State v. Barnes

In Barnes v. State, 592 So.2d 1127, 1128 (Fla.3d DCA 1992), the district court certified the following question as being of great public importance:

Where the trial court finds that a peremptory challenge is based upon racial bias, is the sole remedy to dismiss the jury pool and start voir dire over with a new jury pool, or may the trial court exercise its discretion to deny the peremptory challenge if it cures the discriminatory taint; for example, must the jury panel be stricken if the discriminatory challenge has been made outside its presence?

We addressed this question recently in…