Opinion ID: 1134803
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 15

Heading: Issue 11: Did the Trial Court Err in Allowing Family Members To Sit Too Close to The Jury?

Text: In the direct appeal, this court rejected Pirtle's argument that the prosecutor impermissibly appealed to the jury's sympathy for the victims' relatives during the sentencing phase. Pirtle, 127 Wash.2d at 674, 904 P.2d 245. Specifically, we stated: While [the prosecutor's] reference to the victims' families might be characterized as an appeal to the jury's sympathy for the victims' relatives, we cannot conclude it swayed the jury in any way given the nature of the crimes involved, the vivid testimony and evidence received at trial, and the fact that the victims' families sat in the first two rows of the gallery, in close proximity to the jury, throughout the trial. Pirtle, 127 Wash.2d at 675, 904 P.2d 245 (emphasis added). Pirtle now argues his rights were violated because of the close proximity of the jury to the victims' families, who allegedly sat in the front row closest to the jury box. To support this claim, Pirtle offers hearsay testimony that one juror was allegedly overheard stating the presence of the victims' families in the courtroom was disturbing. Pirtle's argument fails on several grounds. First, Pirtle has not shown, given the nature of the crimes involved and the vivid testimony and evidence received at trial, that the seating arrangements of the victims' families swayed the jury. See Pirtle, 127 Wash.2d at 675, 904 P.2d 245. Second, the only evidence offered by Pirtle is hearsay and cannot be used in support of an alleged constitutional violation. Lord, 123 Wash.2d at 313, 868 P.2d 835. Third, even if this hearsay evidence were considered, it refers to the presence of family members in the courtroom and not to the closeness of family members to the jury. Finally, instead of again claiming the prosecutor improperly appealed to the jury's sympathy for the victims' families, Pirtle claims the prosecutor appealed to jury sympathy through the families' seating arrangements. The underlying claim is that the jury impermissibly felt sympathy for the victims' families. As noted previously, this issue was resolved on appeal. A petitioner cannot simply revise a previously rejected argument by alleging different facts or asserting different legal theories. Lord, 123 Wash.2d at 329, 868 P.2d 835 (citing Jeffries, 114 Wash.2d at 488, 789 P.2d 731).