State Ex Rel. Miller v. Welsh

Bond, C. J., delivered the opinion of the 'Court. In a suit at law for damages from death by negligence, the trial court denied a motion made by the plaintiff, now appellant, before striking any names from a list of twenty jurors .supplied him, to examine the entire panel of jurors to ascertain whether cause for disqualification of any of them existed. In answer to a question by t-he court, the appellant announced that the purpose of the examination would be to ascertain whether any of the panel were acquainted with the parties. The court then denied the motion, and, instead, asked, after the parties had struck from the list, whether any of the remaining twelve jurors were so acquainted with the parties.

That action is the sole ground of appeal from a judgment for the defendant. Either party has a right to have a list of twenty names of •qualified persons supplied to him for striking off four, and .as a means of ascertaining the existence of any ground of •disqualification has a right to have the members of the full panel examined on their voir dire. Lee v. Peter, 6 G. & J. 447, 452 ; Edelen v. Gough, 8 Gill, 87, 90 ; Hamlin v. State, 67 Md. 333, 337 , 10 A. 214, 301 ; Lockhart v. State, 145 Md. 602, 613 , 125 A. 829 ; Beck v. State, 151 Md. 615, 617 , 135 A. 410 ; Code, art. 51, sec. 13. “Each party