Standefer v. State

In Standefer v. State, 59 S.W.3d 177 (Tex. Crim. App. 2001) the Court held that "a question is a commitment question if one or more of the possible answers is that the prospective juror would resolve or refrain from resolving an issue in the case on the basis of one or more facts contained in the question." 59 S.W.3d at 180. The Court continued and specifically addressed the question at issue in Nunfio v. State, 808 S.W.2d 482, 485 (Tex. Crim. App. 1991). "For example, the question, 'If the victim is a nun, could the prospective juror be fair and impartial?' does not ask the prospective juror to resolve or refrain from resolving any issue." Standefer, 59 S.W.3d at 180. The Court articulated a test for determining when a voir dire question calls for an improper commitment. The test has two steps: (1) Is the question a commitment question, and (2) Does the question include only those facts that lead to a valid challenge for cause? Standefer, 59 S.W.3d at 182. If the answer to the first question is "yes" and the answer to the second question is "no," then the question asked is an improper commitment question. Id. at 182-183. Commitment questions "commit a prospective juror to resolve, or to refrain from resolving, an issue a certain way after learning a particular fact." Id. at 179. These types of questions tend to require a "yes" or "no" answer, in which one or both of the possible answers commits the jury to resolving an issue a certain way. Ibid. These questions can also ask the venire person to refrain from resolving an issue on the basis of a fact that may be used to resolve the issue, for example, the party could attempt to secure a commitment to refrain from resolving the punishment issues in a capital case on the basis of victim impact evidence. Ibid. Commitment questions include those questions that ask a prospective juror to set the hypothetical parameters for his or her own decision-making. Id. at 180. For example, the following question is a commitment question asking the venire person to explain the parameters of his decision-making: "What circumstances in your opinion warrant the imposition of the death penalty?" Ibid. Also, commitment questions may contain words such as "consider," "would," and "could." Ibid.; Id. at n.9. A commitment question can be proper or improper, depending on whether the question leads to a valid challenge for cause. Id. at 181. Commitment questions are improper when: (1) the law does not require a commitment or (2) when the question adds facts beyond those necessary to establish a challenge for cause. Id. at 181-182. When the law requires certain types of commitments from jurors, attorneys may ask the prospective jurors whether they can follow the law in that regard. Id. at 181. For example, one could ask prospective jurors whether they could follow a law that required them to: disregard illegally obtained evidence; follow instructions requiring corroboration of accomplice witness testimony; consider the full range of punishment available, or follow a law that precludes them from holding against defendant his failure to testify. Ibid.