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Hamilton County: Jury to be sequestered in wreck death case

By: Monica Mercer
(Contact)

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Bryan Hoss

Jurors will be sequestered during a high-profile vehicular homicide trial, despite a state law stipulating that sequestering is only required when defendants face the death penalty.

But the law also allows the trial judge make the call, and Hamilton County Criminal Court Judge Don Poole agreed with defense attorneys Thursday that the media’s scrutiny of Steven Tyler Frizzell over the past year had simply proven too intense.

Jurors will be sequestered “out of a sense of precaution” in Mr. Frizzell’s case, Judge Poole said in his ruling.

Sequestered juries are rare, according to the Hamilton County Criminal Court clerk’s office. However, records have not been kept locally regarding the historic tendency to protect jurors from outside influences.

Mr. Frizzell’s attorneys were particularly concerned about the continued reporting of an incident in which authorities caught the underage Mr. Frizzell buying beer last fall while out on bond.

Judge Poole previously ruled that prosecutors will not be allowed to present that piece of evidence during the trial, but defense attorney Bryan Hoss argued the jury pool already could be aware of it because of media coverage.

“The stories always reference that bond revocation,” Mr. Hoss said, noting that at least “25 stories” from various local news outlets have been written about Mr. Frizzell since his 2007 crash, which killed one and severely injured two others.

““The tremendous risk Mr. Frizzell faces is that (the media) is going to report facts that the jury should not hear,” Mr. Hoss said.

Hamilton County Assistant District Attorney Jay Woods opposed sequestering the jury, saying it would cause an “inconvenience” to jurors for a “relatively straightforward case.”

“Pretrial publicity is not grounds to sequester a jury,” Mr. Woods said.

Mr. Frizzell is charged with one count of vehicular homicide and two counts of vehicular assault stemming from a Memorial Day 2007 crash that killed 72-year-old Robert Frizzell Sr. and severely injured his wife, JoAnn, and family friend Ruby Arnold. The defendant and the victims are not related.

The spotlight on the young man’s case first gained intensity when, while out on bond, Mr. Frizzell publicly violated the rules of his release by buying alcohol. Judge Poole immediately revoked his bond and then increased it to $200,000, forcing the defendant to remain in jail because he could not afford to make bail.

Attention only increased this past summer when a case of smoky, burnt popcorn sparked the evacuation of the Hamilton County criminal courthouse on the day Mr. Frizzell’s trial was scheduled to start.

Judge Poole delayed the trial until Nov. 1 amid worries that the jury pool might have been tainted while standing outside among the general public. One potential juror even was seen helping an elderly witness down the stairs, defense attorney Lee Davis said at the time.

Judge Poole lowered Mr. Frizzell’s bond after the botched trial attempt over the summer. Mr. Frizzell currently is free but faces a maximum of 20 years in prison if convicted of all charges.

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