Court Opinion

ID: 9480663
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-05 07:54:48.323857+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:47:49.654551
License: Public Domain

HILL, Senior Circuit Judge,
dissenting:
I dissent, and write separately in order to express my disagreement with the majority's conception of the appropriate scope of voir dire. In my view, the majority's opinion erodes the very premise of our jury system, namely, the "selection of jurors who at least have an open mind about the case." Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 79, 89 n. 12, 106 S.Ct. 1712, 1719 n. 12, 90 L.Ed.2d 69 (1986).
The issue of voir dire-and its treatment in our courts-has always reflected basic notions of due process, fair play and the jury's role in a complex society:
Our civilization has decided, and very justly decided, that determining the guilt or innocence of men is a thing too important to be trusted to trained men. If it wishes for light upon that awful matter, it asks men who know no more law than I know, but who can feel the things I feel in a jury box. When it wants a library catalogued, or the solar system discovered, or any trifle of that kind, it uses up *758its specialists. But when it wishes anything done that is really serious, it collects twelve of the ordinary men standing about.1
G.K. Chesterton (attributed). The function of voir dire, or the examination of potential jurors, is, as Chesterton notes, to “collect[] twelve of the ordinary men [and, in this century, women] standing about,” and organize them into an impartial jury, with no substantial biases regarding the outcome of a case.
This attitude towards voir dire has not always been standard. In the twelfth century, in England, during the reign of Henry II, the jury was essentially a body of neighbors, who rendered a verdict of guilt or innocence (apparently more often guilt) based on their own knowledge of the facts. See, e.g. C. Rembar, The Law of the Land: the Evolution of Our Legal System, 129 (1980). If jurors lacked personal knowledge of a dispute, they prepared for jury service by informing themselves on the subject before appearing in court. See, e.g. L. Moore, The Jury: Tool of Kings, Paladium of Liberty, 39 (1973) (hereinafter The Jury). Since courts assumed that jurors had personal knowledge of the truth of the facts in dispute, they could hold jurors guilty of perjury for rendering a false verdict. Moore, The Jury, 43. Twelfth century jurors did not weigh evidence; instead, they transported their own perceptions of the evidence — and with it, the threat of bias, self-interest, and intimidation by authority — into the courtroom.
Early scholars traced the source of the modern jury to Magna Carta, but “[historians no longer accept this pedigree.” Duncan v. Louisiana, 391 U.S. 145, 151 n. 16, 88 S.Ct. 1444, 1448 n. 16, 20 L.Ed.2d 491 (1968). Well into the fourteenth century, members of the accusing jury (today’s Grand Jury) continued to sit on the trial panel. Moore, The Jury, 56. By 1305, however, an established system for peremptory challenges arose. See The Ordinance for Inquests, 33 Edw. 1, Stat. 4 (1305), (providing that if “they that sue for the King will challenge any ... Jurors, they shall assign ... a Cause certain.”) By 1352, a statute permitted challenges to petit juries on the ground that they had participated as “indicators” on the accusing jury. See 25 Edw. 3, Stat. 5, Ch. 3. By a series of complicated steps, therefore, the jury system slowly evolved, until by “the 14th and 15th centuries, the jury became an impartial trier of facts, owing in large part to [the] development in that period, allowing challenges.” Press-Enterprise Co. v. Superior Court of California, 464 U.S. 501, 506, 104 S.Ct. 819, 822, 78 L.Ed.2d 629 (1984).2 By the eighteenth century, William Blackstone could write that “the founders of the English law have, with excellent forecast, contrived that ... the truth of every accusation, whether preferred in the shape of indictment, information, or appeal, should afterwards be confirmed by the unanimous suffrage of twelve of his equals and neighbors, indifferently chosen and superior to all suspicion.” 4 W. Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England, 349-350 (Cooley ed. 1899).
In this century and in this country, our Supreme Court has reminded us that “the right to jury trial guarantees to the criminally accused a fair trial by a panel of impartial, ‘indifferent’ jurors.” Irvin v. Dowd, 366 U.S. 717, 722, 81 S.Ct. 1639, *7591642, 6 L.Ed.2d 751 (1961). The Supreme Court has also commented that:
‘[0]ur common-law heritage, our Constitution, and our experience in applying that Constitution have committed us irrevocably to the position that the criminal trial has one well-defined purpose — to provide a fair and reliable determination of guilt.’ (citation omitted). That purpose simply cannot be achieved if the jury’s deliberations are tainted by bias or prejudice. Fairness and reliability are assumed only if the verdict is based on calm, reasoned evaluation of the evidence presented at trial. Thus, time and time again, in a broad variety of contexts, the Court has adopted strong measures to protect the right to trial by an impartial jury.
Smith v. Phillips, 455 U.S. 209, 225, 102 S.Ct. 940, 950, 71 L.Ed.2d 78 (1982) (Marshall, J., dissenting).
I review this history today to remind myself and others that the origins of our modern conception of voir dire has a respectable lineage, but not an ancient one. Its sources are not shrouded in the mists of time; they are not, in the words of Mark Twain, “a thousand years old.” Indeed, if this tortuous, but triumphant, history means anything, it may merely be that progress can come slowly, in unexpected flashes, or by stages and degrees.
In the case before us now, only one question, in the final analysis, required resolution by a jury: Did the appellant admit, at the scene of his arrest, that the items thrown from his aircraft contained contraband? One witness testified that Nash made such an admission, although others present did not hear him do so. That witness was a law enforcement officer, occupying an official position in a hazardous and well-publicized war on drugs.
I submit that in our society there exist many people — honest, well-motivated, fair, good people — who would, if asked, acknowledge a tendency to believe the sworn statement of a law enforcement officer simply because that officer held such a position of trust. In a well-ordered society, that tendency can be a natural one; it is certainly not an evil one. It is also, however, an inclination of great interest and importance to a defendant who asserts that an officer’s testimony is unreliable, unfair, or unworthy of belief.
