Christopher Artis Rich v. Commonwealth ( 2002 )

COURT OF APPEALS OF VIRGINIA
Present: Chief Judge Fitzpatrick, Judge Benton and
Senior Judge Overton
Argued at Alexandria, Virginia
CHRISTOPHER ARTIS RICH
MEMORANDUM OPINION * BY
v. Record No. 2670-01-4 JUDGE JAMES W. BENTON, JR.
OCTOBER 15, 2002
COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA
FROM THE CIRCUIT COURT OF PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY
Richard B. Potter, Judge
(Myron J. Teluk, on brief, for appellant).
Appellant submitting on brief.
(Jerry W. Kilgore, Attorney General;
Steven A. Witmer, Assistant Attorney General,
on brief), for appellee. Appellee submitting
on brief.
A jury convicted Christopher Artis Rich of armed robbery and
use of a firearm in the commission of a felony. The issue raised
by this appeal is whether the trial judge erred by refusing to
allow Rich's attorney (1) to inform the jury panel on voir dire of
the minimum sentences for robbery and for the lesser-included
offenses of grand and petit larceny and (2) to inquire whether any
persons on the panel had religious or moral beliefs that would
preclude them from imposing minimum sentences.
* Pursuant to Code § 17.1-413, this opinion is not
designated for publication.
While this appeal was pending, the Supreme Court reversed our
decision in Hill v. Commonwealth, 36 Va. App. 375, 381, 550 S.E.2d
351, 354 (2001), which decided a similar issue. See Commonwealth
v. Hill, 264 Va. 315, ___ S.E.2d ___ (2002). The Court held,
[i]n summary, . . . that neither the
defendant nor the Commonwealth in a
non-capital criminal prosecution has a
constitutional or statutory right to ask the
members of a jury panel questions about the
range of punishment that may be imposed upon
a defendant if he is ultimately convicted of
the crimes charged or of lesser included
offenses.
Id. at 320, ___ S.E.2d at ___.
Accordingly, we affirm the convictions.
Affirmed.
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