Opinion ID: 1126332
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Voir Dire under the Louisiana Capital Sentencing Scheme

Text: In Louisiana, a juror in a capital case must be willing to consider the imposition both of a death sentence and of a life sentence, based on all of the evidence and on the instructions given by the trial judge. At the conclusion of the evidence, a juror must find beyond a reasonable doubt the existence of at least one statutory aggravating circumstance, and then must consider any mitigating circumstances (statutory or otherwise) before determining whether or not the death sentence should be imposed. La.Code Crim. Proc. art. 905.3. See Blystone v. Pennsylvania, 494 U.S. 299, 307, 110 S.Ct. 1078, 108 L.Ed.2d 255 (1990)([t]he requirement of individualized sentencing in capital cases is satisfied by allowing the jury to consider all relevant mitigating evidence.). While a juror has the discretion to assign whatever weight the juror deems appropriate to any aggravating and mitigating circumstance established by the evidence, [8] the juror must be willing to consider mitigating evidence relevant to the character and propensities of the defendant (which is the focus of a capital sentencing hearing) and must be willing to fairly consider a life sentence. The requirement that the jury must find at least one statutory aggravating circumstance in the penalty phase of the trial presents little problem during voir dire. [9] Moreover, the questioning of a juror in voir dire about whether he or she is willing to consider mitigating circumstances is, in itself, generally straightforward. However, the questioning of a juror about the importance to be assigned to mitigating evidence is particularly troublesome. [10] There is a significant difference between a prospective juror's agreeing to consider mitigating evidence and the juror's determination of the importance of that evidence. Voir dire, of course, occurs before any evidence is presented for the jurors to consider and evaluate. During voir dire, a juror can easily commit to consider mitigating evidence. [11] However, a juror can hardly commit in advance as to the importance he or she will assign to the mitigating evidence that has not yet been detailed. Nevertheless, counsel on both sides ask jurors probing questions about mitigating evidence, hoping for an indication of how the juror might be expected to evaluate mitigating evidence. In this sensitive area, Louisiana judges generally allow broad latitude on voir dire, which is designed not only to establish grounds for challenges for cause, but also to allow the intelligent exercise of peremptory challenges (that are constitutionally guaranteed in this state). The broad scope of voir dire sometimes produces answers from a lay person that appear to be inconsistent, and the delicacy of this situation is an important factor underlying the rule that requires a reviewing court to accord substantial deference to the trial judge's rulings on challenges for cause relating to a juror's views of the death penalty. Because of the broad scope of voir dire, some Louisiana trial judges, during the death qualification portion of voir dire in a capital case and before tendering the prospective juror for questioning by the attorneys, personally question the juror about whether the juror, after listening to all of the evidence and the instructions by the judge, can vote for a death sentence if the juror determines death is the appropriate penalty, or can vote for a life sentence if the juror determines life is the appropriate penalty; whether the juror's religious, personal or other beliefs will interfere in any way with a fair consideration of either a death sentence or a life sentence; [12] and whether the juror will consider all the evidence, both aggravating and mitigating, before deciding which penalty to vote to impose. [13] In this personal questioning, the judge may also ensure that the juror understands he or she does not have to (and should not) decide on the sentence until the juror hears all of the evidence from both sides. After this introductory questioning by the judge, the attorneys ask the jurors additional questions relevant to the juror's willingness or ability to follow the law as stated by the judge and to abide by his or her oath as a juror. The scope of the questioning by the attorneys about aggravating and mitigating circumstances often presents difficult problems. A prospective juror in voir dire knows, from preliminary questioning about the juror's familiarity with the case, some or all of the aggravating circumstances asserted by the prosecutor, but knows little or nothing about the mitigating evidence the defense will present (except perhaps, in some cases, the youth or mental retardation of the defendant). In reverse- Witherspoon cases, a prospective juror's knowledge of the particular aggravating circumstances in the case generally does not affect the juror's impartiality. However, this court has reversed several death penalties in which reverse- Witherspoon challenges by the defense have been denied, but answers to questions on the particular aggravating circumstances required disqualification of the juror. See State v. Divers, 94-0756 (La.9/5/96), 681 So.2d 320 (death penalty reversed because two jurors would not consider a life sentence when the particular case involved a premeditated murder); State v. Maxie, 93-2158 (La.4/10/95), 653 So.2d 526 (death penalty reversed because a juror would not consider a