Comeaux v. Texas

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Appellant Farrain Comeaux was charged with burglary of a habitation in an indictment that included eight enhancement paragraphs. During voir dire, potential juror number 23 (PJ 23) expressed some concern about his ability to be fair because he had been the victim of a prior burglary and had strong feelings about the subject. After both sides spoke with the venire panel, the trial judge requested that PJ 23 stay for additional questioning. In response to the prosecutor’s asking if he already thought Comeaux was guilty, PJ 23 stated, "I just don’t feel I can be fair." Appellant moved to strike PJ 23 for cause. Following a dialogue, appellant used all ten of his peremptory strikes, including a peremptory strike on PJ 23. He then asked for an additional strike, which the trial judge denied. Appellant stated on the record that he would have used the additional strike on potential juror number 27 (PJ 27). Although appellant did not use a peremptory strike on PJ 27, he did use a peremptory strike on PJ 34, who was not within the "strike zone," the group of potential jurors who could actually sit on the jury. PJ 27, however, did serve on the jury, which convicted appellant of burglary, found the enhancement paragraphs true, and sentenced him to 50 years in prison. On appeal, appellant claimed that the trial judge erred by denying his challenge for cause on PJ 23. The Court of Criminal Appeals found that this was a case of first impression in Texas: because the court of appeals found that appellant failed to preserve error on the challenge for cause because, although he exhausted his peremptory strikes and identified an objectionable juror, he used a peremptory strike on a potential juror outside of the “strike zone,” and thus suffered no detriment. The Court of Criminal Appeals reviewed whether appellant indeed preserved his claim of an erroneous denial of a challenge for cause for appellate review. "The issue, however, is one of harm, not preservation." The Court held that appellant failed to show harm because he could have, but chose not to, strike the objectionable juror. View "Comeaux v. Texas" on Justia Law