State v. Taylor

OPINION

KELLEHER, Justice.

A Superior Court jury found the defendant, William A. Taylor (Taylor), guilty of breaking and entering the dwelling of another with intent to commit larceny. Thereafter, Taylor’s motion for a new trial was denied, and he was sentenced to a prison term of three years with the. entire term being suspended after Taylor was placed on probation. The decisive issue in this appeal concerns the propriety of the trial justice’s refusal to permit questions designed to discern the potential racial bias, if any, of the prospective jurors.

Taylor is black, and Robert S. Bucci…