People v. Williams

Opinion

MOSK, J.

This defendant challenges the long-standing rule that prohibits voir dire from being conducted as a means to uncover bases for peremptory challenges. (People v. Edwards (1912) 163 Cal. 752, 753 [127 P. 58].) Like a moss-covered oak, the doctrine has seemed sturdy because of its venerable age, but we have only to examine its shallow roots and hollow substance to realize that it is precariously poised, ready to topple at the first challenging blow.

I

In the early morning hours of February 21, 1978, defendant Williams fatally shot a drinking companion, Travis King. Earlier in the…