Thread: Benton-Franklin judge questions jury pool about immigration in pursuit of justice

Benton-Franklin judge questions jury pool about immigration in pursuit of justice

Kristin M. Kraemer, Tri-City Herald Reprint

Some of the prospective jurors blame immigrants for taking jobs from Americans, bringing drugs, gangs and violent crime into the country, hiding behind a language barrier and overall "bleeding our system."

PASCO, Wash. - "Do you believe that immigrants are causing problems in America?"
For some, the answer may be as simple as "Yes" or "No."

But when asked of 227 prospective jurors on two recent Franklin County murder trials, their responses covered the spectrum on the hot-button national issue.



It's the first time the question has been posed to a Benton-Franklin Superior Court jury pool in the hope that people would be honest with their answers, instead of a seating a biased jury and risking a conviction being overturned.

Judge Robert Swisher, who drafted the questionnaire, said it is proof the system works when potential jurors can be candid on such questions and admit they have a problem and won't be fair.

Some of the prospective jurors blame immigrants for taking jobs from Americans, bringing drugs, gangs and violent crime into the country, hiding behind a language barrier and overall "bleeding our system."

"If they are here illegally, they burden our services and cost us all, and then want full benefits of our country," wrote a 47-year-old man. "They shouldn't be here in the first place and don't deserve the same rights as citizens!"

But others pointed out that America was founded by immigrants from all over the world and "has been made great by our rich and diverse heritage."

"I feel that most are trying to better their lives and the lives of their families. There are going to be some that cause problems, but that goes for American citizens also," said a 27-year-old woman.

The topic was raised on jury questionnaires for the trials of Gregorio Luna Luna and Jose Garcia-Morales. Of the total responses for both cases, 20 percent said it's the illegal or undocumented immigrants that are the problem.

In Luna Luna's case, the jury pool was evenly split, with 49 percent believing immigrants are to blame for a part of society's ills and 50 percent disagreeing.

Garcia-Morales' jury pool felt more strongly about immigrants, with 58 percent agreeing they cause problems and 37 percent not blaming them.

"Look around you. Americans are being taxed to support illegal and even legal immigrants in this country. Where does it end? The opportunity to come to the U.S. is enough. After that, it's up to them to support themselves," wrote a 43-year-old man on Luna Luna's trial. "If the federal, state and local governments would enforce our current immigration laws, this alleged crime may not have even happened."

For years, the bicounty court and Tri-City lawyers have used lengthy questionnaires in high-profile cases to broach sensitive subjects, such as mental health and alcoholism, in an attempt to bring any juror bias or concern to the forefront. The idea is to shorten the jury selection process by quickly eliminating a number of people based on their answers.

As Swisher prepared for Luna Luna's February trial, he remembered an incident that happened during jury selection on an unrelated federal case and decided to put the question of immigration out there.

Swisher explained to the Herald that after reviewing the Supreme Court case, Rosales-Lopez v. United States, he believed it was his responsibility to address racial or ethnic prejudice to ensure the defendant received a fair and impartial trial.

"Because he was a Mexican citizen, I put in that other question. I put the whole thing together," the judge said. "I think the court has an affirmative duty to make inquiries into that area, so I don't think there's any challenges to it."

Prosecutors and defense attorneys on the case did not object.

"I think everybody tries to make sure everybody is unbiased or would tell us they're unbiased, and the more questions we can ask of hot topics, the more chances we have of getting our client a fair trial," said lawyer Shelley Ajax, who represented Luna Luna and Garcia-Morales.

The Herald looked at the completed questionnaires -- 137 in Luna Luna's case and 90 for Garcia-Morales. Both of the men were convicted, and the general questionnaires are public record.

Both cases were in Franklin County, but the Tri-Cities has seen its share of controversy on immigration issues.

Last year, Loren Nichols unsuccessfully ran for the Kennewick City Council on the platform that anyone entering the U.S. illegally should be shot and that all illegal immigrants should be ordered out of the city and the country.

Kennewick Councilman Bob Parks has been vocal about making English the official language of Kennewick and Washington, as well as ending the practice of allowing undocumented immigrants to get Washington driver's licenses.

Washington State Patrol Trooper James E. Saunders was killed in Pasco during an October 1999 traffic stop. The suspect, a Mexican national, was a convicted drug dealer who had been deported from the United States three times before he gunned down Saunders.

And Luna Luna, whose trial led to the new immigrant questionnaire, was sent back to his native Mexico in May 2010 after repeatedly assaulting and threatening his former live-in girlfriend. He was back in Washington within 22 days, and stole a friend's car so he could drive to the Tri-Cities and kill her.

