Opinion ID: 1711324
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 24

Heading: Venireperson Blanchard

Text: The prosecutor initially tried to strike Blanchard for cause during the death qualification portion of voir dire. The trial court overruled the prosecutor's motion at that time. The prosecutor then used a peremptory strike to remove Blanchard because she could not do the death penalty. During death qualification, Blanchard told both the state and the defense that while she could consider the death penalty, she would not be able to return a verdict of death under any circumstances. This is a sufficiently race-neutral reason to uphold the state's peremptory strike, and Roberts has not shown that this explanation is any way pretextual. The entire record of Blanchard's voir dire indicates that she would not be able legitimately to consider the death penaltyin that even if she considered the death sentence, she would never return a verdict recommending a death sentence. The trial court did not clearly err in upholding the state's peremptory strike of Blanchard. The points are denied.