Opinion ID: 163344
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Coerced Jury Verdict

Text: 35 The State also contends the district court erred in holding that the trial court gave a coercive supplemental jury instruction during second stage deliberations. See generally Lowenfield v. Phelps, 484 U.S. 231, 241, 108 S.Ct. 546, 98 L.Ed.2d 568 (1988) (Any criminal defendant, and especially any capital defendant, being tried by a jury is entitled to the uncoerced verdict of that body.). 36 The jury began second stage deliberations in midafternoon. Four hours and forty minutes later, the trial court sua sponte called the jury into the courtroom, commented the jury had been deliberating for a reasonable time/a good deal of time and asked the foreperson to report the jury's numerical division without stating the punishments reflected in that division. Tr. vol. VIII at 1559. The jury was divided eleven to one. The trial court then gave this instruction: 37 Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, you have advised me through your foreperson that you have not reached a unanimous verdict as to punishment. I am going to ask you to deliberate further. You are advised that if upon further deliberation you are unable to agree unanimously as to a punishment recommendation, I shall discharge you, and according to law, I must impose either a sentence of life or a sentence of life without parole. You are excused at this time back into [the bailiff's] charge for further deliberations. 38 Id. at 1560; see also Darks, 954 P.2d at 165 (noting language in last sentence is contained in Oklahoma Jury Instruction 442 and tracks OKLA. STAT. tit. 21, § 701.11). Mr. Darks did not object to this supplemental instruction. Twenty minutes later, the jury returned a unanimous verdict of death.
39 Although Mr. Darks argued on direct appeal that the trial court's allegedly coercive supplemental instruction violated his constitutional rights, the OCCA decided this issue on state law grounds only, determining the trial judge gave the supplemental instruction after the jury had exceeded a reasonable time for reaching a punishment decision. Darks, 954 P.2d at 166. Notwithstanding the OCCA's failure to address Mr. Darks' constitutional claims, the State argues AEDPA still applies in light of that court's resolution of the claim on the merits. The State contends the OCCA's adjudication is an implied rejection of the merits of the constitutional claim and therefore is entitled to some deference under AEDPA. 8 40 We agree with the district court that there is no state court decision to which deference is due. [W]here a federal constitutional argument was raised on direct appeal but not addressed by the state court in any manner, we review that argument de novo.  Le v. Mullin, 311 F.3d 1002, 1013 (10th Cir.2002) (per curiam); see Ellis v. Mullin, 312 F.3d 1201, 1206 (10th Cir.2002) (Because the OCCA did not consider [petitioner's] federal constitutional claim, our review is de novo. ); Neill v. Gibson, 278 F.3d 1044, 1053 (10th Cir. 2001) (reviewing de novo where state court denied claim on state ground unrelated to federal issue), cert. denied, ___ U.S. ___, 123 S.Ct. 145, 154 L.Ed.2d 54 (2002); Romano v. Gibson, 239 F.3d 1156, 1166 (10th Cir.2001) (reviewing de novo where petitioners' challenge on direct appeal was based on federal constitutional grounds, but OCCA addressed claims only under state law).
