California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from People v. Trevino, 217 Cal.Rptr. 652, 39 Cal.3d 667, 704 P.2d 719 (Cal. 1985):
We recently reaffirmed this proposition in People v. Hall (1983) 35 Cal.3d 161, 170, 197 Cal.Rptr. 71, 672 P.2d 854, where we held that "A prosecutor may act freely on the basis of 'hunches,' unless and until these acts create a prima facie case of group bias, and even then he may rebut the inference." Clearly, therefore, an attorney may excuse a prospective juror because of a gut feeling. When an attorney does so, his concern is that the juror may be biased against his client.
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