Opinion ID: 1738279
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: whether the trial court erred in arbitrarily refusing to allow weeks' batson challenge to the state's peremptory challenge on s-5 as to venireman clayton and thereby deprived weeks of due process of law.

Text: ¶ 26. Weeks contends that the trial court erred in refusing to allow a Batson challenge on Venireman S-5 Clayton. In specific, Weeks contends that the Batson challenge was made prior to the empaneling of the jury, during the second round of jury selection in which S-5 was stuck, and Weeks did not waive his rights by simply making his peremptory strikes prior to asserting a Batson challenge on S-5 Clayton. This Court finds that Weeks has made an inadvertent mistake in his reflection of the record, and we find the contention to be procedurally barred for lack of timely objection and without merit. ¶ 27. At the beginning of the jury selection process, the trial judge specifically addressed the defense's question concerning the appropriate time frame in which to make Batson challenges. The Court: Okay, with the Batson challenges, once the State tenders the defense a full panel, if the defense thinks that there is some Batson violations, you can give me your arguments at that time, and the Court will determine whether or not there's a prima facie finding of Batson violations, and then we'll take it from there. But once they've tendered the full panel, then you, if you see there's a Batson violation, then you can make your objection at that point. ¶ 28. During the first round of jury selection, the State struck S-1 through 4 and tendered the panel to the defense. Prior to stating any defense peremptory challenge strikes, and in accordance with the judge's instructions for a timely Batson challenge, defense counsel requested race-neutral reasons for S-1 through S-3. Following the Batson challenges to these venire persons, the defense stuck D-1 through D-4 and tendered the panel to the State. During the second round of jury selection, the State made a Batson challenge for D-1 through D-4. Then, the State struck S-5 Clayton and tendered the panel to the defense. ¶ 29. At this point, the defense stuck D-5 through D-8 and the court tendered the panel to the State for the third round of jury selection. The State then made a Batson challenge to D-5 through D-8 and the judge ruled on each challenge accordingly. At the conclusion of the Batson challenges on D-5 through D-8, the defense requested a race-neutral reason for S-5 Clayton. The trial judge responded that the challenge had to be made at the time the panel is tendered. The defense acknowledged the trial judge's statement. The trial court then restated that the panel was tendered to the State and the process continued. ¶ 30. The record clearly reflects that the defense made a Batson challenge to 5 during the third round of jury selection, not the second round as the defense inadvertently stated in the brief. The court tendered the second round of the jury panel to the defense with no objection to S-5 Clayton. Only during the third round of the jury selection panel and after the State challenged defense counsel's peremptory strikes on D-5 through D-8, did the defense make a Batson challenge to 5 Clayton. ¶ 31. The trial judge gave specific instruction concerning the time frame in which to make a Batson challenge. Defense counsel, in effect, accepted S-5 Clayton by not objecting to the State's peremptory strike when the panel was tendered to them during round two of the jury selection process. By waiting until the panel was tendered to the State for round three of the jury selection process, Weeks waived his objection to S-5 Clayton. See Walker, 671 So.2d at 597.