Opinion ID: 2277244
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: Voir Dire Regarding Prior Convictions

Text: Approximately two months before the murder, in October 1982, Hunt stabbed Lawson in the arm, apparently in response to Lawson's physical abuse of Charlotte. Defendant was arrested, and at Lawson's request, the charges were dropped. In response to defendant's pretrial motion, the trial court ruled that evidence of the prior stabbing incident would be admissible to prove motive and intent, Evid.R. 55, and that an appropriate limiting instruction would be given, Evid.R. 6. Defendant challenges both the voir dire of jurors about their feelings concerning a previously-convicted defendant and the failure of the court to instruct the jury that the prior stabbing could not be used to show defendant's propensity to commit assault. We first consider defendant's contention that the trial court exceeded the proper scope of voir dire in questioning potential jurors about the effect on them of evidence of a defendant's prior conviction. Although defendant had not previously been convicted of a prior offense, Thompson had been convicted in 1980 of assault. In response to a request by Thompson's counsel, the court asked potential jurors, Do you feel that if someone is convicted of a prior offense, that person would be more likely to commit another offense or the offense for which he was charged? If a juror was uncertain, the court asked follow-up questions to assure that the juror understood that a prior conviction was relevant for the limited purpose of impeaching the credibility of a witness. Defendant contends that the voir dire about prior convictions led those who eventually served as jurors to assume incorrectly that he had been convicted of the prior stabbing of Lawson. Under Rule 1:8-3, the scope of voir dire rests in the discretion of the trial court limited only by the demands of fairness and justice. State v. Sullivan, 43 N.J. 209, 239 (1964), cert. denied, 382 U.S. 990, 86 S.Ct. 564, 15 L.Ed. 2d 477 (1966); accord Biegenwald II, supra, 106 N.J. at 27-30. Absent a showing of abuse, the trial court's exercise of discretion will not be disturbed on appeal. Biegenwald, supra, 106 N.J. at 29. Under the circumstances, which include the fact that Thompson's conviction for assault and his indication that he would testify at trial, we find that the trial court was well within its discretion in inquiring whether potential jurors would be biased by the knowledge of Thompson's prior conviction. Defendant argues that the trial court committed reversible error in failing to instruct venirepersons during the first three days of voir dire that a conviction was admissible for the limited purpose of impeaching a defendant's credibility. Defendant links this point to the further argument that the trial court committed reversible error in failing to provide a limiting instruction following admission of the evidence of the October 1982 stabbing of Lawson. We treat the arguments separately. In light of Thompson's prior conviction for assault, the trial court did not abuse its discretion in reminding the venirepersons about the limited use of a prior conviction. That Thompson, who had been convicted of assault, subsequently entered a plea agreement with the State, does not detract from the correctness of the trial court's procedure. In response to defendant's pretrial motion to bar reference to his prior stabbing of Lawson, the trial court ruled that evidence of the stabbing was admissible to establish motive, but that it would give a limiting instruction at trial. When evidence of the stabbing was elicited by the State on its direct examination of Fennell, however, the trial court failed to provide a limiting instruction, and the defendant did not object. Hence, we treat the matter as plain error. The question is whether the failure to provide the instructions is clearly capable of producing an unjust result. R. 1:7-2 and R. 2:10-2; State v. Macon, 57 N.J. 325 (1971). Our review of the record satisfies us that the court's failure to provide the limiting instruction did not have that capability. The charge never mentioned the testimony about the October 1982 incident, and focused the jury's attention on the December 2, 1982, homicide. Furthermore, the evidence that defendant stabbed Lawson was overwhelming. Several witnesses established that on the day of the murder, after uttering threats about Lawson, defendant entered the victim's apartment holding a knife. Defendant's apparent purpose was to avenge his sister's abuse at Lawson's hands. Defendant admitted that he went to Lawson's apartment with a knife, but added that he was dissuaded from attacking him. Thompson contradicted defendant's testimony by stating that after he and defendant entered Lawson's apartment, defendant stabbed the victim repeatedly. That testimony was confirmed by Taylor, who testified that immediately after the murder, defendant admitted he had killed Lawson. Defendant's clothes, stained with the victim's blood, provided further corroboration. Based on the overwhelming nature of the testimony pointing to defendant's guilt, State v. Lair, 62 N.J. 388, 392 (1973), and the relative insignificance of the testimony about the prior stabbing incident, we find the error was harmless. Id.; see also Rose, supra, 112 N.J. at 490 ([i]n view of the substantial evidence of defendant's guilt, we do not find that the court's failure to give this limiting instruction constituted reversible error in the guilt phase of the trial); State v. Stefanelli, 78 N.J. 418, 436-37 (1979) (trial court's failure to instruct the jury that a co-defendant's guilty plea could not be used to show that the defendant was guilty ruled harmless error because evidence and testimony independently established defendant's guilt).