Opinion ID: 2539046
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Jury-Selection Process

Text: Next, Miller contends that he was denied his Sixth and Fourteenth Amendment rights to a fair trial composed of jurors selected from a fair cross section of the community. Although he presents a three-fold argument in his initial brief to support this contention, Miller rephrases this contention in his reply brief into a single issue: whether a court should, in a death penalty case, require that all jurors be brought in for voir dire and not be excluded based on stated scheduling conflicts or on their beliefs about the death penalty. We conclude that no such requirement exists under either state or federal law. Initially, we note that regardless of how Miller phrases his argument, he has not raised a proper fair cross-section challenge. A fair cross-section claim asserts that a distinctive group in the community was systematically excluded from the jury pool. Lockhart v. McCree, 476 U.S. 162, 106 S.Ct. 1758, 90 L.Ed.2d 137 (1986). A group of persons defined solely in terms of shared attitudes that would prevent or substantially impair their performance of duties as jurors is not considered a distinctive group for fair cross-section purposes. Id. Secondly, we note that to the extent that Miller is challenging the death qualification of the jury, the Constitution does not prohibit the states from death-qualifying juries in capital cases. Id. In the present case, the focus of Miller's argument is on the questionnaire and the fact that some prospective jurors were excused based on the written answers they gave without ever being required to appear and answer questions from counsel. We are aware that Miller has cited us to case law from other jurisdictions in support of his argument. We are not persuaded by those cases, however, given that Arkansas has applicable law on point. We begin our analysis of Miller's argument with Rule 32.1 of the Arkansas Rules of Criminal Procedure, which allows a circuit court to use a written questionnaire. Rule 32.1 states in its entirety: The circuit court may require members of petit jury panels to complete written questionnaires setting forth the following information: (i) age; (ii) marital status; (iii) extent of education; (iv) occupation of juror and spouse; and (v) prior jury service. Upon request, such questionnaires shall be made available by the clerk of the court to the defendant or his counsel and the prosecuting attorney. Upon a showing of good cause, additional information may be furnished regarding jurors by order of the court. Ark. R.Crim. P. 32.1 (2009). This rule clearly permits the use of an expanded questionnaire. This court has observed that the concept of an expanded questionnaire is merely a written form of voir dire examination and is a matter within the trial court's discretion. Danzie v. State, 326 Ark. 34, 930 S.W.2d 310 (1996). Our analysis of Miller's argument continues with Rule 32.2 of the Arkansas Rules of Criminal Procedure, which sets forth the procedure for conducting voir dire in a criminal trial: (a) Voir dire examination shall be conducted for the purpose of discovering bases for challenge for cause and for the purpose of gaining knowledge to enable the parties to intelligently exercise peremptory challenges. The judge shall initiate the voir dire examination by: (i) identifying the parties; and (ii) identifying the respective counsel; and (iii) revealing the names of those witnesses whose names have been made known to the court by the parties; and (iv) briefly outlining the nature of the case. (b) The judge shall then put to the prospective jurors any question which he thinks necessary touching their qualifications to serve as jurors in the cause on trial. The judge shall also permit such additional questions by the defendant or his attorney and the prosecuting attorney as the judge deems reasonable and proper. Ark. R.Crim. P. 32.2 (2009) (emphasis added). The law in Arkansas thus clearly states that it is the trial court, rather than counsel for the State or the defense, that has the right to ask questions of the venire persons, and that it is a matter within the trial court's discretion whether to allow counsel to ask additional questions as the court deems reasonable or proper. Ark. R.Crim. P. 32.2(b); see Thessing v. State, 365 Ark. 384, 230 S.W.3d 526 (2006); see also Isom v. State, 356 Ark. 156, 148 S.W.3d 257 (2004). In Thessing, this court upheld a trial court's refusal to allow defense counsel to ask rehabilitative questions to prospective jurors after the State challenged those jurors for cause on whether they could impose the death penalty under certain circumstances. Thessing, 365 Ark. at 391, 230 S.W.3d at 533. In addition, the Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit has upheld the removal of a prospective juror in a death-sentence case based upon that prospective juror's written answers to a questionnaire expressing strong views against the death penalty. United States v. Purkey, 428 F.3d 738 (8th Cir.2005). The extent and scope of voir dire examination is within the sound discretion of the circuit court, and the latitude of that discretion is wide. Isom, 356 Ark. 156, 148 S.W.3d 257. We do not reverse the circuit court's restriction of voir dire examination unless that discretion is clearly abused. Id. Abuse of discretion occurs when the circuit court acts arbitrarily or groundlessly. Id. The fact that the Rules allow the circuit court to permit such additional questioning as he or she deems proper underscores the discretion vested in the circuit court. Thessing, 365 Ark. 384, 230 S.W.3d 526. Moreover, we note that in capital cases, no less than in non-capital cases, the Constitution does not dictate a particular voir dire process; it demands only that the process be `adequate... to identify unqualified jurors.' United States v. Quinones, 511 F.3d 289, 301 (2d Cir.2007) (quoting Morgan v. Illinois, 504 U.S. 719, 729, 112 S.Ct. 2222, 119 L.Ed.2d 492 (1992)). The record before us is replete with evidence demonstrating that the trial court did not act with an abuse of discretion. The trial court held two hearings where the questionnaire was discussed at length. The trial court considered input from both the defense and the State, and made some modifications at counsel's request, but ultimately used the ten-page questionnaire over Miller's objection. Notably, the questionnaire contained a statement that the answers given were truthful to the same effect as if sworn under oath in open court. Given these actions by the trial court, coupled with the absence of a per se requirement under either state or federal law that voir dire by counsel occur, we simply cannot find an abuse of discretion. Because we find no abuse of discretion and therefore no error, we need not consider the State's contention that Miller cannot demonstrate prejudice on this issue due to his failure to identify any juror that was wrongly seated on his jury or by his statement that he was [r]eady, Your Honor, when asked by the trial court if the jury was good for the Defense.