Opinion ID: 1737634
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: other guilt-phase issues

Text: We turn now to the other issues raised by appellant. First, he alleges violation of State v. Neil, 457 So.2d 481 (Fla. 1984) as refined by State v. Slappy, 522 So.2d 18 (Fla.), cert. denied, ___ U.S. ___, 108 S.Ct. 2873, 101 L.Ed.2d 909 (1988), in the state's use of peremptory strikes. Appellant is a black man accused of murdering a white woman. The record shows that the state used six out of seven peremptory challenges to exclude black prospective jurors. Following objections to several of these challenges on the basis of racial discrimination, the trial court declined to conduct any inquiry into their propriety. The state conceded at oral argument that appellant had met the threshold of establishing the likelihood that the peremptory strikes were used in a racially discriminatory manner. Thus the prosecution was required to carry its burden of demonstrating race-neutral reasons for the peremptory strikes. Slappy, 522 So.2d at 22. Assuming that appellant had met the threshold, we believe the trial court did not conduct an adequate inquiry into the state's reasons for the use of peremptory challenges against black prospective jurors. It is incumbent upon trial judges to conduct such an inquiry when the threshold showing of racial discriminatory use of peremptory challenges has been met. We decline the state's invitation to extract from the record the reasons it now believes justify the use of peremptory strikes. The proper time to do this was during voir dire, not on appeal. The proper tribunal to conduct the inquiry was the trial court, not the appellate court. Appellant next argues the trial court erred in denying his motions for judgment of acquittal on the murder and the robbery counts. He contends that the purely circumstantial case against him was filled with too many improper inferences resulting in too many incorrect conclusions. We find no merit in this contention. [10] However, for the reasons expressed above concerning the admission of posthypnotic testimony, we must reverse appellant's conviction for armed robbery.