Joshua Komisarjevsky v. Connecticut
Punishment
1. What consideration, if any, must courts give the following factors in their presumption-of-prejudice analysis: (a) a verdict finding the defendant guilty on all counts; (b) the disruption to the solemnity and calmness of the proceedings caused by prejudicial pretrial publicity; and (c) the jury selection process?
2. In their actual-prejudice analysis, when evaluating jurors' assurances of their own impartiality, must courts consider: (1) the emotional nature of the case and the prejudicial effect of the pretrial publicity; and (2) the difficulty of picking an unbiased jury?
What consideration must courts give to (a) a guilty verdict, (b) the disruption to proceedings from pretrial publicity, and (c) the jury selection process in their presumed-prejudice analysis?