During the trials for Luna Luna and Garcia-Morales, a number of online Herald commenters questioned why Franklin County had to foot the bill, ultimately leaving taxpayers to pay for their lengthy prison terms. Some online commenters and prospective jurors suggested the criminal cases should be handled by the Mexican courts, or the men should just be dropped over the border.

"They should kick them out of the country so we can take care of the people that are legal and really need our help," said a 56-year-old male juror.

For Benton County Prosecutor Andy Miller -- whose office handled the cases because Franklin County Prosecutor Shawn Sant previously defended both men -- it was never a valid option to leave it up to Mexico's way of justice, whether in the courts or on the streets.

It's important to remember that when dealing with pending cases, the focus must be kept on legal issues and not politics, he said.

"I think if a major crime occurs in the United States, it needs to be investigated and prosecuted, and we need to see that justice is done," Miller told the Herald. "The 14th Amendment gives the right to a lawyer and a jury trial, and all those rights extend to people who are here illegally accused of a crime. That is part of our constitution, whether people agree with it or not."

On the jury questionnaires, people also were asked if they could overlook the defendant's status and treat him like any other person in this country's judicial system:

"The 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution as well as the State of Washington law require that you give Mr. Garcia-Morales, who is a citizen of Mexico, a fair and impartial trial. Can you fairly and impartially try this case and base any decision you make on the evidence introduced during the trial and disregard the race and nationality of Mr. Garcia-Morales?"

By the numbers, 82 percent did not have a problem with that in Luna Luna's case, and 81 percent said they could be objective if seated on the Garcia-Morales jury.

Yet, some took a hard-line stance on why they shouldn't be selected.

"He doesn't speak the English language, which tells me that he thinks he is above the law and doesn't need to leave," a 33-year-old man said in Luna Luna's case.

One woman said she's sick of illegals, while another didn't trust herself to be fair if the defendant is not a citizen.

"If he has to testify at all and it all is done through a translator, I might hold it against him," a 54-year-old man said on Garcia-Morales' case.

Both defendants required Spanish-speaking court interpreters for all hearings.

Defense attorney Karla Kane said she was on the case with Judge Swisher last year that ultimately triggered the immigration question.

Kane asked the entire jury pool if there was "absolutely anything else, any reason" why they wouldn't be able to give their full attention to the case. That's when a man raised his hand and said he needed to know if that defendant was a U.S. citizen, otherwise he did not know why he should care about the case and couldn't be fair, Kane recalled.

When the lawyer asked if any other people felt that way, several more hands went up. Her client on that case was a citizen, so it wasn't even an issue, she said.

Kane said the immigrant questions are like a double-edged sword -- it's important to get it out there and reveal what people are thinking, but it also may lead potential jurors to think there is an issue when one doesn't exist.

"I want to know all the bad things so I can at least question people. I know that they have that slight prejudice, even if it's not enough to challenge and get them booted off," said Kane, who also represented Luna Luna. She admits being shocked by some of the juror responses.

Well-known Tri-City immigration lawyer Tom Roach gives credit to Swisher for addressing the topic.

"That question on the jury form forces people to focus on their own potential biases and say to themselves, 'You know, I can't be objective about this case,' which is the way the system, the American system of jurisprudence, is designed to operate," he said.

It is irrelevant whether the defendant before them is legal or illegal; Swiss, German, Mexican or Dutch; wearing pink underwear or not, Roach said. What matters is if he committed the crime for which he is accused.

"I think it's a really important step in the right direction, especially in a community like this that we have where lots of people are either legal U.S. citizens or green card holders, or in some cases they're illegal," he told the Herald.

There are 11 million undocumented individuals, or illegal aliens, living in the United States, Roach said, noting that's equivalent to the number of people in Washington and Oregon combined. Most polls show 20 percent of Americans are in favor of immigration reform, 20 percent are against legalizing the immigrants who are here and 60 percent are in the middle, he said.

One of the biggest arguments against immigrants is they're taking up jobs in this depressed economy, yet Roach said they're doing work that Americans refuse to do. Immigrants are cutting the asparagus, picking the apples and wine grapes, and milking the cows, he said.

"Around here, it stupefies me -- we're in the middle of ag country and people don't get it. Seventy percent of the food on your plate, three meals a day, has passed through the hands of illegals," Roach said.

And as for the debate about taxes, he said everyone pays sales taxes. He acknowledged that illegal aliens may not be filing annual returns but said 72 percent of them are paying federal income taxes and into Social Security and Medicare, all of which is deducted from their wages. The only difference, he said, is that their employer doesn't know their true status and is treating them like a legal worker with a paycheck.

