Judge Limits Questions for Carmony Jury Pool

Prospective jurors for the pending felony trial of Republican campaign aide Rhonda Carmony will be screened to determine whether they have been contacted about the case, a judge ruled Wednesday, but they will not be asked their political affiliation.

Judge Francisco P. Briseno barred both defense and prosecution attorneys from either asking or independently collecting information on jurors’ political views or participation and voting records, as well as employment and education records.

“The court has an interest separate from this case to encourage jurors to participate,” Briseno said.

About 100 prospective jurors will be called today to begin the process of choosing the panel.

Carmony, the campaign manager and fiancee of Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Huntington Beach), is charged with three felonies for allegedly violating election laws to help place a decoy Democratic candidate on the November 1995 special election ballot.

Briseno said he wanted to ensure that jurors would be able to separate the alleged election law violations from the lawful conduct of members of one party assisting members of another party to qualify as candidates.

The judge also decided to ask potential jurors if they have been contacted about the case.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Brent Romney said his office has been told by unidentified “citizens” that they had been contacted by phone by someone purporting to conduct a survey.

The pollster apparently asked questions about the case against Carmony and Assemblyman Scott Baugh (R-Huntington Beach), the ultimate winner of the special election.