41 In Allen v. United States, 164 U.S. 492, 17 S.Ct. 154, 41 L.Ed. 528 (1896), the Supreme Court upheld the giving of a supplemental instruction to a jury unable to reach a consensus. The instruction at issue in Allen directed those jurors holding minority views to reconsider their views in light of the contrary views held by the majority of jurors, but stated that the verdict must be that of each individual juror. See id. at 501, 17 S.Ct. 154; see also Lowenfield, 484 U.S. at 237-38 & n. 1, 108 S.Ct. 546 (citing Allen and again approving use of supplemental jury charge when jury is deadlocked). The Allen instruction's purpose is 42 to encourage unanimity (without infringement upon the conscientious views of each individual juror) by urging each juror to review and reconsider the evidence in the light of the views expressed by other jurors, in a manner evincing a conscientious search for truth rather than a dogged determination to have one's way in the outcome of the deliberative process. 43 Gilbert v. Mullin, 302 F.3d 1166, 1173 (10th Cir.2002) (quoting United States v. Smith, 857 F.2d 682, 683-84 (10th Cir. 1988)), cert. denied, ___ U.S. ___, 123 S.Ct. 1911, 155 L.Ed.2d 835 (U.S. Apr. 28, 2003) (No. 02-9334); see also United States v. McElhiney, 275 F.3d 928, 935 (10th Cir.2001) (An Allen instruction is, in effect, a charge given by a trial court that encourages the jury to reach a unanimous verdict so as to avoid a mistrial.). 44 The supplemental instruction here is somewhat different than a traditional Allen charge, and we must decide whether it improperly coerced a jury verdict. Lowenfield and other federal cases addressing an Allen charge provide an instructive framework for determining whether the instruction was impermissibly coercive. Cf. McElhiney, 275 F.3d at 941 ([E]ven if the district court's comments did not constitute an instruction ( Allen or otherwise), its remarks still had the potential to coerce the jury, and, as coercion is the primary concern with the giving of an Allen instruction, the overall Allen analysis would still be applicable.). In conducting this analysis, we are mindful that [w]hether a jury has been improperly coerced by a judge is a mixed question of law and fact. Gilbert, 302 F.3d at 1171. 45 In deciding whether a supplemental instruction is coercive, the Supreme Court has held that a reviewing court must look at the supplemental charge given by the judge `in its context and under all the circumstances.' Id. at 1173 (quoting Lowenfield, 484 U.S. at 237, 108 S.Ct. 546 (quotation omitted)); see also McElhiney, 275 F.3d at 941 (examining trial court's comments under all circumstances to decide if jury's verdict was product of impermissible coercion). Factors reviewing courts consider in making a coercion determination include: `(1) the language of the instruction, (2) whether the instruction is presented with other instructions, (3) the timing of the instruction, and (4) the length of the jury's subsequent deliberations.' Gilbert, 302 F.3d at 1173 (quoting United States v. Arney, 248 F.3d 984, 988 (10th Cir.2001)); see also United States v. Porter, 881 F.2d 878, 888 (10th Cir.1989) (considering, in addition to first three factors listed above, whether trial court gave instruction before jury reached deadlock). 46 The district court considered the following circumstances in deciding that the second stage verdict in this case was influenced by the coercive action of the trial court. The second stage lasted no more than five and a half hours. The jury had deliberated for four and a half hours, and was still deliberating when the trial court sua sponte called it into the courtroom and asked about its numerical division. Moreover, the jury had not indicated it was deadlocked, and had earlier asked a question indicating it was leaning toward a sentence of life without parole. The district court also pointed out that the supplemental instruction did not urge the minority to consider the majority's views and instead informed the jury of the consequences of an inability to reach a unanimous verdict, thereby suggesting the jury could avoid its duty to decide a sentence. Finally, less than twenty minutes after the polling, the jury returned a verdict. 47 Upon de novo review of the totality of the circumstances, we conclude to the contrary that the supplemental instruction did not coerce a death sentence. First, nothing in the language of the supplemental instruction itself can be deemed coercive. Although it lacked protective language assuring minority jurors they were not required to relinquish firmly held convictions, it did not include any language asking the jurors to reconsider their positions and to change their positions if they believed they were wrong. See Montoya v. Scott, 65 F.3d 405, 414 (5th Cir.1995). The instruction did not press the hold-out juror to yield to the majority position. When, as here, a neutrally phrased supplemental instruction is directed at all jurors rather than just those holding a minority view, and encourages them to continue deliberations, it reduces the possibility of coercion. See Arney, 248 F.3d at 988. 