Waters v. State

The appellant was indicted for murder, in the Circuit Court for Cecil County.

When the jury was being empanelled in his case, a certain Henry J. Briscoe was called as a juror and sworn upon his voir dire. To the question: “Have you formed and expressed an opinion as to the guilt or innocence of the prisoner at the bar?” lie replied: “I have.” In answer to questions then propounded to him by the Court, he stated, that such opinion was formed, solely from what he had read of the case in the county papers at the time of the commission of the crime, and from mere rumor; and that he did not know…