Hun Goo Park was convicted by a jury of false imprisonment, aggravated assault, aggravated stalking, and battery, offenses of which his wife and his wife’s daughter were the victims. Following the denial of his amended motion for new trial, Park appeals, contending that the trial court erroneously failed to excuse a juror for cause. We agree and reverse. 1. Park sought to excuse for cause juror number 7, a retired police officer. During individual voir dire, defense counsel noted that he “had asked if there was anyone who felt that . . . the presumption of innocence shouldn’t apply, something along those lines. And I had written down that you presumed at this point that Mr. Park was guilty” The juror promptly responded, “Yes, I do.” The trial court then stated to the juror, You seem pretty clear on that, and certainly you’re familiar with the criminal justice system, so let me just ask you, are you telling the Court that you cannot, if you’re selected on this jury, that you’re not going to be able to listen to the evidence and make a decision based on that evidence The juror replied that he could make “a decision with anything. I’m just familiar with the past, with the number of domestic calls that I’ve handled over the years where Asian families have been involved beating up their children with canes, and their wives at the same time because that was a custom. And I have —I guess you could say I have a bias against that.” He then added, “But I can honestly sit there and make a rational decision of guilt or innocence, yes.”
The trial court attempted to “clarify” the juror’s statements, stating that it was “certainly in no way trying to pressure you or make you give me any particular answer.” In response to the trial court’s brief questions, the juror stated that he “would not have any problem” applying the presumption of innocence and could make a decision based solely on the evidence presented in the courtroom and the instructions by the court. Park challenged this juror for cause. The trial court refused to strike the juror, finding that the juror “corrected his statement” and “made it clear that he could be fair.” The court found that the juror “did not mean to say that he could not be a fair and impartial juror. That is how I interpreted his comments.” In addition, the trial court found that the juror exhibited a “voluntary . . . change of tone” after first stating that he presumed Park was guilty and that the juror appeared to have “misunderstood or misinterpreted the question.”