48 The instruction did not state that the jury must reach a unanimous verdict or that a hung jury was unacceptable. See Booth-El v. Nuth, 288 F.3d 571, 582 (4th Cir.), cert. denied, ___ U.S. ___, 123 S.Ct. 384, 154 L.Ed.2d 311 (2002). The jurors therefore knew they would be discharged with or without a unanimous verdict. Indeed, the juror's right to continue disagreeing was included in the charge at least implicitly, if not expressly. See Tr. vol. VIII at 1560 (indicating that if jury did not reach unanimous verdict, trial court would discharge jury and impose either life or life without parole sentence). The instruction merely asked the jury to continue deliberating, which is what it would have done without the supplemental instruction, and the instruction did not impose any time restrictions on the deliberations. Moreover, while the court indicated the consequences if the jury did not reach a unanimous verdict, the Supreme Court has upheld a similar instruction as not coercive. See Lowenfield, 484 U.S. at 234, 235, 108 S.Ct. 546. 49 In addition, we have held that calling the jury sua sponte into the courtroom to inquire about their progress is not coercive. See United States v. Rodriguez-Mejia, 20 F.3d 1090, 1092 (10th Cir.1994) (holding not error, although not preferred, to give supplemental instructions before jury declares deadlock, even when jury had been deliberating only few hours). A court may give a supplemental instruction sua sponte before counsel requests one, even without any indication from the jury that it is deadlocked. See Gilbert, 302 F.3d at 1175; Thomas v. Jones, 891 F.2d 1500, 1504 (11th Cir.1989) (trial court not coercive when it interrupted jury deliberations, advised jury it was not trying to force verdict but if jury could not agree unanimously on death verdict jury would be required to return verdict of life without parole, and then permitted jury to continue and complete deliberations). 50 Nor was the trial court's inquiry about the jury's numerical division per se impermissible. See Montoya, 65 F.3d at 412 (distinguishing direct appeal of federal criminal conviction, governed by per se rule of Brasfield v. United States, 272 U.S. 448, 47 S.Ct. 135, 71 L.Ed. 345 (1926), from federal collateral review of state conviction and citing cases from Fourth, Sixth, Seventh, Eighth, and Ninth Circuits); see also Lowenfield, 484 U.S. at 240 n. 3, 108 S.Ct. 546 (citing cases); Schaff v. Snyder, 190 F.3d 513, 535-36 (7th Cir. 1999) (noting no Supreme Court case holds state court judge's inquiry into numerical breakdown is constitutionally prohibited); Jiminez v. Myers, 40 F.3d 976, 980 (9th Cir.1993) ([A state] trial court's neutral inquiry into the division of the jury without other circumstances suggestive of coercion does not deprive a defendant of due process.). After inquiring about the numerical division, the trial court here did not know who the hold-out juror was or which punishment the majority of jurors favored. See Gilbert, 302 F.3d at 1176 (trial court's inquiry into jury's numerical division without eliciting information about favored sentence not coercive); Thompson v. Cain, 161 F.3d 802, 810 (5th Cir.1998) (trial court's inquiry into jury's numerical division did not render defendant's trial fundamentally unfair); cf. Montoya, 65 F.3d at 413 (less coercive for court to inquire about numerical division than about how each side stood). The trial court merely assessed the jury's progress, gave a neutral instruction to continue deliberations, and repeated its earlier instruction on the consequences of the failure to reach a unanimous verdict. Under these circumstances, the jurors could not have labored under the impression that the court was interested in what their actual decision would be. Gilbert, 302 F.3d at 1176. 51 Mr. Darks points to three other circumstances he alleges demonstrate a coerced verdict. He contends the trial court's individual voir dire in chambers, asking only whether prospective jurors could consider the death penalty as one of the punishment alternatives, indicated to prospective jurors that the court was inclined toward a death sentence. Mr. Darks points out that the questioning occurred in secret and that the trial court did not ask whether each potential juror could consider all three punishments or specifically whether the juror could consider life or life without parole. We are not persuaded the individual voir dire was coercive. The trial court neutrally questioned each juror individually and asked only whether the prospective juror could consider the death penalty. The court did not in any way suggest a death sentence was the proper punishment. 