Chapter 3 - § 3.9 ERRORS IN VOIR DIRE

• Jurisdiction: Colorado

§ 3.9 ERRORS IN VOIR DIRE

Colorado

➢ Juror Fails to Respond to Questions. A juror's failure to answer material questions truthfully during voir dire, if discovered during trial, may justify the removal of that juror and replacement with an alternate or result in a declaration of mistrial. However, a prospective juror's untruthful answers on voir dire do not automatically entitle a party to a new trial. Rose v. Colorado Factory Homes, 10 P.3d 680, 682 (Colo. App. 2000); Allen v. Ramada Inn, Inc., 778 P.2d 291 (Colo. App. 1989).

➢ Actual Bias. If a juror's nondisclosure was inadvertent, it must be shown that the undisclosed facts were such as to have created an actual bias. Absent such a showing, it will be assumed that the juror followed the instructions of the court and decided the case based solely on the evidence and the law. Rose v. Colorado Factory Homes, 10 P.3d 680, 682-83 (Colo. App. 2000).

➢ Evaluation of juror misrepresentation or concealment. Such evaluation often implicates CRE 606(b), which prohibits juror testimony or affidavits divulging juror deliberations. However, CRE 606(b) does not bar inquiry into matters that arise before jury deliberations begin. Black v. Waterman, 83 P.3d 1130, 1137 (Colo. App. 2003), cert. closed, cause remanded, 03SC301, 2003 Colo. LEXIS 630 (Colo. July 24, 2003).

Federal

➢ Juror Fails to Respond to Question. In order to obtain a new trial, a party must first demonstrate that

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