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North Carolina v. Robinson10/3/1991
/REF--> 189, 367 S.E.2d 626, 663 (1988) (emphasis added). A trial judge may be reversed for abuse of discretion only upon a showing that its ruling "was so arbitrary that it could not have been the result of a reasoned decision." Id.
Given the latitude which the trial court did allow defense counsel in this case, the United States Supreme Court's "minimally intrusive" rule in Turner, and the broad discretion afforded trial courts in this area, we cannot say that the trial court in this case abused its discretion.
In the next issue raised by defendant, he contends that the trial court committed prejudicial error by allowing the State to challenge for cause certain jurors whose voir dire testimony, when viewed in context and in its entirety, failed to demonstrate that their personal views concerning the death penalty would prevent or substantially impair their ability to perform their duties in accordance with the trial court's instruction and their oaths. We disagree.
During the jury voir dire examination, counsel for both parties inquired into the ability of prospective jurors to render a capital sentencing decision on the basis of the evidence and the applicable law. The trial judge excused several prospective jurors because of the effect that their personal opinions concerning capital punishment would have upon their ability to decide the case on the basis of the law and the evidence. Defendant argues that two of the trial judge's rulings in this respect were erroneous.
The State contends that the two rulings to which defendant takes issue were proper. The State argues that the two jurors were properly removed for cause because both responded to questions in a manner revealing that their stated opposition to the death penalty would prevent or substantially impair the performance of their duties as jurors.
During the voir dire examination of the two prospective jurors at issue, when the first was asked by the trial judge if "it automatically would be life imprisonment in your case because of your opposition to the death penalty?" the prospective juror replied,
"Yes." After indicating that she had personal views against the death penalty, the trial judge asked the second prospective juror, "and do you feel those personal views would interfere with your ability to fairly consider both punishments, life imprisonment and death?" She replied, "Yeh, it would."
The answers given by the prospective jurors at issue are similar to an answer given by a prospective juror in State v. Quesinberry, 325 N.C. 125, 139, 381 S.E.2d 681, 690 (1989), death sentence vacated, U.S. , 108 L. Ed. 2d 603 (1990), who answered that she would automatically vote for life imprisonment. This Court held that the prospective juror was properly removed for cause. Id. Again, in the present case, we find that the prospective jurors at issue were properly removed for cause. The answers given reveal that their beliefs would "prevent or substantially impair the performance of [their] duties as [jurors] in accordance with [their] instructions and [their] oath." Wainwright v. Witt, 469 U.S. 412, 424, 83 L. Ed. 2d 841, 851-52 (1985) (quoting Adams v. Texas, 448 U.S. 38, 45, 65 L. Ed. 2d 581, 589 (1980)). Thus, we reject defendant's argument that the trial judge erred in excusing the prospective jurors for cause.
In defendant's next argument, he asserts that the trial court erred by allowing the State to peremptorily challenge black jurors on the basis of their race. Batson v. Kentucky, 4
Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 North Carolina DUI Attorneys
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