Opinion ID: 509231
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Prosecutor's Reference to Pending Civil Litigation

Text: 28 Petitioners also argue that the prosecutor improperly questioned the veniremen during voir dire in asking the prospective jurors whether they would be biased due to the pending civil litigation between petitioners and the arresting officers. Petitioners contended that the prosecutor's comments could have biased the jury against them by creating the impression that an acquittal would have a collateral effect on the pending civil litigation and would result in disgrace and financial loss to the officers involved in the case. We find the petitioners' argument wholly speculative and without merit. The prosecutor's allegedly objectionable comments referring to the pending civil litigation could have just as easily biased the jury in favor of the petitioners since they could have assumed that a conviction on the assault and battery charges would preclude the petitioners from obtaining compensation for their severe injuries. In Goins v. McKeen, 605 F.2d 947 (6th Cir.1979), this court held that a state habeas petitioner who claims he was denied a fair trial because the jury was not sufficiently indifferent must prove bias  'not as a matter of speculation but a demonstrable reality.'  Goins, 605 F.2d at 951 (quoting United States v. Haldeman, 559 F.2d 31, 60 (D.C.Cir.1976), cert. denied sub nom. Ehrlichman v. U.S., 431 U.S. 933 (1977)). In the instant case, petitioners have failed to show any evidence that the jury was biased against them. Accordingly, we find no constitutionally cognizable error stemming from the remarks made by the prosecutor during voir dire. 29