Opinion ID: 702508
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Did the district court err by limiting voir dire?

Text: 17 At the district court's behest, the parties submitted an agreed proposed procedure for jury selection. The parties suggested that the clerk send the venire a 19-page questionnaire, which included questions on a juror's beliefs about the death penalty. The parties further suggested that the court question the venire as a group about most issues and question jurors individually about their attitudes toward the death penalty and their exposure to pre-trial publicity; Government and defense counsel would then be given five or ten minutes per juror to ask follow up questions on these subjects. 18 Before jury selection, the district court informed counsel that it would not permit such a long questionnaire to be submitted and that in particular, it would not allow the potential jurors to be questioned through the mail about their attitudes toward capital punishment. Instead, the court approved a two page questionnaire covering general facts about jurors' backgrounds. The court also stated that it would allow individual sequestered voir dire about the death penalty and publicity, but only of those jurors whose responses to general questions indicated that they had a problem in either area. The court ruled that it would give two hours to each side (later expanded to three) to question jurors about any topic they wished. After this conference, Garza again asked the court to permit him to examine each juror on the death penalty and publicity. The court denied this request. 19 Garza argues that in light of the parties' agreement to follow this procedure, the court erred in refusing to allow him to question each juror on the capital punishment issue. Garza emphasizes that jurors may be particularly reluctant to volunteer their opinions on such a personal and emotional topic as capital punishment and argues that individual questioning would be more likely to elicit honest and detailed responses. Garza also complains that the district court unduly restricted the questions he could ask about capital punishment and the time in which he had to ask them. 20 Although we are sympathetic to Garza's concerns, our role is not to decide what voir dire procedure is best, but to determine whether the procedure chosen by the district court is sufficient. To do this, we ask  'whether the procedure used ... created a reasonable assurance that prejudice would be discovered if present.'  United States v. Quiroz-Hernandez, 48 F.3d 858, 868 (5th Cir.1995) (quoting United States v. Nell, 526 F.2d 1223, 1229 (5th Cir.1976)). When measured against this standard, we are convinced that the voir dire was adequate. 21 First, our careful review of the record shows that the group voir dire was sufficient to identify those jurors who needed to be questioned further about the death penalty. The court first asked jurors to identify themselves if they were opposed to the death penalty or would automatically impose the death penalty. The court followed this with several other questions about capital punishment and encouraged all the jurors to ask any questions they had. The court then privately questioned in more detail the members of the panel who responded. The court's questions were carefully designed to put the jurors at ease and encourage them to respond fully, and the jurors' answers reflect that the court was successful in obtaining a free flow of information from the venire. The next day, the court permitted each side to question the jurors for three hours. Both the government and Garza asked the venire about their feelings toward specific aggravating and mitigating factors and about the penalty process. These questions also elicited frank responses from the venire. Throughout voir dire, when a juror came forward with an answer suggesting bias, the court questioned the juror separately and individually and most often allowed counsel to ask questions as well. 22 Garza makes the related complaint that the court did not allow him enough time to question each juror about the death penalty and instructed him not to ask certain questions. Our review of the record leads us to conclude that the time and questions allowed were adequate. Although Garza lists a number of questions that the court disapproved, the record reveals that the court actually allowed Garza a great deal of latitude in his questioning of individual jurors. Lastly, because our review of the specific questions Garza wished to ask shows that they were not reasonably necessary to enable Garza to challenge jurors over their views on capital punishment, we conclude that the court did not abuse its discretion in limiting them. Quiroz-Hernandez, 48 F.3d at 869. 23 As a whole, the court's plan to question the venire as a group, to allow individual sequestered questioning of jurors who came forward and to permit each side an additional three hours of virtually unrestricted questioning was not an abuse of discretion. See United States v. Guy, 924 F.2d 702, 707-08 (7th Cir.1991) (court did not err by conducting similar group voir dire on racial prejudice). Although not every juror was ultimately questioned individually, the record reflects that the two day voir dire reasonably assured that the jurors' potential biases were uncovered and explored. 9 24 2. Did the court err by refusing to permit Garza to individually question Venire Members No. 11 and No. 19? 