## Facts

- Salvatore Salamone was tried in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania on multiple federal firearms-related charges, including possession and nonregistration of an illegally made machine gun and falsifying firearms transaction records using fictitious names.
- A jury convicted Salamone on six of seven counts; he received an aggregate sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment and $35,000 in fines.
- During voir dire, the district court, at the government’s request, excused for cause one prospective juror and five prospective alternate jurors solely because of their affiliation with the National Rifle Association (NRA).
- The court conducted no individualized questioning of the NRA-affiliated venirepersons about whether their membership would affect their ability to follow the court’s instructions and decide the case on the evidence.
- Salamone objected that categorical exclusion based on organizational membership denied his right to a fair and impartial jury.
- On appeal, the Third Circuit limited its published analysis to the jury-selection issue concerning for-cause removal of NRA members.

## Issues

1. Whether a district court may excuse prospective jurors for cause in a federal gun-control prosecution solely because they are NRA members, without individualized inquiry into their ability to be impartial.

## Decision

- The Third Circuit held that the district court abused its discretion by excusing prospective jurors for cause based solely on NRA affiliation.
- The court rejected the government’s attempt to justify the removals on an implied-bias theory tied to organizational membership, absent an individualized showing of inability to be impartial.
- The court reversed Salamone’s convictions and remanded for a new trial.

## Legal Principles

- Juror impartiality and competence must be assessed on an individual basis; group membership alone is not a sufficient ground for a for-cause strike without a demonstrated connection to inability to follow the law and evidence.
- Implied bias is reserved for rare, extreme circumstances; membership in a political or advocacy organization, without more, does not fit that category.
- A trial court must develop a record supporting a finding of bias; categorical exclusion based on assumed attitudes, without follow-up questioning, is improper.
- Improper class-based exclusions in jury selection are treated as presumptively prejudicial and may require reversal without proof that the seated jurors were actually biased.

## Conclusion

The Third Circuit ordered a new trial because the district court removed prospective jurors for cause solely due to NRA affiliation, without any individualized inquiry establishing bias or inability to decide the case based on the evidence and the court’s instructions.


United States v. Salamone, 800 F.2d 1216 (3d Cir. 1986)