Opinion ID: 1855450
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 8

Heading: jury of peers

Text: Price argues that he was denied a trial by a jury of his peers because the venire panel and the jury included only one African-American. In State v. Jones, 246 Neb. 673, 522 N.W.2d 414 (1994), we held that in order to establish a prima facie case of a violation of the Sixth Amendment right to a jury pool representing a fair cross section of the community, the defendant must show the following: (1) The group alleged to be excluded is a distinctive group in the community; (2) the representation of this group in venires from which juries are selected is not fair and reasonable in relation to the number of such persons in the community; and (3) this underrepresentation is due to systematic exclusion of the group in the jury-selection process. Price has failed to establish that the representation of African-Americans in venires from which Douglas County juries are selected is unfair and unreasonable in relation to the number of such persons in the community. Price admits that such selections are made randomly by computer. Cf. State v. Jones, supra . Price claims the State systematically excludes African-Americans from the jury selection process by asking whether a potential juror is so strongly opposed to the death penalty that he or she could not be fair or impartial. As a preliminary matter, Price has not presented any evidence substantiating his claim that African-Americans and non-African-Americans have divergent views on capital punishment. Nonetheless, even if Price had presented such evidence, it would not advance his argument that the venire panel was corrupt under Jones. Jones prohibits the systematic exclusion of distinctive groups based upon the racial, religious, gender, or ethnic identity of that group relative to the balance of the community. By definition, the exclusion of persons from a venire panel on the basis that they oppose the death penalty in principle is an exclusion which has nothing to do with their racial identity. Accordingly, Jones is not implicated. Moreover, we have consistently held that exclusion of a person from a first degree murder venire panel is permitted on the basis that potential jurors are opposed to the application of the death penalty. See, State v. Bird Head, 225 Neb. 822, 408 N.W.2d 309 (1987); State v. Benzel, 220 Neb. 466, 370 N.W.2d 501 (1985). This assignment of error is without merit.