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Adkins v. Sanders3/19/2002
xcept one. Because the court refused the challenges, the plaintiff had to use her peremptory strikes to excuse four jurors. Id. at ( ). After the peremptory strikes, fourteen jurors who were challenged for cause were left; five of these jurors were eventually placed on the jury. Id. at ( ). This Court found the trial court's refusal to strike the jurors for cause to be reversible error. Id. at ( ).
. Finally, in Brown v. Blackwell, 697 So. 2d 763 (Miss. 1997), the trial judge allowed both parties unlimited challenges to potential jurors with any connection to the defendant or his clinic. Id. at 770. On appeal, Brown argued that the trial court improperly applied the dictates of Hudson v. Taleff. She maintained that she did not receive a jury of her peers because all jurors who were or had family members who were patients of Dr. Blackwell were excused for cause. Id. at 769. The Mississippi Supreme Court stated that the judge's use of unlimited challenges for cause for potential jurors with any connection to the clinic was appropriate and "in fact, it is hard to imagine more proper compliance with the mandates of [Hudson], or with our subsequent decision in Scott." Id. The court noted that regardless of a potential juror's absolute sincerity in his impartiality, in the majority of cases, human nature will cause him to be "more than reluctant to return a verdict against the physician." Id. at 771 (quoting Scott, 595 So. 2d at 850.).
. In this case, the trial judge refused to excuse for cause any of the potential jurors who were either patients of Dr. Sanders or close family members of patients of Dr. Sanders and/or the other physicians at his clinic if the jurors indicated that they could be fair and impartial despite the relationship with the defendants. Two of the potential jurors Adkins moved to have excused for cause first replied that they would find it difficult to be impartial because the respective jurors were either a patient of Dr. Sanders or the spouse of a patient. After further questioning by the judge, both replied they would be able to set aside any bias caused by the relationship with the defendant. The judge stated that he would rely on those statements. Counsel for Adkins used her four peremptory strikes to excuse potential jurors with close relationships to the defendants, including the two above mentioned jurors. The statutory allotted number of peremptory strikes were not sufficient to prevent Ms. Palmer, a patient of Dr. Sanders, from being placed on the jury.
. We hold that the trial court should have excused for cause all potential jurors who were either patients or had family members who were patients of the defendants. Of the three hundred fifty people originally summoned to jury duty in this case, one hundred eight appeared. Of these, twenty-eight were excused for various reasons before voir dire. The judge then excused another twenty-three for cause leaving approximately sixty people for selection to the jury. The judge could have granted the challenges for cause without diminishing the number of potential jurors to empanel a fair, impartial and competent jury. This case is reversed and remanded for new trial.
. THE JUDGMENT OF THE CIRCUIT COURT OF LEE COUNTY IS REVERSED AND REMANDED. COSTS ARE ASSESSED TO THE APPELLEES.
McMILLIN, C.J., KING AND SOUTHWICK, P.JJ., BRIDGES, THOMAS, LEE, IRVING, MYERS AND BRANTLEY, JJ., CONCUR.
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