Opinion ID: 1182062
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: Failure to Remove Juror House

Text: When the name of Victor Pasnick, the victim's husband, was read to the jury along with other possible trial witnesses, Juror House did not admit to knowing Pasnick. After the jury was sworn but before opening statements were delivered, the trial court reported receiving a phone call from House, who indicated he had acquired some information about the case he wished to discuss. House was summoned into court and, with counsel present, stated he had learned he might be acquainted with Victor Pasnick. He revealed that he was in the process of buying a house, that Pasnick might be the seller's real estate agent, and that he had met and spoken with the agent on at least three occasions at the agent's office. The prosecutor confirmed that Pasnick was in the real estate business and there appears to be no dispute that he was the agent representing the seller in the residential purchase transaction to which House was a party. House had completed the documents necessary to close the escrow and complete the sale, had last met with the agent five weeks earlier, and there was no indication that the two would have any further dealings. In response to questioning from the court and counsel, House stated that he had not discussed the case with Pasnick, and, although he thought highly of Pasnick and initially felt this might affect his judgment, he affirmed his ability to be objective and stated he would assume Pasnick's credibility was equal to that of any other witness. Defense counsel objected to House's continued service as a juror and requested his removal and replacement with one of the four alternate jurors. Counsel was unable to articulate a specific legal basis for the objection and conceded in response to further questioning by the court that Pasnick's testimony would not be the subject of serious controversy in the case. Based on House's responses and the evidence and argument in the record, the trial court found that House had no bias, express or implied, and would be a fair and impartial juror. Defendant's motion to remove him was denied. (9a) Federal defendant contends the court's ruling violated both section 1089 and his Sixth Amendment right to an impartial jury. We disagree. Implicit in the court's finding and remarks was a determination that House's initial failure to disclose his relationship with Pasnick was inadvertent and unintentional. Defendant does not challenge this determination and, indeed, argues that the trial court was required to remove House from the jury even if his failure to disclose his business transaction with Pasnick was unintentional. Defendant is incorrect. (10) Although intentional concealment of material information by a potential juror may constitute implied bias justifying his or her disqualification or removal ( People v. Morris (1991) 53 Cal.3d 152, 183-184 [279 Cal. Rptr. 720, 807 P.2d 949]; People v. Blackwell (1987) 191 Cal. App.3d 925, 929-931 [236 Cal. Rptr. 803]), mere inadvertent or unintentional failures to disclose are not accorded the same effect. [T]he proper test to be applied to unintentional `concealment' is whether the juror is sufficiently biased to constitute good cause for the court to find under Penal Code sections 1089 and [former] 1123 that he is unable to perform his duty. ( People v. Jackson (1985) 168 Cal. App.3d 700, 706 [214 Cal. Rptr. 346].) Whether a failure to disclose is intentional or unintentional and whether a juror is biased in this regard are matters within the discretion of the trial court. Except where bias is clearly apparent from the record, the trial judge is in the best position to assess the state of mind of a juror or potential juror on voir dire examination. ( People v. Morris, supra, 53 Cal.3d at p. 186, fn. 4; People v. Johnson, supra, 47 Cal.3d at p. 1224.) (9b) Applying these rules, we hold the trial court did not abuse its discretion in finding House's nondisclosure to be inadvertent and, further, in finding no express or implied bias on his part. In the context of voir dire examination, it is conceivable a juror might not immediately remember the name of a real estate agent with whom he had recently dealt or recognize the agent's name on a long list of witnesses. Notwithstanding his contact with Pasnick, which in any event was brief and not naturally or inevitably productive of bias, House affirmed his belief he could be fair and impartial. His candid disclosure of the contact even before the trial began further supports his determination to be a fair and impartial juror. Under these circumstances, neither defendant's Sixth Amendment rights nor his rights under section 1089 were infringed. People v. Diaz (1984) 152 Cal. App.3d 926 [200 Cal. Rptr. 77], cited by defendant, is distinguishable. In Diaz, the jury foreperson failed to disclose she was assaulted with a knife during an attempted rape and had pursued and stabbed her assailant, despite specific voir dire questions whether she had been a victim of a crime or involved in a knife fight. In view of the traumatic nature of the event and the specificity of the questions, it is highly unlikely the foreperson's nondisclosure was inadvertent.