Opinion ID: 2159325
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Did the refusal to permit attorney-conducted voir dire violate defendant's constitutional right to a fair trial or otherwise restrict his opportunity to exercise challenges for cause or peremptorily?

Text: Voir dire is a shorthand expression for the questioning of a pool of potential jury members to select impartial jurors to hear a case. The first aspect of defendant's challenge to this process was resolved by our decision in State v. Biegenwald, supra, 106 N.J. at 26-30. We there held applicable to capital cases the rule of State v. Manley, 54 N.J. 259 (1969), as well as Rule 1:8-3(a), which states that for the purpose of determining whether challenge should be interposed, the court shall interrogate the prospective jurors. See also State v. Howard, 192 N.J. Super. 571 (App.Div. 1983) (attorney-conducted voir dire is not in itself part of the constitutional guarantee of fair trial). At the same time, we reiterated our concern that in capital cases trial courts should be especially sensitive to permitting attorneys to conduct some voir dire. Biegenwald, supra, 106 N.J. at 30. Court-conducted voir dire is not an end in itself, but merely an efficient means to select an impartial jury. We note that in some cases a direct inquiry by counsel might replace the otherwise lengthy process of excusing jurors while court and counsel concur on a short follow-up question for the court to put to the recalled juror. The trial court allowing such direct inquiry would soon sense whether closer control of any counsel's questioning was required. Before we address defendant's challenge to the scope of the court-conducted voir dire, a few words are in order about the general tenor of that process in this case. Although the trial court preferred to conduct all of the voir dire, it was sensitive to the nuances of the jurors' responses and in almost all instances receptive to counsels' suggestions regarding particular questions. In addition, the court implemented a form of struck-jury selection described in State v. Ramseur, supra, 106 N.J. at 239-43. Here the court undertook to qualify a panel of forty-eight jurors from which counsel would select the final jury. This was an especially time-consuming effort, we believe, because of the extensive pretrial publicity surrounding this case. The court reviewed its proposed general questions and written questionnaire with counsel before voir dire commenced, and devoted twelve days to the selection of the jury in a thorough process marked by extensive cooperation with counsel. As noted, the court was sensitive to the subtleties of the juror disqualification process and in this respect was fair to both the State and the defense. For example, it excused a juror who favored the death penalty, despite that juror's abjuring any commitment to impose that penalty automatically on a conviction of murder; it excused another juror who tried to rehabilitate herself after an initial response that she had thought he was guilty after reading about the case in newspapers; it retained a juror who would not impose the death penalty unless that sanction was justified by overwhelming evidence (not a statutory requirement), another who felt that it would be extremely difficult to impose the death penalty, and yet another who didn't know if I could give somebody the death penalty; it recalled another juror twice in response to attorney concern about the juror's answers to voir dire questioning. There are some areas in which more inquiry would have undoubtedly been of assistance, as in the questioning of some jurors who expressed the view that capital punishment would be appropriate in some cases but not in others. It would have been better to know for certain whether rape-murder was the type of offense for which these jurors would apply the death penalty, and whether they would consider this sanction automatically justified by such offenses. Even when evaluating such situations, jurors must be able to follow the law and to weigh the factors prescribed by the capital punishment act. We note that a particular juror cited in defendant's brief as being insufficiently questioned did have a tendency to answer the court in a yes and no fashion: although generally responding that she believed the death penalty was appropriate in some cases and not in others, she assured the court that she could and would follow the law and impose a life sentence if the evidence justified that verdict. Our review of the record assures us that at this initial phase of the trial the jurors fully understood that they would be given specific factors to guide them in the sentencing phase of the trial. The jurors all knew that this was a case of alleged rape-murder; they knew that they would be exposed to photographs that might shock them; they knew that the victim was elderly; they knew that they would be hearing testimony about narcotics; they knew that the case would turn in good measure on expert psychiatric evidence. Each juror was asked if he or she could evaluate such matters fairly and without predisposition. Some immediately and candidly told the court that they could not be impartial where drugs or rape or a helpless victim were allegedly involved. These jurors, as well as all whose professed lack of prejudice wavered on questioning, were discharged for cause. We agree that it would have been appropriate for the court or for counsel to have asked additional open-ended questions directed to any specific feelings that the jurors may have had about capital punishment in the murder case before the court, which allegedly involved rape and robbery of the victim. On balance, however, our independent review of the record reveals that the overall scope and quality of the voir dire was sufficiently thorough and probing to assure the selection of an impartial jury. Biegenwald, supra, 106 N.J. at 29. In addition, we are satisfied that no juror's attitude toward the death penalty portrayed the slightest bias in the guilt phase of the trial. As noted, the sentencing phase of this case must be retried.