Breeden v. Commonwealth

By final order dated July 30, 1975, the trial court entered judgment on the verdict of a jury which convicted James Richard Breeden of abduction and murder of the first degree and fixed his punishment at imprisonment for ten years and for life on the respective charges. The dispositive question is whether a prospective juror, Mrs. Mary Alice Plummer, should have been stricken from the venire for cause.

The right of an accused to trial by “an impartial jury” is a constitutional right. U.S. Const, amends. VI and XIV; Va. Const, art. 1, § 8. The constitutional guarantee is reinforced by…