Opinion ID: 2630726
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: Prospective Juror Bri

Text: During voir dire, Juror Bri testified that he had been arrested for domestic violence. He stated that he thought he was not treated fairly because he felt he was the victim. Nevertheless, he pleaded guilty, served probation, and paid a fine. In defending its peremptory strike of Juror Bri, the prosecutor stated first that Juror Bri had been arrested for domestic violence, which was usually a one-person's-word-against-another situation, and that would be the case in Ford's trial with Tanguma being the only witness to the robbery. The prosecutor also explained that even though he pleaded guilty, Juror Bri thought he was treated unfairly. Only one other prospective juror had been arrested for domestic violence, Juror Wit, whom the State also struck. Two other jurors had been arrested, not for domestic violence, but for DUIs: Juror Smi and Juror Har. Juror Smi indicated that he paid a fine, was treated fairly, and does not hold anything against anyone. Juror Har stated that his DUI arrest yielded positive results because he had quit drinking. He also did not harbor animosity toward the police or district attorney. Again, the record does not support Ford's assertion that other similarly situated jurors were treated differently. Aside from the inherent difference in the prosecution and proof of a DUI versus a domestic violence case, neither of the other jurors thought that they had been unfairly treated. Therefore, we conclude that the district court did not err in finding that the State did not treat Juror Bri differently from the other jurors or exercise its challenge with a discriminatory purpose.