Opinion ID: 2675341
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: P. (Howard, supra, 42 Cal.4th at p. 1018.)

Text: 50 Prospective Juror D.Q. Although the trial court found no prima facie case as to D.Q., the prosecutor went on to discuss his reasons for his peremptory challenge of her. “When the trial court expressly states that it does not believe a prima facie case has been made, and then invites the prosecutor to justify its challenges for the record on appeal, the question whether a prima facie case has been made is not mooted, nor is a finding of a prima facie showing implied.” (Howard, supra, 42 Cal.4th at p. 1018.) However, out of an abundance of caution, and because the prosecutor proffered race-neutral reasons that the trial court ruled upon, we will analyze D.Q. as a third stage Batson/Wheeler denial. (See People v. Riccardi (2012) 54 Cal.4th 758, 786-787; People v. Mills (2010) 48 Cal.4th 158, 174.) Preliminarily, the prosecutor stated he did not believe D.Q. was Hispanic. But because the trial court assumed she was, the prosecutor presented reasons for his challenge. He said he was concerned about D.Q.’s “ditzy” attitude and demeanor in court, and that, from the way she interacted with other jurors, he felt she was interested in “having a good time.” He was concerned D.Q.’s state of mind would not mix well with the predominantly female composition of the jury. The prosecutor also was concerned about D.Q.’s negative experience with law enforcement. He was concerned that D.Q. believed a police detective had closed an investigation of a molestation report D.Q. made concerning her son because he had been unwilling to do the work to pursue the investigation, and that his unwillingness had prevented the justice system from doing its job. Defendant contends the prosecutor’s stated reasons were pretextual because D.Q. appeared to be a strong proponent of the death penalty based on her questionnaire, including her rating herself an 8 on the 10-point scale. Defendant does not present any comparative juror analysis arguments based on D.Q.’s support of the death penalty. The prosecutor’s stated reasons were race neutral 51 and were permissible bases for a peremptory challenge. (People v. Reynoso (2003) 31 Cal.4th 903, 917 [peremptory challenge based on demeanor and body language]; People v. Turner (1994) 8 Cal.4th 137, 171 [peremptory challenge based on negative experience with law enforcement ].) Defendant complains the trial court failed to make an independent finding that D.Q. actually exhibited the demeanor attributed to her by the prosecution, but a trial court is not required “to make explicit and detailed findings for the record in every instance in which the court determines to credit a prosecutor’s demeanor-based reasons for exercising a peremptory challenge.” (People v. Reynoso, supra, 31 Cal.4th at p. 929.) As in Reynoso, the trial court here was fully apprised of the demeanor based reason, which was neither contradicted by the record nor inherently absurd. (Ibid.) Defendant additionally contends the prosecutor’s reference to D.Q.’s negative experience with law enforcement should be discounted because the trial court had mentioned it, and had improperly bolstered the prosecutor’s statement of reasons. As discussed above in relation to C.P., we reject defendant’s contention that the trial court engaged in bolstering. In the case of D.Q.’s negative experience with law enforcement, the prosecutor previously had raised the issue with D.Q. during voir dire. This was not an issue the trial court raised for the first time on its own to bolster the prosecutor’s statement of reasons. Substantial evidence supports the trial court’s denial of the motion as to D.Q. Prospective Juror L.C. In explaining why he challenged L.C., the prosecutor acknowledged that, in some respects, L.C. appeared to be an excellent juror for the prosecution. For example, L.C. rated himself a 10 on the 10-point scale. The prosecutor then expressed concern because L.C. was an elder in the Seventh Day Adventist Church and had written that he considered life without parole in prison to be a more severe penalty than the death penalty. This caused the prosecutor to question 52 L.C.’s true attitude towards the death penalty. The prosecutor said he did not question L.C. about his views on the death penalty in chambers because he did not think it was necessary. We have upheld the exercise of peremptory challenges to prospective jurors who, although not excusable for cause, have expressed reservations about the death penalty. (People v. Turner, supra, 8 Cal.4th at p. 171.) Defendant contends the prosecutor’s failure to question L.C. about his attitudes regarding the death penalty shows the stated reason for the peremptory challenge was pretextual. We disagree. While the prosecutor’s concern may not have risen to a level that supported excusing L.C. for cause, it encompassed two race-neutral reasons supported by the record, namely, that L.C. was an elder in his church and his doubt that the death penalty was as severe a sentence as life without the possibility of parole. Excusing prospective jurors who hold religious views that make it difficult for them to impose the death penalty is a proper, nondiscriminatory ground for a peremptory challenge. (People v. Cash (2002) 28 Cal.4th 703, 725.) Substantial evidence supports the trial court’s denial of the motion as to L.C. Prospective Juror D.L. The prosecutor explained that D.L. appeared to have no opinions about almost anything, an assessment that the trial court agreed was a “fairly accurate depiction of his answers.” D.L. ranked himself 5 on the 10-point scale, and wrote he was neither for nor against the death penalty, a comment that the trial court also remarked upon. D.L. also wrote he had no feelings about, or did not care about, several high profile criminal cases, including the O.J. Simpson case. The prosecutor was concerned D.L. had no opinion on important issues and appeared to be uninformed about them. The prosecutor also said he had concerns about D.L.’s apparent lack of education, which was reflected in his misspelling of the words “juror” and “trial.” 53 Defendant notes D.L. graduated from high school and his spelling was no worse than that of many other jurors. He also contends D.L.’s lack of interest in high-publicity criminal cases does not support the prosecutor’s stated concern that D.L. lacked concern for important issues. Defendant compares D.L. to seated jurors who expressed similar neutral self-ratings on the death penalty in their questionnaire, and refers to his comparative juror arguments in connection with D.M. However, defendant fails to show that these other jurors expressed the same lack of opinions across several subject areas as is shown in D.L.’s questionnaire. Substantial evidence supports the trial court’s denial of the motion as to D.L. Prospective Juror G.H. The prosecutor explained his main concern with G.H. was his level of education. He noted that G.H.’s questionnaire had illegible writing and misspelled words, including a misspelling of the word “manager,” a word that described his current job. The prosecutor explained he wanted the jurors for this trial to be welleducated because there would be complicated instructions. He asked that the court take note that he had exercised many of his peremptory challenges to obtain an intelligent jury. The trial court additionally observed that the prospective juror’s name did not appear to be a Hispanic name. Defendant contends the record shows the prosecutor’s stated reasons were pretextual because, other than his race, G.H. appeared to be a juror who would be favorable to the prosecution. G.H.’s family was involved in law enforcement, and G.H. rated himself 10 on the 10-point scale. Defendant points to another prospective juror, D.H.M., who was not challenged by the prosecutor but whose questionnaire contained some misspellings. While D.H.M.’s questionnaire did contain some misspellings, G.H.’s questionnaire, by contrast, contained several illegible and illiterate entries in addition to its many misspellings. We conclude substantial evidence supports the trial court’s denial of the motion as to G.H. 54