Opinion ID: 2041856
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The first question to be resolved is whether defendant's mistrial motion, interposed in course of jury voir dire, should have been sustained.

Text: Sometime after the panel had been advised to the effect defendant would attempt to establish an alibi defense, this colloquy occurred between the county attorney and a prospective juror: Young people hang together, don't they? Upon receiving an affirmative response to that question the prosecutor asked: They alibi for each other? At this point defense counsel unsuccessfully moved for a mistrial adjudication. We cannot place the stamp of approval upon such tactics as disclosed above. It still remains, however, this is a matter resting largely in trial court's discretion with which we interfere only where abuse is clearly shown. See Anderson v. City of Council Bluffs, 195 N.W.2d 373, 377 (Iowa 1972); Elkin v. Johnson, 260 Iowa 46, 50, 148 N.W.2d 442 (1967). No such showing is made.