People v. Marciano

411 P.3d 831
CourtColorado Court of Appeals
DecidedJuly 31, 2014
DocketCourt of Appeals No. 10CA1620
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 411 P.3d 831 (People v. Marciano) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Colorado Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
People v. Marciano, 411 P.3d 831 (Colo. Ct. App. 2014).

Opinion

Opinion by JUDGE MILLER

*834¶ 1 Defendant, Francesca V. Marciano, appeals the judgment of conviction entered upon a jury verdict finding her guilty of theft from her employer. We reverse and remand for further proceedings.

¶ 2 In Morrison v. People, 19 P.3d 668 (Colo.2000), our supreme court held that when a defendant's challenge for cause of a juror is improperly denied, and the challenged juror ultimately serves on the jury, the defendant's right to a fair and impartial jury is violated and reversal is required. In Part II, we conclude that Morrison's holding is not affected by the supreme court's recent decision in People v. Novotny, 2014 CO 18, 320 P.3d 1194, which overruled the automatic reversal rule articulated in People v. Macrander, 828 P.2d 234, 243 (Colo.1992). We therefore apply Morrison in this case and conclude that defendant's convictions must be reversed. We also hold, in Part III.A.2.b., as a matter of first impression in Colorado, that a foundation for admission of bank statements under CRE 803(6) may be based on judicial notice of the nature of the business and of the records.

I. Background

¶ 3 Defendant began working for CDL Trucking as a secretary in 2004. Her duties included managing payroll, billing, making deposits, and loading money onto Comdata MasterCard cash cards for truck drivers' use while on the road. In 2005, the CDL owner became suspicious that defendant was stealing money from CDL. Upon reviewing a bank statement, he noticed defendant had signed multiple unauthorized CDL checks payable to herself or to "cash." When the owner confronted defendant with the unauthorized checks, she told him that she would never steal from him and that her ex-husband, also employed by CDL, must have been responsible.

¶ 4 The owner later learned that, in addition to the Comdata card he was aware of and kept in his possession, a second Comdata card had been issued in his name. Records from Comdata showed that defendant had authorized multiple transactions loading money onto the second card, and that the card had been used to make purchases and for cash withdrawals.

¶ 5 The People charged defendant with five counts of theft of $500-$15,000 (series) and two counts of theft of more than $15,000 (series). A jury found her guilty on all counts, and the trial court sentenced her to eight years of probation.

II. Juror Challenge

¶ 6 Defendant contends the trial court erred when it denied her challenges for cause to two jurors who indicated during voir dire that they expected defendant to present evidence in her defense. Defendant further argues that reversal is required because the challenged jurors ultimately sat on the jury. We agree with respect to the first challenged juror.

A. Standard of Review and Law

¶ 7 A criminal defendant has the right to a fair trial. U.S. Const. amends. V, XIV ; Colo. Const. art. II, §§ 16, 25. An impartial jury is an essential component of this right. Morrison, 19 P.3d at 672. Thus, a trial court must sustain a challenge for cause to a juror if the juror's state of mind "evince[s] enmity or bias toward the defendant or the state." § 16-10-103(1)(j), C.R.S.2013; see also Crim. P. 24(b)(1)(x).

¶ 8 While jurors often express concern or indicate preconceived beliefs during voir dire, such concerns and beliefs do not automatically disqualify them from service. People v. Fleischacker, 2013 COA 2, ¶ 27, 411 P.3d 20. The trial court or the prosecutor can rehabilitate a potential juror. Id. If the potential juror indicates that she can set aside those beliefs and make a decision based on the evidence and the court's instructions on the law, she may still sit on the jury. People v. Lefebre, 5 P.3d 295, 301 (Colo.2000), abrogated on other grounds by Novotny, 2014 CO 18, 320 P.3d 1194.

¶ 9 We review a trial court's decision regarding a challenge for cause for an abuse of discretion. Morrison, 19 P.3d at 672. "The abuse of discretion standard gives deference to the trial court's credibility assessments, *835recognizing that court's unique perspective in evaluating the demeanor and body language of live witnesses, and it serves to discourage an appellate court from second-guessing the trial court's assessments based on a cold record." People v. Conyac, 2014 COA 8, ¶ 13, --- P.3d ---- ; see also People v. Samson, 2012 COA 167, ¶ 15, 302 P.3d 311. We review the entire voir dire of the prospective juror to determine whether the trial court abused its discretion when ruling on a challenge for cause. Carrillo v. People, 974 P.2d 478, 486 (Colo.1999).

¶ 10 Even if we determine that the trial court abused its discretion in denying a defendant's challenge for cause, however, reversal is not necessarily required. That depends, in the first instance, on whether the challenged juror participated in determining the defendant's guilt. Where the challenged juror did not, our supreme court's recent decision in Novotny requires that a defendant ordinarily must show that a different biased or incompetent juror sat on the jury. People v. Wise, 2014 COA 83, ¶¶ 28-29,

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
411 P.3d 831, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-marciano-coloctapp-2014.