Appellate judges have ordered a new trial for a Toledo man convicted nearly two years ago of murder for a Byrne Road motorist’s shooting death.

By directing Cedrick Belmon’s defense lawyer to not question the jury pool about its possible racial biases, Lucas County Common Pleas Judge Linda Jennings denied Belmon “the opportunity to fully explore potential juror bias, and any claim that additional questioning would have been fruitless is speculative at best,” Judge Christine E. Mayle wrote in a ruling the Ohio 6th District Court of Appeals handed down Friday.

“The trial court abused its discretion and committed prejudicial error requiring reversal when it prevented defense counsel from inquiring during voir dire jury selection on the topic of racial bias,” the court ruled.

The court reje

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