Opinion ID: 1913143
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Passion, Prejudice or Arbitrary Factor

Text: Defendant reurges complaints relative to the outburst in the courtroom, discussed in the appendix. The trial judge took immediate steps to quell the disturbance and later charged the jurors not to be swayed by sympathy, passion or public opinion. The outburst at the guilt phase did not inject an arbitrary factor into the proceeding. As to whether passions were running high in the community, the record of voir dire resolves the matter definitively. While all but three prospective jurors had heard of the murders, only two held preconceived opinions respecting guilt or punishment, and they were disqualified. The defense presented testimony from defendant's mother and from defendant's two children in the custody of his mother. The mother testified that they needed him. One of the children asked the jurors to vote for life imprisonment, and the other testified she just wanted her father to come home. The state introduced no victim impact evidence.