Clemente Flores was indicted for the offense of trafficking in methamphetamine. He was tried before a jury, which found him guilty of the offense. The trial judge sentenced Flores to serve 25 years in prison and pay a fine of $1 million. Flores appeals. 1. Flores contends that the trial court erred during voir dire in sustaining the state’s objection to the relevance of his asking if any of the prospective jurors had taken a Spanish class. We find no reversible error. The single purpose for voir dire is the ascertainment of the impartiality of jurors, their ability to treat the cause on the merits with objectivity and freedom from bias and prior inclination. The control of the pursuit of such determination is within the sound legal discretion of the trial court, and only in the event of manifest abuse will it be upset upon review.1 In the instant case, after the court sustained the state’s objection to Flores’ question about a Spanish class, Flores was allowed to ask the jurors if any of them were biased against him because he is from Mexico and does not speak English. None of the jurors indicated any such bias and the voir dire continued. Given the questions concerning possible bias based on nationality and language that Flores was allowed to ask, we find no manifest abuse of discretion in the trial court’s decision to disallow the question about whether any jurors had taken a Spanish class.2
2. Flores argues that the trial court erred in refusing to strike for cause a potential juror who indicated during voir dire that one of the officers who was a witness for the state had been a family friend for many years. The argument is without merit. Whether to strike a juror for cause lies within the sound discretion of the trial court. Before a juror is excused for cause, it must be shown that he or she holds an opinion of the guilt or innocence of the defendant that is so fixed and definite that the juror will be unable to set the opinion aside and decide the case based upon the evidence or the court’s charge upon the evidence.3 Flores has made no showing that the juror in question held an opinion of his guilt that was so fixed that she could not set it aside and base her verdict on the evidence and the court’s charge. Indeed, he has failed to show that the juror had any preconceived opinion about his guilt or innocence. Rather, the record reveals that after indicating she knew a police officer who was a witness for the state, she testified, in response to questioning by the prosecuting attorney, that she could be an impartial juror. While Flores subsequently asked the juror a few questions about the officer, he did not ask her any questions about her proclaimed impartiality.
