.S. 820, 104 S.Ct. 84, 78 L.Ed.2d 93 (1983); Rogers v. McMullen, 673 F.2d 1185, 1190 (11th Cir.1982) (no per se bias when seventeen-year-old juror misstated her age during voir dire), cert. denied, 459 U.S. 1110, 103 S.Ct. 740, 74 L.Ed.2d 961 (1983); contra Government of Virgin Islands v. Parrott, 551 F.2d 553, 554 (3d Cir.1977) (no showing of actual bias required when three jurors had been on a prior jury convicting the same defendant of a similar crime). 22 All of the above cases except Parrott concluded that the proper remedy for addressing a claim of juror bias is to conduct a hearing to determine whether any jurors were actually biased. Britz, 940 F.2d at 232; Pennell, 737 F.2d at 532; Billups, 692 F.2d at 325; Rogers, 673 F.2d at 1190. 23 We, therefore, hold that bias should not be presumed when members of a jury panel who had adjudged a criminal defendant sit on the jury of a second defendant charged with the same crime. 9 Nevertheless, due process requires that the defendant convicted by jurors who had heard the case of a codefendant be granted an opportunity to prove actual bias. Therefore, we must determine whether Johnson met his burden of proving that members of his jury were actually biased. 24 The State urges us to uphold the finding made by the Missouri Court of Appeals on direct appeal that nothing in the record indicates that members of the jury panel were biased against Johnson because of their service on the Denny jury. Johnson, 637 S.W.2d at 291. Federal courts must defer to state court factual findings when a determination has been made after a hearing on the merits of a factual issue. 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d) (1988). This deference applies even when the finding is made by a state appellate court. Sumner v. Mata, 449 U.S. 539, 547, 101 S.Ct. 764, 769, 66 L.Ed.2d 722 (1981). A factfinding, however, should not be presumed to be correct when the material facts were not adequately developed at the State court hearing. 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d)(3) (1988). 25 The Missouri Court of Appeals made no attempt to elicit facts pertaining to the potential bias of jurors. It appears that the appellate court's finding was based solely on the fact that all venire members remained silent when the prosecutor asked them two questions about whether they could put aside the evidence presented at the Denny trial and judge Johnson exclusively on the evidence presented at his trial. 26 We cannot say that an ambiguous silence by a large group of venire persons to a general question about bias is sufficient to support a finding of fact in the circumstances of this case. The exceptional circumstances of this case warranted more aggressive questioning during voir dire. Due process requires the court to undertake sufficient voir dire questioning to produce in light of the factual situation involved in the particular trial, some basis for a reasonably knowledgeable exercise of the right to challenge. Britz v. Thieret, 940 F.2d 226, 232 (7th Cir.1991) (quoting United States v. Price, 888 F.2d 1206, 1211 (7th Cir.1989)). 27 Had the Denny jurors expressed unequivocal responses to more detailed questioning on impartiality, the situation here may well be different. But when nine venire members (including four subsequent jurors) heard extensive evidence against the defendant in a prior case under circumstances in which he is presented to them in shackles and under guard, and in a situation in which he is unable to mount a defense to the charges, an ambiguous silence by venire persons to a generalized question of bias is not sufficient to demonstrate impartiality. 28 The circuit court, on the other hand, heard extensive evidence on the bias issue in ruling on Johnson's Rule 27.26 motion. That evidence showed unequivocally that at least two members of the Johnson jury and one member of the Johnson venire, all of whom had sat on the Denny jury, were convinced Johnson was guilty before his trial even started. 10 Johnson, 757 S.W.2d at 609. The defendant's right to an opportunity to prove actual bias is guaranteed by the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments. Smith v. Phillips, 455 U.S. 209, 217, 102 S.Ct. 940, 946, 71 L.Ed.2d 78 (1982). Therefore, it is clear that Johnson's guaranteed right to an opportunity to prove actual bias was not granted until the circuit court's evidentiary hearing. That hearing revealed conclusively that at least three members of the venire and two members of the jury were actually biased against Johnson. 29 Finding that two members of Johnson's jury were actually biased against him, we have no difficulty concluding that Johnson's Sixth and Fourteenth Amendment rights were violated. The state argues that Johnson waived his challenge to the recycled jurors because he failed to object when they were seated. Even though the defendant failed to object to the seating of the jurors, our determination is not affected. When a defendant fails to object to the qualifications of a juror, he is without remedy only if he fails to prove actual bias. Robinson v. Monsanto, 758 F.2d 331, 335 (8th Cir.1985). If a defendant proves that jurors were actually biased, the conviction must be set aside. Rogers, 673 F.2d at 1189; United States v. Crockett, 514 F.2d 64, 69 (5th Cir.1975); United States v. Silverman, 449 F.2d 1341, 1344 (2d Cir.1971), cert. denied, 405 U.S. 918, 92 S.Ct. 943, 30 L.Ed.2d 788 (1972); Ford v. United States, 201 F.2d 300, 301 (5th Cir.1953).