Opinion ID: 2028761
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Eric Roberts and Joe Allen

Text: The State explained that it excused Roberts, a 27-year-old male, and Allen, a 26-year-old male, because it considered them to be within the same age bracket as the defendant. The fact that a prospective juror is similar in age to the defendant is a legitimate reason for exercising a peremptory challenge. ( People v. Baisten (1990), 203 Ill.App.3d 64, 79, 148 Ill.Dec. 463, 560 N.E.2d 1060.) In Baisten, the appellate court upheld the State's peremptory challenge against a venireperson who was 31 years old where the defendant was 25 years old, a six-year difference. In this case, Roberts was 27 years old and the defendant was 20 years old at the time of trial, a seven-year difference. Allen was 26 years old at the time of trial, a six-year difference in age from the defendant. Despite the defendant's arguments to the contrary, we conclude that Roberts and Allen were sufficiently close in age to the defendant to render the State's challenge of them on that basis valid. The defendant next contends that excusing Roberts and Allen on the basis of their age was a pretext for racial discrimination because white venire members who were not excluded were also in the same age bracket as the defendant. The defendant's argument, however, ignores the fact that accepted venire members Patrick Crosby, Kathleen Richmond and Joslyn Perkins, who were in the same age bracket as the defendant, had favorable characteristics that were not shared by Roberts and Allen. Crosby, who was 27 years old, had prior jury service and had lived at the same address for 20 years. Roberts, on the other hand, had no prior jury experience and had lived at his current address for just three years. Allen also had no prior jury experience and had lived at his current address for two years. Richmond, who was 27 years old, had an uncle who was a police officer, while neither Roberts nor Allen indicated that they were acquainted with any police officers. Finally, Perkins, who was 23 years old, was self-employed as a court reporter. The fact that Perkins was a court reporter, in addition to being self-employed, was a characteristic which the State found to be favorable. At the hearing on remand from Andrews II, the State commented, Miss Perkins was a court reporter, and I find that court reporters have experience from courtroom proceedings   . I would find them to be a very good jury member. Roberts, on the other hand, was employed as a sales manager by a shoe company and Allen was employed by a bakery as a baker. We further note that Richmond and Perkins were female and therefore less likely to relate to the defendant than Roberts or Allen even though Richmond and Perkins were also about the same age as the defendant. We conclude that the State's explanation that it excused Roberts and Allen based upon their age was not pretextual. The trial court's determination that the State's explanation was race neutral and sufficient to rebut the defendant's prima facie case of racial discrimination was not clearly erroneous.