636 P.2d 424 | Or. Ct. App. | 1981
The state appeals in this post-conviction relief case in which petitioner’s conviction was vacated and a new trial ordered based on the trial court’s determination that he had been denied his constitutional right to effective assistance of counsel.
Petitioner was brought to trial in Multnomah County for robbery in the first degree. During voir dire, after petitioner’s peremptory challenges had been exhausted, a prospective juror was called who admitted that she was acquainted with the prosecuting attorney as a result of having served for one-half day on a grand jury to which he had been assigned. Petitioner told his attorney that he did not want this juror on his jury. As his peremptory challenges had been exhausted, the only means available to trial counsel to remove this juror from the jury was a challenge for cause.
At the post-conviction hearing, petitioner testified that there was eye contact between the juror and the prosecutor, that the prosecutor seemed to give off vibrations and, at one point during voir dire, either the prosecutor or the juror gave a "thumbs up” signal which was acknowledged by the other. There was no evidence that anyone else observed this interchange or that it was brought to trial counsel’s attention.
The issue before this court is whether trial counsel’s failure to question the prospective juror more thoroughly as to actual bias and failure to challenge her for actual bias constituted ineffective representation and resulted in petitioner being denied an impartial jury.
Reversed.
After trial, petitioner filed a motion for new trial and in arrest of judgment on the ground that the juror was impliedly biased because she had sat on a grand jury. This motion was denied and that denial was affirmed from the bench by this court.