Prosecution has repeatedly objected to the second voir dire, stating the second jury questioning would come at a delicate stage in the trial. Victor Braden, deputy Kansas attorney general, said he would be afraid to unintentionally sway jurors with his second set of questions if the second voir dire were granted. However, if the request were not granted, a future appeal could raise the question whether enough leeway was given to the defense.
“We’re in unchartered territory,” Braden said.
Same article I linked above:
http://www.ottawaherald.com/news/local/judge-oks-first-of-its-kind-jury-questioning-in-ottawa/article_eaa35add-e2cc-5fe9-916b-d3c8207dbd2f.html
Can someone please explain this to me? Is this allowed and/or typical in other cases? I just do not know enough about the law or the process of voir dire as a whole. How could this possibly be considered not giving the defense enough leeway? I swear we're moving into Jose Baez territory with the allowances given to the defense in this case!!! I could be very, very wrong, but it seems to me like judges tiptoe around the side of the defense. It's like they're so worried the ruling will be overturned these days that they tend to forget that a heinous crime was committed. I get that they have to temper things for justice, but c'mon....It does seem the offenders truly do have more rights than victims. So sad. This is all my opinionated raving and I could be way off base. I just feel the judge in this case needs a little backbone.