52 Mr. Darks also points to the fact that the trial court sua sponte removed potential jurors who could not consider a death sentence, see Tr. vol. I at 176-77; id. vol. II at 296-98, but removed other jurors who indicated a preference for the death penalty only after the State or Mr. Darks moved to excuse them for cause, see id. vol. II at 206; id. vol. III at 382-84, 429. However, the trial court allowed both parties to question all potential jurors about their beliefs and their ability to consider life and life without parole as possible punishments. One potential juror was removed after such questioning because that juror could not consider life with the possibility of parole as a punishment option. Id. Tr. vol. III at 428-29. The trial court did not express an opinion that death was the proper punishment. Moreover, the second stage instructions informed the jury that the court did not suggest a particular punishment, and that the jury had the duty to decide which of the three punishments to impose. O.R. at 331, 348. We presume the jury followed these instructions. See Weeks v. Angelone, 528 U.S. 225, 234, 120 S.Ct. 727, 145 L.Ed.2d 727 (2000). 53 Second, Mr. Darks asserts that the trial court's response to a note from the jury coerced a death penalty verdict. At some unknown time during deliberations, the jury sent a note to the trial court asking Does the Life Without Parole punishment Require a unanimous verdict? The last paragraph on Supplemental instruction number 12 says ` You may also return a unanimous verdict of imprisonment for life or life without parole.' O.R. 358 (emphasis in original). The trial court answered yes. Id. Mr. Darks does not explain why he believes the response to this question contributed to a coerced verdict. We think the trial court's response merely clarified the original jury instructions. At the time the court answered the question, the jury was still deliberating and the court was unaware of the jury's numerical division. While the jury's note arguably suggests it was leaning toward a sentence of life without parole at the time it sent the note, we are not convinced the court's response to the jury's note coerced a death sentence. 54 Finally, Mr. Darks argues that the relatively short period of time between the trial court's giving of the supplemental instruction and the jury's verdict demonstrates coercion. There is a suggestion of coercion when a jury returns its verdict soon after receiving the supplemental instruction. See Lowenfield, 484 U.S. at 240, 108 S.Ct. 546. But defense counsel did not object to the division poll or supplemental instruction, further suggesting the potential for coercion argued now was not apparent to one on the spot. Id. The supplemental instruction contained no coercive language and expressly indicated the jurors need not reach a unanimous verdict. Cf. McElhiney, 275 F.3d at 946-47 (recognizing short time for deliberations may be important in determining coercion where trial court employs faulty language in supplemental instruction). The jury was not deadlocked and the short amount of time it deliberated after hearing the supplemental instruction lends scant support to a finding of coercion, especially when the instruction did not exhort the jury to reach a unanimous verdict. It is just as likely the jury was within twenty minutes of a verdict before the trial court gave the supplemental instruction. 55 After viewing the supplemental instruction in light of the totality of the circumstances, we conclude it was not coercive. It did not displace the jurors' independent judgments or suggest a need for compromise or expediency. If anything, the trial court painstakingly attempted to avoid influencing the jury to return a verdict of death. Thomas, 891 F.2d at 1504; cf. Jenkins v. United States, 380 U.S. 445, 446, 85 S.Ct. 1059, 13 L.Ed.2d 957 (1965) (per curiam) (trial court's exhortation to jury that [y]ou have got to reach a decision in this case was coercive). The supplemental instruction therefore did not deny Mr. Darks his right to a fair trial and an impartial jury. See Lowenfield, 484 U.S. at 241, 108 S.Ct. 546; see also Montoya, 65 F.3d at 409 (requiring supplemental charge to be so coercive it unconstitutionally rendered trial fundamentally unfair). Accordingly, the district court erred in granting habeas relief on this claim.