Opinion ID: 1926022
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Denial of Defense Motions to Strike for Cause

Text: The jury selection proceeded in three stages. We glean from the record that, sometime before the trial began, prospective jurors completed a juror questionnaire. [4] The day before the trial began, the prospective jurors were brought before the judge individually for voir dire questioning. Several venirepersons were excused for cause at this time on the basis of the answers to the questionnaires alone. Each party moved to strike certain jurors for cause; some of these motions were granted, while others were denied or reserved. Finally, on the day of trial, the judge allowed renewal of motions to strike for cause that he had previously denied or reserved. The court then proceeded to select the jury, and the parties exercised their peremptory challenges. The defense exercised nineteen of the twenty peremptory challenges permitted by Maryland Rule 4-313(a)(2), and the State exercised the ten challenges permitted by the rule. Each side exhausted its allotted strikes for the alternates. Appellant argues that the trial court erred in failing to excuse six prospective jurors for cause, specifically, William Cooper, Sean Haynie, Thomas Leising, Joseph Satterthwait, James McLaughlin, and Sirkka Mitchell. As to Mitchell, Leising, and McLaughlin, the answer is simple. The record reflects that the trial court granted the defense motions to strike for cause. The trial judge denied the motions initially, but, when Appellant renewed his motions to strike for cause during the final stage of jury selection, the court excused these individuals. The remaining three prospective jurors, Cooper, Haynie, and Satterthwait, did not serve on the jury; Appellant exercised a peremptory challenge to excuse each juror. We need not decide whether the trial judge erred in declining to excuse prospective jurors Cooper, Haynie, or Satterthwait because, even if there was error, it was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. See Dorsey v. State, 276 Md. 638, 659, 350 A.2d 665, 678 (1976). As noted, Appellant did not exhaust his peremptory challenges. If disqualification for cause is improperly denied, but the accused has not exercised all allowable peremptory challenges, there is no reversible error. White v. State, 300 Md. 719, 729, 481 A.2d 201, 205 (1984). Additionally, none of the challenged prospective jurors served on the jury; consequently, it is clear beyond a reasonable doubt that any alleged bias and/or knowledge of the case could not have influenced the verdict either as to the conviction or as to the sentence. Id. at 728, 481 A.2d at 205 (stating that the claimed bias of [a prospective juror unsuccessfully challenged for cause] did not influence the verdict because [the prospective juror] did not serve on the jury).