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State v. Gomez10/13/2005
es not have any feelings about the court system and cannot remember any biases or anything that was done wrong at the trial.
Venireperson 21 said that she was considering getting a master's degree in Criminal Justice, wanted to become a lawyer, and wanted to sit as a juror because it would be interesting, saying that "Since I'm older, I can more understand how it works." She said her mother worked in Hennepin County Family Court. Also, her mother's cousin was murdered by her own son who was tried and convicted for the murder. The venireperson said she was not close to the murder victim and had met the victim's son only once five years earlier. After some further questioning, defense counsel accepted venireperson 21 as a juror.
The state did not have an opportunity to question venireperson 21 because the trial court intervened by first asking the venireperson to step outside the courtroom and then engaging in a dialogue with counsel. The content and nature of this dialogue is so important to the resolution of this case that I will repeat it, beginning with defense counsel's acceptance of venireperson 21 as a juror and the court's initial comments about the likelihood of a racially-motivated challenge.
[DEFENSE COUNSEL]: You pass, we accept this juror. Thank you.
THE COURT: Could you ah, I am going to talk to the lawyers about some technical stuff here for a minute. Would you just step in the hallway, just wait outside. You can take your things because we may or may not have you come back to this chair, but don't leave the courthouse just wait outside the door there if you would. [Defense Counsel's Name], if the State exercises or offers the challenge, are you going to contend it's racially motivated?
[DEFENSE COUNSEL]: Yes, for the record, judge.
THE COURT: On what basis?
[DEFENSE COUNSEL]: On the basis that as I understand the concern that the State has is that she, this woman believes that her father was unjustly convicted. That goes to the same issue of, does the court system always work and we've had several other jurors who have said that is it not perfect but it works okay sometimes. She has said she can be a fair juror, she has said that there will not be a connection to this case and her father's case.
THE COURT: Except she, it's not quite the same, it doesn't always work when it's your father and you were a witness.
[DEFENSE COUNSEL]: I understand that, but this is a position that I have judged, that I believe that her answers were not any due cause and were not different from other jurors and as such I believe that the basis to work has described her because she is a black woman.
THE COURT: All right, [Prosecutor's Name] the challenge is?
[PROSECUTOR]: The challenge, Your Honor, is well, the obvious reason that this young woman had a tragic circumstance occur in her life at a very young age, and as she has described for us, came into court and testified for the defense on behalf of her father. Her father was nevertheless convicted and she also described for us how her father, or her family, went to some length it sounds like to me to look at the evidence and still convinced that the evidence certainly didn't justify having her father in prison, and then once he came out of prison, the father came back to live in the household with she and a younger sister.
THE COURT: I wasn't sure the victim or the complainant in that case was her sister?
[DEFENSE COUNSEL]: Her half-sister.
[PROSECUTOR]: And I'm not sure of half how either, I don't think it matters, but obviously our concern is the obvious one. I don't know that I
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