Opinion ID: 2369367
Heading Depth: 6
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Prospective Juror D.J.

Text: When the prosecutor exercised his 11th peremptory challenge, against D.J., defendant again made a Batson / Wheeler motion. D.J.'s juror questionnaire indicated he worked as a loss prevention officer for a department store and had family members who worked in law enforcement. D.J.'s younger brother had tossed his infant son (D.J.'s nephew) into the air and failed to catch him, and the child died. Although the brother was convicted of manslaughter, D.J. felt the outcome was fair. D.J.'s church was opposed to the death penalty, but he expressed a willingness to vote for the death penalty if it was appropriate. The trial court denied defendant's Batson / Wheeler motion, finding no prima facie showing based on D.J.'s religious beliefs and some inconsistencies in answers about his incarcerated brother. The prosecutor also noted D.J.'s body language was angry and/or at least very uncomfortable, and noted D.J.'s concern about his brother's conviction. But the prosecutor was most concerned with D.J.'s religious beliefs and purported willingness to ignore those beliefs; the prosecutor suspected D.J. may have had a hidden agenda to spare defendant from the death penalty. After the prosecutor had used his 13th (of 20 total) peremptory challenges, and defendant had used seven of his 20, the parties accepted the jury. During the selection process for the alternate jurors, the prosecutor used all four of his peremptory challenges, including one against an African-American (M.R.), without objection.