Opinion ID: 1947870
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: was the jury selection unconstitutional?

Text: The appellant makes general allegations that the jury, composed of 11 whites and 1 black, was not a jury of his peers. His contention seems to be that the district attorney's action, in exercising 11 of his peremptory challenges against potential black jurors, was discriminatory. The record is devoid of any evidence of any discriminatory pattern in the selection of the special venire, the regular venire, the excusing of jurors by the court, or the peremptory challenges exercised by the district attorney. This Court upheld a murder conviction where the State exercised its peremptory challenges to exclude all Negroes from the jury panel. Irving v. State, 228 So.2d 266 (Miss. 1969), vacated as to death penalty, 408 U.S. 935, 92 S.Ct. 2857, 33 L.Ed.2d 751 (1972).