State of Washington v. John J. Munzanreder

¶ 1 John J. Munzanreder appeals his conviction for the first degree murder of his wife. Because of the sensational nature of the alleged crime, local media extensively covered his case from arrest through trial. His principal arguments on appeal are the trial court abused its discretion when it denied his motion to change venue, and the voir dire process used by the trial court failed to protect his constitutional right to an impartial jury.

¶2 In the published portion of this opinion, we hold that the state constitutional right to an impartial jury is not more protective than the…