Court Opinion

ID: 9759421
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-29 00:15:37.307424+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T10:04:07.239140
License: Public Domain

DOUGLAS, Judge,
dissenting.
The majority incorrectly holds that appellant’s counsel was not allowed sufficient latitude during voir dire examination. Specifically, appellant’s conviction is reversed because of the court’s refusal to allow counsel to question a prospective juror concerning (1) his attitude toward assessing the minimum punishment of five years for the offense of murder, and (2) his attitude toward the granting or denying of probation to a defendant convicted of murder.
The majority correctly recognizes that the conduct of voir dire examination must rest within the sound discretion of the court. Moore v. State, 542 S.W.2d 664 (Tex.Cr.App.1976); Hernandez v. State, 506 S.W.2d 884 (Tex.Cr.App.1974); Weaver v. State, 476 S.W.2d 326 (Tex.Cr.App.1972); Pena v. State, 114 Tex.Cr.R. 29, 29 S.W.2d 785 (1930), and that only abuse of such discretion will call for correction on appeal. Battie v. State, 551 S.W.2d 401 (Tex.Cr.App.1977); Smith v. State, 513 S.W.2d 823 (Tex.Cr.App.1974); Kincaid v. State, 103 Tex.Cr.R. 485, 281 S.W. 855 (Tex.Cr.App.1926). Inherent in the trial court’s discretion over the scope and course of voir dire is his ability to (1) place reasonable time limits on the examination, (2) disallow questions which are improper, and (3) prevent the propounding of vexatious or repetitious questions. Abron v. State, 523 S.W.2d 405 (Tex.Cr.App.1975). In placing limitations upon counsel’s examination, the court in this case merely exercised those functions which were well within its judicial discretion; that discretion was not abused.
*840More than three hours were devoted to the voir dire examination — a considerable length of time in light of the fact that only eight hours were required for the introduction of the evidence and the arguments. Counsel was admonished by the court for wasting time. This Court has held that the amount of time expended by counsel on voir dire is to be considered in determining whether there has been an abuse of discretion. Battie v. State, supra. If the court in this case wished to avoid the propounding of unnecessary questions and the delay attendant thereto, it was within his discretion to do so.
The questions propounded by appellant’s counsel were improper. Regarding the minimum applicable punishment, venireman Acuff was asked:
“What I am asking you and this panel as a whole is: Can you imagine a fact-type case where there was a robbery and a person was killed in that robbery allegedly where you could give fair consideration for the minimum penalty of five years?”
Counsel’s question required that the venireman conjure up a hypothetical fact situation and speculate as to what his decision might be under such imaginary circumstances. It bore no relevance to the issue of whether or not venireman Acuff was capable of giving fair consideration to the entire range of punishment in a proper case.
Counsel proceeded to question Acuff:
“In other words, do you feel that five years is too little and you could not in good conscience vote for five years?”
In Williams v. State, 481 S.W.2d 119 (Tex.Cr.App.1972), defense counsel asked members of the venire whether they could assess a five-year penalty under a given factual situation. The question was held to be improper. In Smith v. State, supra, defense counsel attempted to question twelve members of the jury panel as to whether they might grant a two-year probated sentence for murder with malice, given a “proper case where the facts warranted it and circumstances justified it.” The trial court refused to allow the question thus framed and proceeded to qualify the venire himself on the range of punishment. No error was shown.
Appellant’s counsel further questioned the venire:
“Now, is there anybody on this panel here that hasn’t before announced any feelings they may have against recommended probation in a case of murder, or robbery — aggravated robbery, armed robbery?”
The question was intended to elicit from the panelists whether they would refuse to recommend probation in advance of their selection. It was improper. Smith v. State, supra.
Decisions as to the propriety of any question must be left to the discretion of the trial court. Such discretion is abused only when a properly framed question concerning a proper area of inquiry is prohibited. Smith v. State, supra. Inasmuch as appellant’s question was improper, its denial by the court did not constitute an abuse of discretion.
This Court has previously ruled on the test to be utilized in determining whether the trial court has erroneously denied the asking of a question sought to permit an intelligent exercise of the accused’s peremptory challenges. Following the State’s objection to appellant’s question concerning the minimum punishment, the court qualified the panel on the same subject:
“Yeah, I will ask the question. Is there anybody on the panel who couldn’t follow that law and consider the full range of punishment; that is, life or any term between five and ninety-nine years depending on what the facts are in the case?
“He’s not asking you — he can’t ask you about this case because you haven’t heard the facts.
“Anybody have such a prejudice against that range of punishment that they couldn’t consider the full range of punishment in a proper case?”
The State is correct in its contention that appellant’s counsel had the benefit of know*841ing the panel’s response to the question he sought to ask. He was not deprived of any information necessary to the intelligent exercise of his peremptory challenge. In Smith v. State, supra, the specificity of the court’s examination of the venire on the range of punishment and the similarity of its question to that which counsel sought to ask led this Court to the conclusion that no abuse of discretion occurred. In Smith, we stated that there is no error in prohibiting duplicitous questions where investigation into possibly proper or fruitful matters is not entirely prevented. In the present case the court correctly propounded the same question which counsel failed to properly frame. At no time did it restrict counsel’s examination in legitimate fields of inquiry.
By its holding, the majority makes unjustified inroads into the authority of the court to conduct voir dire. As this Court observed in Battie v. State, supra, the trial judge must be vested with some discretion lest voir dire examination get completely out of control. See also, Grizzell v. State, 164 Tex.Cr.R. 362, 298 S.W.2d 816 (1957).
We should look to all of the examination of the prospective jurors to determine if an abuse of discretion has been shown. We should not reverse a conviction for the failure to permit a particular question where the same general matter has been covered in other questions. If we reverse for refusal to permit the asking of a particular question and these are increased as cases are handed down, then counsel will have an automatic right to ask each particular question. If not the case can be reversed on appeal. After these cases grow in number, the questioning of the prospective jurors can become unlimited.
One of the worst features of the jury system is the permission of the uncontrolled voir dire examination of prospective jurors. This wastes the time of the courts and people called to serve as jurors. This Court should not encourage this.
If voir dire is not to last for weeks or even months in some cases, the discretion exercised by the trial court should not be abridged in the absence of a clear showing of abuse.
No error is shown. The judgment should be affirmed.
ODOM, TOM G. DAVIS and W. C. DAVIS, JJ., join in this dissent.