A 70-year-old farmer in a jury pool wrote on his questionnaire that immigrants are causing problems "no more than any other segment of the population."

And while several jurors told the court that all people should be following the law, a 29-year-old woman summed up their thoughts: "Immigrants are not the problem. There's good and bad people everywhere."

source: Benton-Franklin judge questions jury pool about immigration in pursuit of justice - Northwest McClatchy - bellinghamherald.com

Read more here: Benton-Franklin judge questions jury pool about immigration in pursuit of justice - Northwest McClatchy - bellinghamherald.com

BACKGROUND ARTICLES


Published Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2012

Judge excuses some jurors because of opinion about immigrants

Several prospective jurors in the Franklin County trial of a Mexican man charged with murder were excused Monday because they expressed strong opinions on immigrants and cannot disregard his nationality.

Gregorio Luna Luna faced a courtroom packed with people who are being asked to hear testimony in the May 2010 case and decide if he killed his former girlfriend.

He is accused of forcing his way into Griselda Ocampo Meza's apartment in Pasco and stabbing her, less than a month after he was deported to his native country.

Luna Luna, 32, claims he acted in self-defense in the slaying.
On the first day of the Franklin County Superior Court trial, clerks were instructed to call in jurors who didn't show so that lawyers would have a large enough pool to pick from. Once 140 people were assembled in the courtroom, they were asked to complete a 21-page juror questionnaire.

The thick document covered everything from their education and relationship status to views about the judicial system and knowledge of the case through media reports.

Two questions inside the packet may have struck a nerve with a number of potential jurors.

"Do you believe that immigrants are causing problems in America?"

Whether "yes" or "Ro," people were asked to comment briefly on their answer.

The second question informed prospective jurors that the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, as well as Washington law, requires that Luna Luna receive a fair and impartial trial, even if he is a citizen of Mexico.

"Can you fairly and impartially try this case and base any decision you make on the evidence introduced during the trial and disregard the race and nationality of Mr. Luna Luna?"

Judge Robert Swisher -- in later going through the first 60 questionnaires with the lawyers -- noted that a handful of people commented on the culture of America. He automatically dismissed jurors who said they couldn't overlook Luna Luna's status.

Luna Luna is charged with aggravated first-degree murder. The charge includes allegations there was a protection order in place against Luna Luna at the time of the slaying and that there was a pattern of domestic violence in the relationship.

Ocampo Meza, 21, died in her North 22nd Avenue apartment May 24, 2010, before she could get to a hospital. The couple's 5-year-old son was rushed out of the home by Ocampo Meza's new boyfriend before she was stabbed once in the chest with a kitchen knife.

The trial is expected to last up to three weeks. Jury selection resumes this morning, with the court hoping to have opening statements Thursday.
Judge excuses some jurors because of opinion about immigrants - Crime | Tri-City Herald : Mid-Columbia news

Pasco woman testifies about night she, husband were shot

Kristin M. Kraemer, Tri-City Herald



Paul T. Erickson/Tri-City Herald - Maria Ramirez de Garcia, seated, gets a tissue from court interpreter Ana Armijo, after becoming emotional following her testimony Monday in the murder trail of Jose Garcia-Morales who is charged with first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, first-degree rendering criminal assistance and two counts of second-degree assault in his involvement with his brother Ramon of the killing of Alfredo Garcia, and severely wounding Ramirez de Garcia and pointing a gun at the couple's daughters. All of the charges include firearm allegations.



Gallery: Garcia-Morales Afternoon Testimony

Gallery: Garcia-Morales Trial Day 1




PASCO A Pasco woman confined to a wheelchair since she and her husband were shot multiple times inside their home told jurors Monday that sometimes it feels like she is "in a jail."


Maria Ramirez de Garcia testified that she not only was left to bury her husband after the December 2008 crime, but she also awoke in the hospital to find her freedom limited because she was paralyzed and no longer could walk
.

Ramirez de Garcia was shot four times. Her husband, Alfredo Garcia, died from his six gunshot wounds.


Jose Garcia-Morales -- who is related to the victims through marriage -- is accused of going with his older brother to the family's Manzanita Lane home to confront Garcia about money the brothers believed they were owed.


Ramon Garcia-Morales already has been convicted for his role in the shooting.


Jose Garcia-Morales' trial started Wednesday in Franklin County Superior Court.


The 28-year-old man is charged with first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, first-degree rendering criminal assistance and two counts of second-degree assault. All of the charges include firearm allegations and the description that Garcia-Morales was either the principal or an accomplice in committing the crimes.


