Title: Cleveland v. State

State: arkansas

Issuer: Arkansas Supreme Court

Document:

Bennie Lamar CLEVELAND v. STATE of Arkansas

CR 96-186                                          ___ S.W.2d ___

                    Supreme Court of Arkansas
              Opinion delivered September 23, 1996


1.   Jury -- Batson argument -- issue of prima facie showing moot
     where no challenge is raised and court hears race-neutral
     explanations. -- The supreme court held that where no
     challenge to a prima facie case is raised and where the trial
     court proceeds to hear the prosecutor's race-neutral
     explanations and then denies a Batson motion, the issue of a
     prima facie showing is moot.

2.   Jury -- Batson argument -- standard of review for reversal of
     trial court's ruling. -- Where the issue of a prima facie
     showing was moot, the relevant Batson inquiry then became
     whether the trial court was correct in denying the mistrial
     motion based on the reasons given; the supreme court's
     standard of review in such matters is whether the court's
     finding of satisfactory reasons was clearly against the
     preponderance of the evidence.

3.   Jury -- Batson argument -- no fault in trial court's
     acceptance of prosecutor's reasons for peremptory strikes. --
     The supreme court found no fault in the trial court's
     acceptance of the prosecutor's reasons for exercising
     peremptory strikes where two prospective jurors were seen
     making eye contact with or mouthing words to appellant; where
     another prospective juror had been charged with second-degree
     battery and was believed to be prejudiced against the State;
     where another prospective juror knew members of both
     appellant's and the victim's families; and where one minister
     expressed concern about sitting in judgment of others, and a
     second minister contended that it would be a hardship to serve
     on the jury, vote to convict appellant, and then counsel other
     prisoners, including appellant.

4.   Jury -- Batson argument -- presence of members of race in
     question and State's use of only seven of ten peremptory
     challenges satisfied Batson. -- One of the best answers to a
     challenge of racial discrimination is to point to a jury that
     is comprised of members of the race in question; where
     appellant's jury contained eight black members and two black
     alternates, and the State had used only seven of its ten
     peremptory strikes, these two elements, combined with the
     explanations given by the prosecutor at trial, required that
     the case be affirmed.


     Appeal from Desha Circuit Court; Sam Bird, Judge; affirmed.
     Alvin Schay, for appellant.
     Winston Bryant, Att'y Gen., by:  Brad Newman, Asst. Att'y
Gen., for appellee.

     Robert L. Brown, Justice.
     This is the third time that we have considered matters
relating to appellant Bennie Lamar Cleveland's crimes committed on
December 29, 1991.  We first affirmed the judgments against
Cleveland for capital murder, attempted capital murder, kidnapping,
aggravated robbery, and theft of property.  See Cleveland v. State,
315 Ark. 91, 106-A,