Court Opinion

ID: 9531764
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-07 04:14:23.323208+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T13:28:34.581112
License: Public Domain

SULLIVAN, Judge,
concurring
I concur except to the extent that under Issue I, the majority opinion indicates that Indiana does not have a "bias as a matter of law" rule.
I agree that the particular relationship here involved does not require a determination of bias as a matter of law, even though Barnes v. State (1975) 263 Ind. 320, 330 N.E.2d 743 would seem to dictate a contrary result. However, I disagree with that portion of the majority opinion which indicates that regardless of the nature and closeness of the relationship between juror and party, or witness, the defendant must always demonstrate prejudice, or the State be given opportunity to demonstrate the lack of prejudice.
At least two observers agree that Indiana has a "bias as a matter of law" rule. They conclude that the rule does not permit an evidentiary hearing which requires a defendant to demonstrate actual bias. See Smith v. Phillips (1982) 455 U.S. 209, 102 S.Ct. 940, 71 L.Ed.2d 78; Winick, Prosecutorial Peremptory Challenge Practices in Capital Cases, 81 Mich.L.Rev. 1 at 43 (1982). In my view, and notwithstanding some seemingly inconsistent authority, e.g., Woolston v. State (1983) Ind., 453 N.E.2d 965, these observers have correctly assessed the current state of our law. Haak v. State (1981), 275 Ind. 415, 417 N.E.2d 321; Barnes v. State, supra; Barker v. Cole (1979) 3d Dist., Ind.App., 396 N.E.2d 964.