Ex Parte Rutledge

We granted the defendant's petition for writ of certiorari in this case to review the issue of whether the trial court abused its discretion in denying the defendant's "challenge for cause" as to a certain prospective juror.

Prior to trial, the defendant filed a "voir dire motion in limine" requesting that the court prohibit the district attorney from asking prospective jurors about the Southern Poverty Law Center ("SPLC"). The defendant argued 1) that the types of cases handled by the SPLC make it unpopular with a large segment of the population, and that those venirepersons holding an…