 |
 |
to fill out a simple form to connect to DUI Lawyers in your area.
|
|
|
|
|
Taylor v. State2/4/1999
defense had struck one (1) white male and two (2) white females, with the court accepting the race-neutral reasons offered. The defense had also accepted seven (7) white males and one (1) white female
juror. There was no finding of a pattern of discrimination. . While the defendant did not object to the court's requirement that he give race-neutral reasons, the defendant also asserts that the court erred in declining to accept as race-neutral the reasons offered by him. The third step in a Batson analysis requires the trial Judge to determine if, in spite of the race-neutral explanation, the opposing party has met its ultimate burden of proving that the challenges were motivated by purposeful discrimination. McFarland, 707 So. 2d at 171. A lower court's decision to accept, or not, an explanation as race-neutral will be reversed only where "they appear clearly erroneous or against the overwhelming weight of the evidence." Hatten v. State, 628 So. 2d 294, 299 (Miss. 1993).
. In evaluating the nature of the explanation necessary to survive a Batson inquiry, it has been stated:
The second step of this process does not demand an explanation that is persuasive, or even plausible. "At this [second] step of the inquiry, the issue is the facial validity of the prosecutor's explanation. Unless a discriminatory intent is inherent in the explanation, the reason offered will be deemed race neutral."
The Court of Appeals erred by combining Batson's second and third steps into one, requiring that the justification tendered at the second step be not just neutral but also at least minimally persuasive, i.e., a "plausible" basis for believing that "the person's ability to perform his or her duties as a juror" will be affected. It is not until the third step that the persuasiveness of the justification becomes relevant... Purkett v. Elem, 514 U.S. 765, 767-68 (1995) (citations omitted).
. The circuit court erred in declining to accept as race-neutral the defense's reasons for striking the jurors, except for the school teacher. In the case of the school teacher the State pointed out that the defense had previously accepted a white male juror with the same qualifications. Although the comparison of the two jurors does not evidence racial motivation, it cannot be said that the challenge was gender-neutral. Therefore, the circuit court's finding that the explanation as to the school teacher was not gender-neutral, was not clearly erroneous.
. However, as to the remaining two jurors whom the defense sought to strike, because they may be needed at their places of employment, the circuit court combined the second and the third steps in the Batson analysis. Purkett, 514 U.S. at 768. As discussed supra, there was no showing of racial or gender motivation in exercising the strikes. And the explanations were neutral in that they were not facially discriminatory. Id. There was no analysis of pretext. Therefore, the circuit court was clearly erroneous in failing to accept as race-neutral the explanations the defense gave for striking the two jurors.
CONCLUSION
. The defendant's assertion that the circuit court should have suppressed the evidence seized from Edith's residence is without merit. The defendant's assertions that the circuit court should have granted his motion for a directed verdict and that the evidence was insufficient to support the verdict, are also without merit. The circuit court committed reversible error, however, by holding that the defendant was required to provide race-neutral reasons for peremptory strikes exercised against white jurors without first requiring the State to object and show a prima facie case of rac
Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Mississippi DUI Attorneys
DUI Lawyers
|
| |
to fill out a simple form to connect to DUI Lawyers in your area.
|
|