Viera v. State

SCHWARTZ, Chief Judge.

Viera appeals from an armed robbery conviction after a jury trial. We reverse.

At the conclusion of jury selection, but before the jury was sworn, defense counsel asserted a challenge for cause of a particular juror, Mr. Taylor. Although, because of the opinions expressed by Taylor during voir dire, the challenge was at least colorable and could surely have been granted within the trial judge’s discretion,1 he refused to rule upon it on the ground that the challenge had not been made earlier as he had previously instructed. This restriction of the time for making a…