Court Opinion

ID: 9739206
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 20:10:32.15753+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:24:10.059720
License: Public Domain

Sawyer, P.J.
(dissenting). I respectfully dissent. While I understand the concerns of the majority about the extent of the voir dire and would perhaps agree that a somewhat more extensive voir dire would have been appropriate, there remains the question whether these concerns rise to the level of necessitating reversal. That is, while I would perhaps agree that the voir dire could have been handled better and that the trial court should have made, or allowed defense counsel to make, a more extensive inquiry into the subject of media exposure, that does not equate with a finding of an abuse of discretion. On balance, I cannot say that the trial court’s handling of the voir dire rises to the level of an abuse of discretion.
The majority seems to be in search of the perfect trial when our concern is whether defendant received a fair trial. After reviewing the voir dire and the trial transcript, I am satisfied that while defendant may not have received a perfect trial, he did receive a fair trial by an impartial jury of his peers. Therefore, I would affirm.