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State v. Greenleaf4/15/1999
d, and the juror's prior conviction for driving under the influence of alcohol.
As to the third step in the Batson analysis, the trial court determined that the defense failed to meet its burden of proving purposeful discrimination. There is nothing in the record to indicate that such a finding was clearly erroneous since the reasons provided by the state for each excluded juror provided ample, nonrace-based justifications for the peremptory strikes. See Batson, 476 U.S. at 89 (holding that a prosecutor may exercise a peremptory challenge "`for any reason at all, as long as that reason is related to his view concerning the outcome' of the case to be tried") (citation omitted); see also State v. Scott, 493 N.W.2d 546, 549 (Minn. 1992) (upholding the use of a peremptory strike on a potential juror who answered, "probably, yeah," when asked whether she could follow the Judge's instruction).
Greenleaf also argues that he was prejudiced because DeVerney's peremptory challenges were based solely on gender. It is true that several women were peremptorily struck by DeVerney. However, the first two jurors selected were women, and a total of six women, including alternates, were seated on the jury. The trial court correctly concluded that Greenleaf failed to meet the first step in the Batson analysis because he failed to make a prima facie showing that the challenges made by DeVerney were exercised on the basis of gender.
V.
We turn next to the issue of whether the trial court erred by allowing Mike Martin to testify and, if not, whether the trial court erred by not permitting the defense to cross-examine Martin about the number of months his presumptive sentence was to be reduced pursuant to his plea agreement.
A. Martin's testimony
The decision to allow an accomplice to plead guilty to a lesser crime if he provides truthful information and testimony is a proper exercise of a prosecutor's authority. See State v. Jones, 392 N.W.2d 224, 232 (Minn. 1986) (citing A.B.A. Standards for Criminal Justice, The Prosecution Function, Standard 3-3.9(b)(vi)). "Such negotiations do not necessarily make an accomplice's testimony so unreliable that it must be excluded from evidence, for they in no way bind the witness' testimony; he or she is free to testify truthfully and fully without fear of reprisals on the part of the government." See Jones, 392 N.W.2d at 232.
Greenleaf argues that the state improperly induced Martin to testify because the plea agreement, according to Greenleaf, made reduction of sentence dependent upon how well Martin testified. The plea agreement, however, clearly provided that Martin was only required to testify truthfully at each trial and that, in exchange for his truthful testimony, he would receive a sentence ranging from 163 to 244.5 months. The plea negotiations in this case did not condition the sentence upon the successful prosecution of accomplices, and the plea agreement was not an inducement to commit perjury. Further, the trial court instructed the jury that it could not find appellant guilty based on Martin's testimony "unless that testimony is corroborated by other evidence which tends to convict the defendant of the crime." Therefore, the trial court did not err by allowing Martin to testify.
B. Right of confrontation
Greenleaf also contends that the trial court violated his Sixth Amendment right of confrontation by not allowing Martin to be cross-examined about the exact number of months his sentence could be reduced under the plea agreement. The trial court, while prohibiting Greenleaf's counsel from asking about the exact number of months Martin's sentence could be reduced, did n
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