Ramirez de Garcia was pushed into the courtroom by Pasco Detective William Parramore, who stopped her wheelchair in front of the witness stand. She spoke in Spanish through court interpreter Ana Armijo.
Ramirez de Garcia remembers coming out of the shower that night to hear the brothers in her living room "talking very loudly ... with kind of ordering voices." She waited for them to leave but eventually had to come out to find out what they were talking about with her husband.


The brothers were demanding money because they thought Garcia had passed them over for a field job when he gave a list of workers to their supervisor at the onion-packing plant. She said she quickly grabbed the phone and called police after her husband mentioned that Ramon Garcia-Morales had a gun, but she has no memory of what happened after that until she came to in a Seattle hospital.


"You get up and you do everything that you need to do, and I am not able to do that. ... I am at home, but I am not able to go wherever I want to go," Ramirez de Garcia testified when asked about her injuries. "When I was able to go out on my own, I was normally not ever home. My husband and I, we would get home (from work in the fields) and we would cook and we would leave again."


"I would tell him I'm not a woman to be in the house or a homemaker. I am a woman to be out in the stores," she added, laughing and smiling at the memory. "Not to buy, just to go out walking around in the stores and just get out."


The victims' eldest daughter, Jesica Garcia Ramirez, took the stand for 10 minutes to explain the arrangement her father had with the field supervisor. People who called the house saying they needed a job were put on the list, which then was used on a first-come, first-served basis for planting season, she said.


The only benefit Garcia got from helping the farm with this list "was assurance that he was going to be working in the fields," she said.
She choked up when defense lawyer Moe Spencer asked how this crime has affected her. Garcia Ramirez was attending Washington State University in Pullman when her parents were shot and had to move home and take online courses so she could run the household.

Defense attorney Shelley Ajax said her client had a tight-knit, brotherly relationship with Ramon. So when Ramon Garcia-Morales disappeared for a few days and resurfaced with plans to confront Garcia, Jose Garcia-Morales stuck with his older brother because he didn't want him to be alone, given his frame of mind, she said.


Just before going into the home, Garcia-Morales saw his brother had a gun and took it from him so things wouldn't "get out of hand," Ajax said in opening statements. He thought his brother only wanted to talk to Garcia.


After things got heated and Garcia-Morales suddenly heard a "bang bang bang," he turned in shock to find his brother had shot the couple.


"Seven people's lives were affected immediately that day. ... One of those people is Mr. Jose Morales," Ajax said. "What he saw that day, you're going to hear two different stories. Mr. Morales saw a horrible thing that day. He saw his brother shoot two people ... in front of him."


"There were six other people who were horribly affected that day," she added. "This is a very sad, gruesome, horrible thing. It's a horrible day that will forever live in the minds of at least seven people, if not more."


The couple's two teen daughters rushed to the aid of their bleeding parents that night, only to have the gun turned on them and their toddler sister.


Ramon Garcia-Morales asked his brother if he should shoot them, but Ajax said her client responded, "No. Stop."


Out of bullets, Ramon Garcia-Morales then grabbed the second loaded gun from his brother's pocket and "finishes Alfredo off, over and over and over again. He kills him," Ajax told jurors. He didn't shoot any of the sisters.


If it weren't for Jose Garcia-Morales, those three girls would not be alive today to care for their mother or see their older sister who was away at college, Ajax added.


"This man saved the lives of those girls," she said, touching the back of her client who was slumped over in his chair.


However, Special Prosecutor Amy Harris explained to jurors in her opening statements that the brothers are equally guilty because they both were armed with handguns when they went into the house to demand money.


"These two brothers worked together to commit these crimes," Harris said, as Garcia-Morales sat up in his chair and looked over at the jury. "They fled the state together, they ditched the guns together and they were found in Idaho together" the next day.


Harris said jurors will hear testimony from Pasco detectives that Jose Garcia-Morales admitted discussing killing Garcia with his brother before going to the house, and when Ramon Garcia-Morales ran out of ammunition, his younger brother gave him the gun so he could continue to shoot the father.


"Ladies and gentleman, we are going to explain why the defendant is guilty of these charges and we will ask that you find him guilty," she said.


Earlier Monday, Ajax asked to end the proceedings and move it to another county.


"The major concern here is that we don't feel that we can get a fair trial here in Franklin County," she said. "We don't think it's possible. We're asking for a change of venue."


Ajax said that answers given by prospective jurors on lengthy questionnaires made it clear "almost all knew about the case from the media." She suggested Spokane County as an alternate location.
Special Prosecutor Terry Bloor objected to the motion.


Judge Carrie Runge denied Ajax's request, pointing out that both sides had the opportunity to individually question the entire jury pool before selecting the final panel Friday.
The trial resumes this morning in the Franklin County Courthouse.