25 Garza maintains that the court erred by dismissing jurors No. 11 and No. 19 for their opposition to the death penalty without allowing him a sufficient opportunity to rehabilitate them. These jurors both responded when the court initially asked who was against the death penalty. When the court asked the follow-up question whether they could envision any setting, any case, not this one, any case, that is just so heinous and so terrible and so horrible, could you envision any case, in which you could find yourselves voting for the death penalty, both of these jurors unequivocally responded that they could not (in contrast to a number of other opposed jurors who stated that they could). The court then asked if these jurors could put aside their personal feelings and still follow the law, and again they responded that they could not under any circumstances. The court denied Garza's request to question No. 11 and No. 19 further and excused these jurors as having resoundingly stated their disability in a capital case. We see no error in the court's excusal of these jurors. The district court, who observed these jurors and heard their emphatic answers to his questions, was entitled to conclude that further examination by counsel was pointless. 26 3. Did the court err by dismissing for cause jurors opposed to the death penalty? 27 Garza contends next that the district court erred by dismissing for cause four jurors who indicated that they could not impose the death penalty in his case. A district court properly excuses a juror for cause when: 28 the juror's views [on the death penalty] would prevent or substantially impair the performance of his duties as a juror in accordance with his instructions and his oath. 29 Wainwright v. Witt, 469 U.S. 412, 424, 105 S.Ct. 844, 852, 83 L.Ed.2d 841 (1985); Williams v. Collins, 16 F.3d 626, 633 (5th Cir.), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 115 S.Ct. 42, 129 L.Ed.2d 937 (1994). This standard does not require the court to dismiss only those jurors who would automatically vote against the death penalty in every case. Stated differently, the trial court has the discretion to excuse a juror when it is left with the definite impression that a prospective juror would be unable to faithfully and impartially apply the law. Witt, 469 U.S. at 426, 105 S.Ct. at 853. We give considerable deference to the court's decision to excuse a juror on this basis, because such decisions are based in large part on its face-to-face credibility assessment of the prospective jurors. See id., at 426-29, 105 S.Ct. at 853-55 (although in habeas context, discussing universal reasons for deference); United States v. Bryant, 991 F.2d 171, 174 (5th Cir.1993) (decision to excuse juror for actual bias reviewed for manifest abuse of discretion). 30 We first apply this standard to the court's dismissal of jurors Ms. Nieto and Ms. Martinez. After thorough questioning by the district court and counsel, both jurors stated that they would only impose the death penalty if the defendant had abused and murdered a very small child. 10 Both jurors were unequivocal and the more the district court tested their beliefs, the more adamant they became in their opposition to voting for death in any other case. In these circumstances, the court did not abuse its discretion by deciding that these jurors held beliefs that would substantially impair them from performing their duties as jurors. Russell v. Collins, 998 F.2d 1287, 1293 (5th Cir.1993), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 114 S.Ct. 1236, 127 L.Ed.2d 580 (1994) (juror might impose death only if victim was small child); Bell v. Lynaugh, 828 F.2d 1085, 1092 (5th Cir.), cert. denied, 484 U.S. 933, 108 S.Ct. 310, 98 L.Ed.2d 268 (1987) (juror might impose death only if victim was a family member); Antwine v. Delo, 54 F.3d 1357, 1369 (8th Cir.1995) (willingness to consider death in extreme hypothetical situations does not render [potential jurors] immune from exclusion for cause). 31 The third member dismissed was Mr. Narup, who told the court that he could only impose death if the defendant had confessed to the murder or if Mr. Narup himself had witnessed it. 11 Garza argues that the court inappropriately dismissed Mr. Narup because it is up to each individual citizen to judge for himself the degree of proof of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. However, Mr. Narup did not say that he would hold the government to a high standard; rather, he indicated that he would hold the government to an impossible standard. Essentially, Mr. Narup told the court that if the defendant's life was at stake, no degree of proof would be sufficient. The district court did not abuse its discretion in concluding that Mr. Narup would be unable to follow its instructions. See Drew v. Collins, 964 F.2d 411, 417 (5th Cir.1992), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 113 S.Ct. 3044, 125 L.Ed.2d 730 (1993) (proper to excuse juror who would hold government to higher standard than reasonable doubt). 32 Lastly, we consider the court's excusal of Mr. Flores. Mr. Flores originally did not indicate that he was opposed to the death penalty. Later, Mr. Flores apparently became aware that some of the victims in the case had been involved in drug trafficking and informed the court that he could never vote for the death penalty in any case in which the victim was involved with drugs. The court attempted to steer Mr. Flores away from considering these particular circumstances of Garza's trial, but Mr. Flores persisted. After further questioning, Mr. Flores agreed with the government's statement that if the person who is killed is another drug dealer or a competitor or somebody else who is in the same organization or something like that, in those situations [he] would never consider the death penalty, [and] would never impose the death penalty. The following discussion ensued: 33 GOVT: In other words, if [the victim] was a person who was in drugs ... and the law says whether or not the person--whether or not the victim is one, you should still be able to consider assessing the death penalty, you would not be able to follow that law. 34 FLORES: I would not be able to give the death penalty to someone that is in the same thing that he [Garza] is doing. They are both in drugs. 35 COURT: Let's ask it this way. Let us say that the law does not distinguish whether the person that was killed was in drugs or not in drugs. Are you saying that under no circumstances, if he was, that you could not follow that law and give death under those circumstances? 