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Washington v. Allyn3/7/1985
aper articles in 1981 and 1982 concerning prior convictions for unlawful delivery of a controlled substance and conspiracy to possess unregistered firearms arising from pipe bombings of a police car, a private residence, and the Chelan County Courthouse. In addition, some of the earlier articles contained reference to Allyn's involvement in the Free People's Party, the platform of which was opposition to gun control and legalization of drugs. Voir dire of prospective jurors concerning their knowledge of these articles was extensive. Allyn unsuccessfully moved for a change of venue and to have the jury sequestered during trial. He challenges the court's refusal to grant these motions in addition to the refusal to excuse certain jurors for cause. He argues he was prejudiced as a matter of law because some of the articles exposed the jurors to his prior crimes which would not be admissible at trial. He further argues because of the extensiveness of the publicity concerning the former charges as well as the instant charge, which allegedly continued through trial, there was a substantial likelihood none of the jurors could be impartial.
Allyn cites no cases to support his argument that knowledge alone by a prospective juror of an accused's prior criminal conduct is per se prejudicial and is ipso facto grounds for disqualification. The cases he cites, State v. Mack, 80 Wash. 2d 19, 490 P.2d 1303 (1971); State v. Dinges, 48 Wash. 2d 152, 292 P.2d 361 (1956), involve the admission of a criminal defendant's prior crimes by the prosecution during trial. Here, any knowledge the jurors may have had about Allyn's crimes was not the result of evidence introduced at trial. State v. Parnell, 77 Wash. 2d 503, 506, 463
P.2d 134 (1969), cited by defendant, discusses the difference and potential impact between a juror's viewing evidence at trial (in that case a preliminary hearing) and reading newspaper accounts:
The setting and the purpose are entirely different. The witnesses testifying at a preliminary hearing are under oath and subject to the pains and penalties of perjury. Such testimony must of necessity make a different impression on an observer than would reading a newspaper or hearing a newscast.
In this day of rapid and intensive communication, it will be rare indeed to find jurors so insulated from the outside world as to have no knowledge of events reported in the media. Sterile jurors will rarely exist. Thus, mere knowledge of a news account about an accused by a juror should not be a ground for automatic dismissal for cause.
Disqualification of a juror is a question for the trial court based on whether, under all the circumstances, it is apparent the juror cannot disregard his or her opinion and judge the case impartially. RCW 4.44.150-.190. Hence, the issues raised here concerning publicity relating either to Allyn's prior convictions or the instant one require a review of the record to determine the probability of prejudice to Allyn. The test for juror disqualification is incorporated into the considerations applicable to changes of venue or sequestration:
(1) the inflammatory or noninflammatory nature of the publicity; (2) the degree to which the publicity was circulated throughout the community; (3) the length of time elapsed from the dissemination of the publicity to the date of trial; (4) the care exercised and the difficulty encountered in the selection of the jury; (5) the familiarity of prospective or trial jurors with the publicity and the resultant effect upon them; (6) the challenges exercised by the defendant in s
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