Opinion ID: 2229976
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: sequestered, individual voir dire

Text: Finally, Thompson claims that the district court erred in failing to permit limited, sequestered voir dire of the venire. Prior to trial, Thompson moved for limited, sequestered, and individual voir dire of prospective jurors on the issues of knowledge of the case, knowledge of the defendant, knowledge of the decedent, and opinions about guilt or innocence, necessitated by inflammatory and highly prejudicial pretrial publicity and the widespread community discussion of the killing. In support of her motion, Thompson presented copies of numerous newspaper articles from towns in Knox County and the surrounding area. These articles were factual in nature. One article, in listing Frank's survivors, made reference to his dear mother, Mrs. Mamie Frank. Another article consisted of a letter to the editor commenting on two recent killings in the community, and the editor's response, neither of which mentioned Thompson or Frank by name. The letter commended the editor for covering the story about a man ... killed by a woman near Verdigre in an impersonal and appropriate way. The editor responded in part: We report what we know are facts. The emotions in that case are: We are very sorry for the mother of the deceased. She is a true gema very, very outstanding, sincere, and honest person who doesn't deserve to be a part of this tragedy, either. That's our emotions. The facts will come out during the trial which has been postponed until June. These sympathetic references to an elderly woman in the community do not strike us as being inflammatory or prejudicial to the defendant. Thompson also submitted affidavits from local residents that there were strong opinions held in the case and opining that the selection of a fair and impartial jury would be difficult. A jury selection expert hired by Thompson submitted an affidavit, based on an attitudinal survey of 36 randomly selected potential jurors in Knox County, that there was a significant subset of potential jurors who could not fairly decide the case because they had knowledge of the case through community discussion and had already formed opinions about the case. She conceded, however, that a fair and impartial jury could be found in Knox County. Thompson argues that the lack of sequestered, individual voir dire prevented her from ascertaining the true extent of pertinent knowledge and opinions of potential jurors and that she was prejudiced thereby. The record reflects that the trial court conducted a thorough examination of prospective jurors as to their knowledge of the case, whether they had formed an opinion about Thompson's guilt or innocence, and whether they could set aside any preconceived opinions and decide the case solely on the evidence. Only 3 individuals from a venire of 42 indicated that they did not feel they could set aside their previously formed opinions and render a verdict based solely upon the facts of the case, and those 3 individuals were excused for cause. This is inconsistent with the notion that a biased jury was seated. See State v. Tucker, 242 Neb. 336, 494 N.W.2d 572 (1993). Except when there is a showing that without sequestration a party's rights would be prejudiced, a party has no right to examine a venireperson out of the presence of all other venirepersons. State v. Bradley, 236 Neb. 371, 461 N.W.2d 524 (1990), cert. denied ___ U.S. ___, 112 S.Ct. 143, 116 L.Ed.2d 109 (1991). The defendant has failed to show that a biased jury was seated or that she was prejudiced in any way by the district court's refusal to grant her motion for sequestered, individual voir dire. Her own jury selection expert conceded that it was possible to select a fair and impartial jury in Knox County. No error has been demonstrated by the trial court's refusal to grant sequestered, individual voir dire of each person called to sit as a juror in this case.