life sentence when the particular case involved a rape and murder); State v. Robertson, 92-2660 (La.1/14/94), 630 So.2d 1278 (death penalty reversed because a juror would not consider a life sentence when the particular case involved a double murder); State v. Ross, 623 So.2d 643 (La.1993) (death penalty reversed because a juror would not consider both sentences, but would vote for the death penalty if the accused was guilty of murder). In each of these cases, while the prospective jurors stated a willingness, in the abstract, to consider a life sentence, defense counsel established the jurors' unwillingness or inability, because of the aggravating factors in the particular case, to follow the law requiring consideration of mitigating circumstances before deciding how to vote on the sentence. In effect, the jurors in those cases stated that they would vote for death because of the aggravating circumstances in the particular case and regardless of any mitigating evidence that may be presented. Thus, the jurors' views on capital punishment in the particular case prevented or substantially impaired them from following the law under the Louisiana's capital sentencing scheme. Answers by potential jurors to questions about mitigating circumstances have been addressed by this court in cases involving the denial of reverse- Witherspoon challenges by the defense against jurors regarding their answers. In State v. Hoffman, 98-3118 (La.4/11/00), 768 So.2d 542, this court approved a death penalty when two jurors, who initially stated that they could not consider the defendant's youth and lack of criminal history as mitigating circumstances, eventually agreed they could consider all factors presented in the penalty phase and could consider a life sentence. In State v. Lucky, 96-1687 (La.4/13/99), 755 So.2d 845, this court approved the denial of a cause challenge when a juror stated that he would consider mitigating evidence, but would require substantial evidence in mitigation in order to be inclined to recommend a life sentence. [14] In State v. Howard, 98-0064 (La.4/23/99), 751 So.2d 783, this court allowed the denial of a challenge to a juror who would be more inclined to vote for death than for life, but would consider both and would follow the judge's instructions. In State v. Chester, 97-2790 (La.12/1/98), 724 So.2d 1276, this court affirmed a death sentence, although one juror in voir dire stated that the penalty should be death for a specific intent killing. However, the juror, in limited questioning, appeared to believe that mitigating circumstances only applied in accidental killing, and she stated that she would listen to both mitigating and aggravating circumstances and would make a judgment based on what was presented. Upon review of the overall voir dire, this court concluded that the defendant did not bear his burden of demonstrating that the juror was unwilling or unable to follow the law as instructed by the judge or to abide by her oath as a juror. In State v. Hart, 96-0697 (La.3/7/97), 691 So.2d 651, this court upheld the denial of a cause challenge against a juror who believed that the death penalty for an intentional killing ought to be the law, but agreed to abide by the judge's instructions and to consider both life and death sentences. In State v. Sepulvado, 93-2692 (La.4/8/96), 672 So.2d 158, this court held that cause challenges were properly denied under the substantial impairment standard for a juror who would kind of lean toward the death penalty, but would entertain a life sentence if the judge instructed him to do so, and for a juror who felt the death penalty was appropriate for the murder of a child, but would be open-minded and would consider all mitigating circumstances. In State v. Roy, 95-0638 (La.10/4/96), 681 So.2d 1230, this court refused to overturn the trial court's denial of a cause challenge to a juror who initially stated that he would not consider the statutory mitigating circumstance of intoxication, even if so instructed by the judge, but ultimately agreed he would consider it and give appropriate weight depending on the case. In each of the cases discussed immediately above involving the denial of a defendant's challenge for cause on reverse- Witherspoon grounds, the defendant failed to establish that the prospective juror's bias in favor of the death penalty would substantially impair the juror's willingness or ability to follow the law as instructed by the judge or to adhere to his or her oath as a juror. [15] By contrast, this court in Divers, Maxie, Robertson, and Ross reversed death penalties upon concluding that the defendant had established that the prospective juror's bias in favor of capital punishment would substantially impair the juror's willingness or ability to follow the law as instructed by the judge or to adhere to his or her oath as a juror. The line-drawing in many cases of this type is extremely difficult. Accordingly, the trial judge must determine the challenge on the basis of the entire voir dire, and on the judge's personal observations of the potential jurors during the questioning. State v. Cross, 93-1189 (La.6/30/95), 658 So.2d 683. Moreover, the reviewing court should accord great deference to the trial judge's determination and should not attempt to reconstruct the voir dire by a microscopic dissection of the transcript in search of magic words or phrases that automatically signify the jurors' qualification or disqualification. State v. Lucky, 96-1687 (La.4/13/99), 755 So.2d 845