Short-form Removal For Cause

State v. Spangler, Minn.Ct.App., 6/18/2012.  The state charged Ms. Spangler with DWI.  It turned out that the prosecutor’s next door neighbor appeared on the list of prospective jurors.  The prosecutor suggested that his neighbor be released from the panel and replaced with another, a suggestion that Ms. Spangler’s attorney accepted.  Following her conviction, Ms. Spangler argued that this arrangement created structural error because the state had been given an extra peremptory strike.

The court of appeals rejects this claim, saying that the release of the prosecutor’s neighbor was a “stipulation between the parties.”  The court calls it a “short-form removal for cause” that served both parties’ interests in efficiency.  Although not specifically authorized by the rules it’s not forbidden either.  Because the court concludes that there was no error at all, it does not get to the structural error claim.