Case Name: The People of the State of New York, Respondent, v. Anthony Belcher, Appellant
Court: New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division
Jurisdiction: New York
Decision Date: 1999-09-13
Citations: 264 A.D.2d 742
Docket Number: 
Parties: The People of the State of New York, Respondent, v Anthony Belcher, Appellant.
Judges: 
Reporter: Appellate Division Reports
Volume: 264
Pages: 742–742

Head Matter:
The People of the State of New York, Respondent, v Anthony Belcher, Appellant.
[695 NYS2d 575]

Opinion:
Appeal by the defendant from a judgment of the Supreme Court, Kings County (Lipp, J.), rendered May 16, 1997, convicting him of robbery in the second degree, upon a jury verdict, and imposing sentence.
Ordered that the judgment is affirmed.
The defendant contends that the trial court erred in determining, over his objection, that the People had established a prima facie case of discrimination in support of a reverse Bat-son challenge (see, Batson v Kentucky, 476 US 79; People v Payne, 88 NY2d 172; People v Kern, 75 NY2d 638, cert denied 498 US 824). However, because the court ruled on the ultimate issue of whether the race-neutral reasons proffered by the defense were pretextual, the issue of whether or not the People established a prima facie case of discrimination is academic (see, People v Payne, supra, at 181-182; People v Franklin, 248 AD2d 726; People v Hill, 245 AD2d 464). Ritter, J. P., Thompson, Altman and Friedmann, JJ., concur.