State v. Bennett

In State v. Bennett, 181 W. Va. 269, 382 S.E.2d 322 (1989), a prospective juror was asked during voir dire, "Do you think that there's a probability or a greater chance that [the defendant] did it than didn't do it?" 181 W. Va. at 271, 382 S.E.2d at 324. The prospective juror responded, "Yeah. " Id. The Court concluded in Bennett that it was error for the trial court not to strike the prospective juror for cause. We also set out the following principle of law in syllabus point 1, in part, of Bennett: "When individual voir dire reveals that a prospective juror feels prejudice against the defendant . . . the defendant's motion to strike the juror from the panel for cause should ordinarily be granted."