The 11th Circuit Court rules that jurors can be asked about anti-gay bias. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit overturned a verdict because the judge refused to allow jurors to be questioned about bias against homosexuals. According to the per curiam opinion released Thursday the court said:

“The district court abused its discretion by failing to inquire about prejudice on the basis of sexual orientation during voir dire.”

Gay rights advocates are cheering this opinion. “LGBT individuals facing trial have the same right to a jury of their peers, free from prejudice, as every other American,” D’Arcy Kemnitz, executive director of the National LGBT Bar Association, said in a news release Thursday. “Today’s decision goes a long way in ensuring that these rights are granted. No one should ever face a jury filled with potential animus, and it is time that members of the judiciary recognize sexual orientation and gender identity as legitimate classes in need of protection.”