Read more here: Pasco woman testifies about night she, husband were shot - Crime | Tri-City Herald : Mid-Columbia news

No. we didn't have immigrants from all over the world founding this nation and making it what it is.

Originally published Sunday, April 22, 2012 at 12:04 PM
The Associated Press
The Seattle Times

Franklin jury pools asked about immigration views

During two recent Franklin County murder trials, potential jurors were asked whether they believe immigrants are causing problems in America.

PASCO, Wash. —

During two recent Franklin County murder trials, potential jurors were asked whether they believe immigrants are causing problems in America.

It was the first time the question was posed to a jury pool in Benton-Franklin Superior Court as a way to ensure an unbiased jury is chosen, the Tri-City Herald reported (Benton-Franklin judge questions jury pool about immigration in pursuit of justice - Mid-Columbia News | Tri-City Herald : Mid-Columbia news).

Judge Robert Swisher, who drafted the questionnaire, said the system works when potential jurors can be candid on such questions and acknowledge that they have a problem and won't be fair. Doing so also helps shorten the jury selection process by quickly eliminating a number of people based on their answers and reduces the risk of a conviction being overturned later, the newspaper reported.

Prospective jurors in the murder trials of Gregorio Luna Luna and Jose Garcia-Morales were asked: "Do you believe that immigrants are causing problems in America?"

Their answers reveal a range of opinions on the hot-button immigration issue, with some jurors arguing that they couldn't be partial, the Herald reported.

Last month, Luna Luna was sentenced to life in prison without parole in the stabbing death of his girlfriend, Griselda Ocampo Meza. Earlier this month, a jury convicted Garcia-Morales of murder in the shooting of a Pasco man.

"I think everybody tries to make sure everybody is unbiased or would tell us they're unbiased, and the more questions we can ask of hot topics, the more chances we have of getting our client a fair trial," said lawyer Shelley Ajax, who represented Luna Luna and Garcia-Morales.

Some of the 227 prospective jurors in those cases blame immigrants for taking jobs from Americans, bringing drugs, gangs and violent crime into the country, hiding behind a language barrier and overall "bleeding our system," according to the Herald, which reviewed the questionnaires.

"If they are here illegally, they burden our services and cost us all, and then want full benefits of our country," wrote a 47-year-old man. "They shouldn't be here in the first place and don't deserve the same rights as citizens!"

But others pointed out that America was founded by immigrants from all over the world and "has been made great by our rich and diverse heritage."

"I feel that most are trying to better their lives and the lives of their families. There are going to be some that cause problems, but that goes for American citizens also," said a 27-year-old woman.

As Swisher, the judge, prepared for Luna Luna's February trial, he remembered an incident that happened during jury selection on an unrelated federal case and decided to put the question of immigration out there.

Swisher told the Herald that after reviewing the Supreme Court case, Rosales-Lopez v. United States, he believed it was his responsibility to address racial or ethnic prejudice to ensure the defendant received a fair and impartial trial.

"I think the court has an affirmative duty to make inquiries into that area, so I don't think there's any challenges to it," the judge said.

On the jury questionnaires, people were asked if they could overlook the defendant's status and treat him like any other person in this country's judicial system:

"The 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution as well as the State of Washington law require that you give Mr. Garcia-Morales, who is a citizen of Mexico, a fair and impartial trial. Can you fairly and impartially try this case and base any decision you make on the evidence introduced during the trial and disregard the race and nationality of Mr. Garcia-Morales?"

By the numbers, 82 percent did not have a problem with that in Luna Luna's case, and 81 percent said they could be objective if seated on the Garcia-Morales jury.

Yet, some took a hard-line stance on why they shouldn't be selected.

"He doesn't speak the English language, which tells me that he thinks he is above the law and doesn't need to leave," a 33-year-old man said in Luna Luna's case.

One woman said she's sick of illegals, while another didn't trust herself to be fair if the defendant is not a citizen.

"If he has to testify at all and it all is done through a translator, I might hold it against him," a 54-year-old man said on Garcia-Morales' case.

Both defendants required Spanish-speaking court interpreters for all hearings.

Tri-City immigration lawyer Tom Roach gives Swisher credit for addressing the immigration issue.

"That question on the jury form forces people to focus on their own potential biases and say to themselves, `You know, I can't be objective about this case,' which is the way the system, the American system of jurisprudence, is designed to operate," he said told the Herald.

"I think it's a really important step in the right direction, especially in a community like this that we have where lots of people are either legal U.S. citizens or green card holders, or in some cases they're illegal," he told the Herald.

Franklin jury pools asked about immigration views | Local News | The Seattle Times