Opinion ID: 2617760
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Defendant's Right of Peremptory Challenges

Text: In point three, defendant asserts that the trial court improperly failed to dismiss the two jurors, Cataro and Adams, for cause. During the exercise of challenges, defense counsel challenged Cataro for cause; the court denied the request; defendant then used a peremptory challenge. Defendant argues that, even though a defendant is not entitled to claim prejudice in the court's failure to dismiss prospective jurors for bias when he has not used all of his twelve statutory challenges, State v. Smith, 92 N.M. 533, 540-41, 591 P.2d 664, 671-72 (1979), under the facts in the present case, the reasoning behind that requirement is not applicable. Defendant claims that, because the challenges were exercised after each group of eighteen prospective jurors had been examined, defendant never had sufficient information to use effectively his challenges. Defendant sets forth the following example to clarify his point: when defense counsel learned that the court would not strike Juror Cataro, he recognized he had to hoard his challenges and use them judiciously in case the remaining panel members proved to be unwilling to consider the defense of insanity. Defendant relies on Fuson v. State, 105 N.M. 632, 735 P.2d 1138 (1987) in support of his position, and asks this court to apply the Fuson holding to the facts herein. The panel from which jury members were selected were divided into groups of eighteen potential jurors. These eighteen were seated in the jury box. The remainder of the panel sat in the courtroom. Those seated in the box were questioned while the rest of the panel members listened without responding to the questions and answers. After a general voir dire of the eighteen potential jurors was completed, the entire panel was removed from the courtroom. Of the eighteen prospective jurors, six at a time were brought back to the courtroom for additional voir dire. After all eighteen had been examined completely, the parties exercised their challenges for cause and peremptory challenges. This process was repeated until the requisite number of jurors and alternates was selected. Defendant raised as a defense not guilty by reason of insanity. During the voir dire defense counsel asked panel members if they felt that people should be relieved of the responsibility of their actions because of their mental state. The following exchange took place between Juror Cataro and counsel: [Defense Counsel]: Miss Cataro, what's your feeling about a person who does something that they're unaware of? Cataro: I have a problem dealing with someone who commits a criminal act and then have that person, or have the counselor come back and say, well, he committed it by reason of insanity. [Defense Counsel]: You have a problem? Cataro: I think that so often they do commit criminal acts and insanity shouldn't have anything to do with that. [Defense Counsel]: But. Cataro: I feel very strong about this. [Defense Counsel]: Would that preclude you from coming back with a verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity? Cataro: I would have to  They would have to prove [insanity] to me without a reasonable doubt. [Defense Counsel]: So the burden then would be on the defense to prove to you that. Is that what you're saying? Cataro: I think so. [Defense Counsel]: It's the defense burden? Cataro: [inaudible] [Defense Counsel]: The judge is going to instruct you that it's the state's burden to prove [sanity] to you beyond a reasonable doubt. That's what the judge is going to instruct you. Can you follow that instruction, or are you going to have a hard time with that? Cataro: Yes, I understand that. [Defense Counsel]: Okay, but you are not precluded from coming back with a verdict if the evidence so shows, correct? Is there a particular reason. Cataro: I think that so often that, now this is just an opinion. [Defense Counsel]: Sure, I agree. Cataro: Our judicial system, to me, in this day and age it seems that so often the criminal is let free for one reason or another and a lot of times it's because of the declaration of insanity. I don't know that he's insane, she's insane, whoever is. But I have a real hard time dealing with that because I think too often that they are let free to go out and commit crimes again and then they're back right in the judicial system, and here we go again. [Defense Counsel]: So you think that society is kind of coddling the criminal these days? Cataro: Sometimes. [Defense Counsel]: Okay, Could you set aside that particular, it's obviously a prejudice, that's your personal opinion. That's how you feel about the judicial system. Everyone, of course, is entitled to their opinion, and I'm happy that you were forthright with us on what your opinion is. Is there a, can you put that aside and deal with this case, or is that prejudice going to be there? Cataro: I don't know if I honestly can. During the exercise of challenges, defendant challenged the juror for cause. The court denied the request and defendant used a peremptory challenge to strike the juror. At another point in the voir dire, defense counsel questioned Juror Adams. The following took place: [Defense Counsel]: How do you feel about that [mental illness]? Adams: I've never been in contact with anybody who was mentally disturbed [inaudible]. I find it hard to believe that somebody could move from state to state, be lucid one minute and then the next minute not have any idea of what they are doing or the consequences entailed in their actions. [Defense Counsel]: So, what you would consider mentally ill is somebody who was in psychosis seven days a week, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year? Adams: I'm not an expert in mental illness, but I think that they would necessarily have to be in some sort of psychotic state 24 hours a day for them to be mentally ill. I just find it difficult to believe that somebody could move from one state to the next in rapid succession. Like I've said, I've never been in contact with it before so I really don't know. [Defense Counsel]: So you would be willing to listen to the psychologists and see what they have to say? Adams: I believe so. [Defense Counsel] And if they were to tell you that that was the case, that people can move in and out of a psychotic episode just as you say from moment to moment, would you be able to believe that? Adams: [no response] [Defense Counsel]: Would you weigh that? Adams: I think I would weigh that. Again, defendant moved to challenge the juror for cause and the court refused. Although defendant had remaining at the time two peremptory challenges, he accepted this juror. The right to a fair trial by an impartial jury is guaranteed in our federal and state constitution. U.S. Const. amend VI; New Mexico Const. art. II, §§ 14 & 18. An impartial jury is one in which each and every juror is totally free from any partiality whatsoever. State v. McFall, 67 N.M. 260, 263, 354 P.2d 547, 548-49 (1960). A prospective juror who cannot be impartial should be excused for cause. Fuson, 105 N.M. at 633, 735 P.2d at 1139. The trial court has a great deal of discretion in dismissing a juror for cause and on appeal its decision will not be disturbed absent manifest error or clear abuse of discretion. State v. Padilla, 91 N.M. 451, 453, 575 P.2d 960, 962 (Ct.App. 1978); see State v. Sutphin, 107 N.M. 126, 129, 753 P.2d 1314, 1317 (1988). In Fuson, we recognized that manifest error did occur and the juror should have been excused for cause. Under the circumstances therein, petitioner's right of peremptory challenge was impaired by the trial court's failure to excuse the potential juror for cause, because the names of some jurors were called after petitioner had exercised his final peremptory challenge. We held in that case prejudice is presumed where a party is compelled to use peremptory challenges on persons who should be excused for cause and that party exercises all of his or her peremptory challenges before the court completes the venire. Fuson, 105 N.M. at 634, 735 P.2d at 1140. Because defendant did not exercise all of his peremptory challenges, the holding in Fuson is inapplicable to the case at bar. We decline to accept defendant's invitation to extend Fuson to the facts in this case. The present case is more closely akin to State v. Smith, 92 N.M. 533, 591 P.2d 664 (1979). In Smith, defendant exercised only eight of his twelve statutory peremptory challenges. We held that, where a defendant fails to exercise available peremptory challenges, he cannot claim prejudice for failure to dismiss prospective jurors. Id. at 540, 591 P.2d at 671. Although we believe it would have been better had the trial judge excused Juror Cataro for cause, under the facts herein the failure to do so is not reversible error. Not only did defendant have two peremptory challenges remaining, but Juror Cataro affirmed during the voir dire that she could follow the court's instructions and apply the law to the facts of the case. In addition, if defendant had wished to dismiss Juror Adams, he had one peremptory challenge available at the conclusion of the voir dire. Defendant chose to accept Adams. Accordingly, the trial court's denial of defendant's challenge for cause of Adams was soundly within its discretion.