The Second Department, reversing Supreme Court, determined defendant sex offender’s “for cause” challenge to a juror should have been granted in this civil commitment proceeding:
The record of the voir dire reveals that after the appellant’s counsel disclosed that the appellant previously had committed rapes and robberies against 11 different victims and had been dubbed “the Flatbush rapist” in 1991, a prospective juror repeatedly turned away from counsel, said “Wow” on numerous occasions, and acknowledged that she remembered the Flatbush rapist. She further expressed the concern that “I got too many granddaughters,” and when asked at various points if the appellant’s prior offenses might influence her ability to be fair, she remarked “I just went blank,” “I don’t know, I—it&mdash,” and “You know I’m looking at the man and I’m—I know his face, but that’s when he was young and I’m like, wow.” Significantly, the prospective juror never unequivocally asserted that she could be fair and impartial following these remarks. The appellant’s subsequent challenge to the prospective juror for cause was denied, and the appellant utilized a peremptory challenge to remove her from the panel.
The appellant contends that the denial of his for-cause challenge constituted error. We agree. Contrary to the State’s contention, this issue is preserved for appellate review, since the appellant exhausted his peremptory challenges before jury selection was completed (… Mental Hygiene Law § 10.07[b]; CPL 270.20[2]). Turning to the merits, CPL 270.20(1)(b) provides that a challenge for cause is authorized when a prospective juror “has a state of mind that is likely to preclude him [or her] from rendering an impartial verdict based upon the evidence adduced at the trial.” Where a prospective juror’s responses raise serious doubt with regard to his ability to be impartial, that prospective juror must be excused absent an unequivocal statement on the record assuring that he or she can be fair and impartial… . Here, the equivocal responses of the prospective juror, along with her other remarks and expressions of concern, raised substantial doubt as to whether she could be fair and impartial in her evaluation of the case, triggering an obligation on the part of the Supreme Court to inquire further … . Matter of State of New York v Keith G., 2017 NY Slip Op 05444, 2nd Dept 7-5-17
MENTAL HYGIENE LAW (SEX OFFENDERS, CIVIL COMMITMENT, FOR CAUSE CHALLENGE TO A JUROR IN THIS SEX-OFFENDER CIVIL COMMITMENT ACTION SHOULD HAVE BEEN GRANTED, NEW TRIAL ORDERED 2ND DEPT)/CRIMINAL LAW (MENTAL HYGIENE LAW, SEX OFFENDERS, CIVIL COMMITMENT, FOR CAUSE CHALLENGE TO A JUROR IN THIS SEX-OFFENDER CIVIL COMMITMENT ACTION SHOULD HAVE BEEN GRANTED, NEW TRIAL ORDERED 2ND DEPT)/SEX OFFENDERS (MENTAL HYGIENE LAW, CIVIL COMMITMENT, FOR CAUSE CHALLENGE TO A JUROR IN THIS SEX-OFFENDER CIVIL COMMITMENT ACTION SHOULD HAVE BEEN GRANTED, NEW TRIAL ORDERED 2ND DEPT)/CIVIL COMMITMENT (SEX OFFENDERS, MENTAL HYGIENE LAW, FOR CAUSE CHALLENGE TO A JUROR IN THIS SEX-OFFENDER CIVIL COMMITMENT ACTION SHOULD HAVE BEEN GRANTED, NEW TRIAL ORDERED 2ND DEPT)/JURORS (MENTAL HYGIENE LAW, SEX OFFENDERS, CIVIL COMMITMENT, FOR CAUSE CHALLENGE TO A JUROR IN THIS SEX-OFFENDER CIVIL COMMITMENT ACTION SHOULD HAVE BEEN GRANTED, NEW TRIAL ORDERED 2ND DEPT)/FOR CAUSE CHALLENGE (JURORS, MENTAL HYGIENE LAW, CIVIL COMMITMENT, SEX OFFENDERS, FOR CAUSE CHALLENGE TO A JUROR IN THIS SEX-OFFENDER CIVIL COMMITMENT ACTION SHOULD HAVE BEEN GRANTED, NEW TRIAL ORDERED 2ND DEPT)