36 FLORES: Right, that is what I am saying. 37 After repeating several more times that he could not impose death in a drug-related killing, Mr. Flores was excused. 38 As Garza points out, Mr. Flores was in a slightly different position than Ms. Nieto and Ms. Martinez. Rather than identifying the only case in which he could impose death, Mr. Flores indicated that only in a case like Garza's could he not impose death. Garza contends that this difference is one of constitutional dimension; that even if Witt permits the court to dismiss Ms. Nieto and Ms. Martinez, it does not support the dismissal of Mr. Flores. We cannot agree. While the process of qualifying jurors to sit in a capital case is of particular importance, [h]ere, as elsewhere, the quest is for jurors who will conscientiously apply the law and find the facts. Witt, 469 U.S. at 423, 105 S.Ct. at 851-52. The district court is not limited to disqualifying only those jurors who would never vote for the death penalty, id. at 421, 105 S.Ct. at 850-51, but can excuse those who cannot set aside their own predilections in deference to the rule of law. Lockhart v. McCree, 476 U.S. 162, 176, 106 S.Ct. 1758, 1766-67, 90 L.Ed.2d 137 (1986). 39 In Mr. Flores' case, the source of his bias was not the death penalty in the abstract, or in some irrelevant hypothetical case. Mr. Flores volunteered that he would not be able to overcome his bias and vote in favor of the death penalty where the victim was a co-conspirator in a drug trafficking case. The district court was not required to ignore this bias and did not abuse its discretion by excusing Mr. Flores. 40 4. Did the court err by denying Garza's for-cause challenges to certain jurors? 41 During voir dire, Garza challenged for cause two jurors for their exposure to pretrial publicity and six for their relationships to government witnesses and law enforcement officers. 12 The district court denied these challenges. 42
43 Garza contends that the district court erred by not excusing Ms. Esparza and Mr. Krell, both of whom had heard some publicity about Garza's upcoming trial. Ms. Esparza told the court that she had seen a recent article in the newspaper that had mentioned that Garza was to be tried for drug trafficking. She did not remember any reference to alleged killings or deaths. When the court asked her if the article had caused her to form an opinion, she stated that it had, [b]ecause there is so much of that [drugs] in our community. And we have so many young children. And I have grandchildren. When the court asked if she would have trouble being fair and impartial in a drug case, she replied But I don't have the facts, you see. I would have to see what exactly is presented and then I would be able to. After thorough questioning, Ms. Esparza assured the court that she could be fair, that she did not already believe that Garza was guilty and that she would only make a determination after all the facts had been presented to her. Lastly, the court asked her if, despite the article, she could view the evidence with a clean and open mind, and she replied that she could. 44 Mr. Krell informed the court that he had been in a scuba diving class with Thomas Rumbo twenty years earlier and had heard that he had been shot. Mr. Krell stated that he had not known Rumbo personally and had not heard anything further about his death. When the court asked Mr. Krell if he had any information about how Rumbo had died, Mr. Krell responded I don't know anything about what happened. During a number of follow-up questions, Mr. Krell said that he would be able to be impartial and that he could make a decision based solely on the evidence. 45 As we have previously stated, [a] person is not automatically rendered unqualified to serve as a juror merely because he has been exposed to media coverage of the charged crime. The issue becomes whether exposure to media publicity will preclude the individual from returning a verdict based solely on the person's application of the law as stated to the evidence presented. Bell, 828 F.2d at 1093. The district court must decide this question after observing the demeanor and response of the prospective jurors and [evaluating] any possible prejudice. United States v. Doggett, 821 F.2d 1049, 1051 (5th Cir.1987). We will only second-guess the court's decision that a juror is unbiased if there is an abuse of discretion. Id. 46 We see no abuse of discretion in the court's conclusion that neither Ms. Esparza nor Mr. Krell was biased by what they had heard. The court carefully and thoroughly questioned both jurors and allowed counsel to question them as well. The court was entitled to find that these panel members were not tainted by media coverage and were able to serve as jurors. 13 47
48 Garza also argues that the court should have excused a number of jurors who were acquainted with government witnesses or members of law enforcement. Garza complains about Ms. Scheiner, who was a friend of Jim Parker, a potential government witness from the district attorney's office 14 ; Ms. Casas, who had several distant connections to law enforcement 15 ; Mr. Robles, who had friends who worked for law enforcement and knew a government witness 16 ; Mr. Guevara, who worked at the Cameron County tax office and knew several witnesses 17 ; Mr. Medill, who was friends with several police officers that he saw every three or four months; and Mr. Moreno, who was friends with a law enforcement witness but had not seen him in two years. The district court specifically found that Guevara, Medill and Moreno would not bring any pro-law enforcement bias to their jobs as jurors and denied Garza's challenges to all six of these jurors. 49 Again, we review the court's determination of a juror's actual bias only for manifest abuse of discretion. Bryant, 991 F.2d at 174. After carefully reviewing the voir dire record, we conclude that the court did not err.