Appellant’s defense depended upon his ability to persuade the jurors that they should not credit the testimony of a certain law enforcement officer. In the eyes of many, that defense rested on a slender reed indeed, but that reed was all that Nash had to sustain him. The district court should have permitted Nash to discover, through voir dire, which of the prospective jurors would harbor biases against him, or in favor of the officer.
As the majority’s opinion notes, the language of Judge, later Chief Justice, Burger, acknowledged the importance of ascertaining these tendencies in an early opinion:
[W]hen important testimony is anticipated from certain categories of witnesses, whose official or semi-official status is such that a juror might reasonably be more, or less, inclined to credit their testimony, a query as to whether a juror would have such an inclination is not only appropriate but should be given if requested.
Brown v. United States, 338 F.2d 543, 545 (D.C.Cir.1964) (emphasis supplied). Judge Burger continued, however, that “[fjailure to make appropriate inquiry, when requested, does not necessarily require reversal; the issue turns on the degree of impact which the testimony in question would be likely to have had on the jury, and what part such testimony played in the case as a whole.” Brown, 338 F.2d at 545.
As I have already observed, here the “part [the] testimony played in the case as a whole” was, in fact, the government’s entire case against Nash. That same testimony, moreover, also implicated Nash’s entire defense. I can conceive of few cases presenting a “degree of impact which the testimony in question would be likely to have had on the jury” greater than the impact involved in this one. Thus, as the Seventh Circuit has held under similar circumstances, “it was particularly important for the defendant to know of any preju*760dices the jurors may have had about the government or about the credibility of government agents.” United States v. Martin, 507 F.2d 428, 432 (7th Cir.1974).
Today the majority holds, however, that the district court adequately compensated for its rejection of the proposed questions by informing the jurors that they should “measure and judge [Nash’s] testimony like any other witness, and that includes witnesses called by the government.” As the majority notes, the court also asked the jurors, as a group, whether “any of the jurors seated here have a problem with those principles of law.” However:
Mere admonitions ... are not enough. The sole purpose of voir dire is not to tell potential jurors that they are to be fair and then ask them if they think they can be impartial. The defendant’s proposed questions were meant to elicit specific attitudes and prejudices. We cannot assume that a juror would state that he could not be impartial merely because he had a close relationship with the government or a high regard for the credibility of government agents. Such questions should have been asked directly.
Martin, 507 F.2d at 432-33 (emphasis supplied). Questions such as the ones defense counsel proposed are especially critical in cases, such as this one, which consist chiefly of the testimony of law enforcement officers. See, e.g. United States v. Espinosa, 111 F.2d 1382, 1405 (10th Cir.1985), cert. den. sub nom. Foreman v. United States, 474 U.S. 1023, 106 S.Ct. 579, 88 L.Ed.2d 561 (1985).
In this case, the judge admonished the jurors to “judge [Nash’s] testimony like any other witness,” and then asked the jury, as a group, whether “any ... have a problem with those principles of law.” The majority's opinion suggests that this inquiry compensated for the judge’s failure to question jurors individually. In my view, however, the district judge’s instructions amounted to a mere admonition that the jurors should be fair. As I perceive it, the judge’s function was not merely to instruct the jurors, but to supervise a dialogue that would have enabled the defendant to learn which panel members would find it difficult to follow those instructions. That, in fact, is why we have voir dire. The procedure, or dialogue, rarely uncovers disqualifying facts, but it often discloses interesting and even critical predilections, tendencies, pastimes and beliefs, all of which may become the salvation — or downfall — of a defendant’s case.
In short, the questions sought by Nash were not only brief, but useful; they would have bolstered the jurors in their efforts to approach the task before them “at least [with] ... an open mind.” Batson, 476 U.S. at 89 n. 12, 106 S.Ct. at 1719 n. 12. “[A]n open mind” is a modern phrase which suggests a modern sensibility; early juries, whose members had also composed the “accusing” jury, and who shared a first-hand knowledge of the disputed facts, would have found the concept alien indeed. In this age, however, we vigorously promote the concept of the impartial tribunal as central to our conception of due process. I would require district courts to implement simple questions which enable counsel to fashion a jury that approaches the modern ideal — a body of unbiased individuals, strangers to a dispute, who evaluate facts with respect for, but without slavish adherence to, the testimony of those in authority.
The inquiry sought by Nash was pertinent and important. The district court should have permitted it. I would reverse.

. Apparently not all commentators share Chesterton’s views. I hope that the following remarks by Samuel Clemens, alias Mark Twain, merely reflect that author's celebrated sense of humor:
"The jury system puts a ban upon intelligence and honesty, and a premium upon ignorance, stupidity, and perjury. It is a shame that we must continue to use a worthless system because it was good a thousand years ago."

. By the sixteenth century, common challenges to jurors included the following causes: (1) in a criminal case, the juror had served on the grand jury which indicted the defendant, (2) the juror was a serf or servant, (3) a previous court had convicted the juror of certain crimes, (4) the juror was related to a litigant or to the sheriff, (5) the juror had a civil action pending against one of the parties, (6) a particular outcome in the case would benefit the juror in some way, or (7) the juror had already served as an abitrator in the matter, or in some fashion had already declared his opinion. Moore, The Jury, 69.