Depriving a defendant in a criminal proceeding of the peremptory challenges to which he or she is statutorily entitled is structural error. State v. Marshall, 269 Neb. 56, 690 N.W.2d 593 (2005).
Where two or more offenses are properly joined, a trial court does not err in limiting the defendant to the number of peremptory challenges statutorily available for the most serious of the offenses, and a defendant is not entitled to additional peremptory challenges because the indictment charges separate offenses in separate counts. State v. Williams, 239 Neb. 985, 480 N.W.2d 390 (1992).
Where imprisonment authorized was for a period of one year, only three peremptory challenges could be demanded. State v. Abboud, 181 Neb. 84, 147 N.W.2d 152 (1966).
Counsel have right to put pertinent questions on voir dire examination of jurors to aid in the exercise of right of peremptory challenge. Oden v. State, 166 Neb. 729, 90 N.W.2d 356 (1958).
Order of exercise of peremptory challenges rested in discretion of trial court. Callies v. State, 157 Neb. 640, 61 N.W.2d 370 (1953); Sherrick v. State, 157 Neb. 623, 61 N.W.2d 358 (1953).
Where both state and defendant waived peremptory challenge, objection to disqualification of juror who had read newspaper article was waived. Sundahl v. State, 154 Neb. 550, 48 N.W.2d 689 (1951).
Peremptory challenges are not to be exercised until jurors have been passed for cause. Fetty v. State, 119 Neb. 619, 230 N.W. 440 (1930); Mathes v. State, 107 Neb. 212, 185 N.W. 425 (1921); Rutherford v. State, 32 Neb. 714, 49 N.W. 701 (1891).
Order in which challenges shall be made is left to sound discretion of trial court. Johnson v. State, 88 Neb. 565, 130 N.W. 282 (1911); Gravely v. State, 45 Neb. 878, 64 N.W. 452 (1895).
Failure to exercise right of peremptory challenge is waiver of any disqualification then known to exist. Morgan v. State, 51 Neb. 672, 71 N.W. 788 (1897); Curran v. Percival, 21 Neb. 434, 32 N.W. 213 (1887).