Opinion ID: 1881228
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Exclusion of a Potential Juror

Text: During jury selection the state exercised a peremptory challenge to remove potential juror number 32. Juror number 32 is white but has an African-American daughter and is sometimes mistaken for a Native American. The defense opposed the use of the strike arguing that juror number 32 was removed because she expressed concerns about the lack of minorities on the jury panel and how people of color are treated by the system in general. The defense contended that the peremptory challenge was racially motivated and deprived appellant and the juror of their right to equal protection. The trial court ruled that it was an appropriate peremptory strike. The use of peremptory challenges to exclude persons from the jury solely on the basis of race is prohibited by the Equal Protection Clause of the United States Constitution. Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 79, 89, 106 S.Ct. 1712, 90 L.Ed.2d 69 (1986). The Supreme Court set out a three-step process in Batson to determine whether a peremptory challenge was motivated by racially discriminatory intent. First, the defendant must make a prima facie showing that the challenge was exercised on the basis of race. Id. at 96, 106 S.Ct. 1712. Second, upon such a showing, the burden shifts to the prosecutor to articulate a race-neutral reason for the challenge. Id. at 97, 106 S.Ct. 1712. Finally, the trial court must determine whether there has been purposeful discrimination. Id. at 98, 106 S.Ct. 1712; State v. Gaitan, 536 N.W.2d 11, 15 (Minn.1995). If a prosecutor had a racially discriminatory intent or motive in striking a juror, a defendant is automatically entitled to a new trial because harmless error impact analysis is inappropriate in the case of a defendant convicted by a petit jury if there was racial discrimination in the selection of that jury. State v. McRae, 494 N.W.2d 252, 260 (Minn.1992). The trial court correctly determined that the defendant did not make a prima facie case that the challenge was exercised on the basis of race. We have stated the [a] prima facie case of racial discrimination is established by showing that one or more members of a racial group have been peremptorily excluded from the jury and that circumstances of the case raise an inference that the exclusion was based on race. State v. Stewart, 514 N.W.2d 559, 563 (Minn.1994) (emphasis added). Juror number 32, as a caucasian woman, is not a member of any racial minority, despite the composition of her family. While it is true that Batson has been extended to white venire members who are struck on the basis of their race, [3] juror number 32 was not excluded on the basis of her race even if one accepts as true appellant's argument that she was excluded solely because of her beliefs that people of color are treated unfairly by the system. Batson protects the potential juror's racial status, not her racial and political beliefs or philosophies. While juror number 32 may have appeared to be an ideal juror from the defense perspective, the state could well have perceived her as someone with an agenda who was predisposed to acquitas the trial court noted in its ruling, [t]hat's what perempts are for. Despite appellant's urgings to the contrary, we do not believe Batson should be extended to apply to a juror's beliefs or philosophies. Accordingly, we hold that the use of a peremptory strike violated neither appellant's nor the potential juror's constitutional right to equal protection.