Free Proposed Voir Dire - District Court of Arizona - Arizona

1 JON M. SANDS Federal Public Defender 2 850 W. Adams Street, Suite 201 Phoenix, Arizona 85007 3 Telephone: 602-382-2727 4 MILAGROS A. CISNEROS State Bar No. 020410 5 [email protected] Asst. Federal Public Defender 6 Attorney for Defendant Bella Ben-Henry 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 vs. Bella Ben-Henry, Defendant. Bella Ben-Henry, through undersigned counsel, requests the Court to United States of America, Plaintiff, No. CR 04-1018-PHX-JAT DEFENDANT BEN-HENRY'S REQUESTED VOIR DIRE IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF ARIZONA

16 use the following voir dire questions in selecting the jury for trial in this case. 17 Counsel also requests leave to ask follow-up questions as appropriate. 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 s/Milagros A. Cisneros MILAGROS A. CISNEROS Asst. Federal Public Defender Respectfully submitted: October 31, 2005. JON M. SANDS Federal Public Defender

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BACKGROUND Do any of you know the defendant Bella Ben-Henry, or have you heard of her? If so, please explain. Do any of you know the following individuals: Pat Chee Miller, Frederick Marianito, or Ed Preston? If so, please explain. Please tell us: a. Your name b. The general area where you live. c. If you are married, widowed or divorced. d. How many children you have. e. Your highest grade of education. f. Your present employer (if retired, your last position or job). g. Your spouse's present employment (if retired, his or her last position or job). h. Have you or anyone in your immediate family ever been employed by any government office or agency? What newspapers and magazines do you read? What was the last book or magazine you have read? What are your favorite television shows? Do you have a belief, whether religious or philosophical, which makes it difficult for you to sit in judgment of another? If so, would this belief make it difficult for you to be a fair and impartial juror? REPRESENTATION BY PUBLIC DEFENDER Bella Ben-Henry is represented by the Federal Public Defender's Office. Does anyone feel that the fact that the Ms. Ben-Henry has a public defender may influence your decision in this case?

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ROLE OF FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AND U.S. ATTORNEY'S OFFICE This crime is alleged to have occurred on the Navajo Indian Reservation. The U.S. Attorney's Office has a duty under federal law to prosecute a felony or serious crime which occurs on an Indian reservation. Do any of you feel the federal government should not be involved in the prosecution of crimes which occur on an Indian Reservation? Does the fact that the alleged victim is an Indian make you think this case should be decided differently than any other criminal case? For example, do you believe that crimes committed against an Indian on the reservation should be handled exclusively by the Indian tribe? EXPERIENCE WITH NATIVE AMERICANS This case involves members of the Navajo Nation. Does the fact that this case concerns Navajo Indians have any effect on your ability to sit as a fair and impartial juror in this case? If so, please explain. Do you have any notions or ideas about Indians or past experiences with any Indians that would affect your deliberations? Have any of you, your family, or close personal friends ever lived on any Indian Reservation or spent extended periods of time on it? Please describe. Have you ever worked on or near an Indian Reservation or otherwise had substantial contact with Indians? PRIOR JUROR EXPERIENCE Have you, or any members of your immediate family, or close friends ever testified in a criminal trial or before a grand jury? If so, please relate the circumstances.

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Have any of you ever sat as a juror in a criminal case? If so, when and in what court? What was the nature of the case? What was the outcome? Please explain. Have any of you ever sat as a juror in a civil case? Please explain. LEGAL EXPERIENCE Has anyone, or your close friends or family members, attended law school or other legal training? When and where? Are you, or any members of your family or close friends, lawyers? Where do you/they practice? Do they discuss their work with you? Are you, any members of your family or close friends employed in the legal profession? Please elaborate. Has anyone been sued? Please give details. LAW ENFORCEMENT Have you or any one in your immediate family or close personal friends ever been employed by any law enforcement agencies? Do you, or any members of your family or close personal friends belong to any organization involving crime prevention or law enforcement? What organization? In this case there may be testimony from agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and from the Office of the Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Would any of you give greater or lesser weight to the testimony of a witness because he or she is a law enforcement agent? If so, please explain. Do you, any members of your family, or close personal friends, belong to any organization devoted to crime prevention, victims' rights, or support of law enforcement? Please explain.

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Are you, any member of your family or close personal friends involved in any civic organization or neighborhood protection organizations that deal with prevention of crime? Please explain. VICTIM OF CRIME Have you, or members of your immediate family or close friends been a victim of or witness to any type of crime? If so, who was the victim, what was the crime, when and where did it occur? Would that experience affect your ability to sit as a juror in this matter? FINANCIAL/BUSINESS Ms. Ben-Henry is accused of making false statements to a government agency. Does anyone have any strong feelings about these charges that would make it difficult to sit as a juror in this case? Does anyone, or close friends or family members, have a background in accounting, taxation, banking, investments, or other financial areas? Is anyone, or close friends or family members, a CPA? Is anyone, or close friends or family members, had training in accounting or other financial areas? Is anyone self-employed or working for a family business (whether yours or someone else's)? Please give details. Has anyone used the services of an accountant, CPA, or lawyer for any reason? Please elaborate. Does anyone supervise other employees in a small business or office? ABILITY TO BE FAIR AND IMPARTIAL Do any of you believe that because a person has been indicted and accused of a crime he is probably guilty?

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A defendant has a constitutional right not to testify. Would any of you hold it against the defendant should he elect not to testify? The government must prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. The defendant is presumed innocent and does not have to prove her innocence. The government carries the complete burden. Do you have any difficulty in deciding the case in light of that rule? If you were to vote on Ms. Ben-Henry's guilt at this moment, you would be required to vote not guilty. Does anyone disagree with that? Does anyone, for any reason, have any reservations about his or her ability to fairly and impartially decide this case based solely on evidence presented in the courtroom and in accordance with the instructions of the law that might be given you concerning this case? Is there anything regarding this case that has not been mentioned that might hinder your ability to sit as a fair and impartial juror? If you found yourself in Ms. Ben-Henry's place, charged with the commission of a crime, would you be willing to be tried by a jury of twelve persons with the same frame of mind that you now find yourself? Respectfully submitted: October 31, 2005. JON M. SANDS Federal Public Defender s/Milagros A. Cisneros MILAGROS A. CISNEROS Asst. Federal Public Defender

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1 Copy of the foregoing transmitted for filing via CM/ECF this 31st day 2 of October, 2005, to: 3 DAN DRAKE Assistant United States Attorney 4 Two Renaissance Square 40 North Central Avenue 5 Suite 1200 Phoenix, Arizona 85004-4408 6 BRIAN F. RUSSO 7 111 W. Monroe Street, Ste. 1212 Phoenix, Arizona 85003 8 Attorney for Pat Chee Miller 9 TIMOTHY C. HOLTZEN 245 W. Roosevelt Street 10 Phoenix, Arizona 85003 Attorney for Frederick Marianito 11 JOANNE F. LANDFAIR 12 331 N. First Avenue, Ste. 103 Phoenix, Arizona 85003 13 Attorney for Ed Preston 14 15 17 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 7 Copy of the foregoing mailed to:

BELLA BEN-HENRY 16 Defendant s/Milagros A. Cisneros 18 M. Cisneros

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