Opinion ID: 1778765
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 20

Heading: Joyce Merritt

Text: ś 128. The State's reasoning for striking this potential juror was as follows: BY MR. ALLGOOD: Juror Number 19, your Honor, uh, she likewise indicated she had no opinion on the death penalty on herâ on her jury form; today she indicated that she did have an opinion on the death penalty. Once again, the wishy-washiness of theâ of the juror on the death penalty. She also watches a tremendous amount of TV. I don't have the hours marked down here, uh, but she watched aâ a large amount of TV. She also has some member in her family who is convicted of a crime. She is unemployed and she was making some eye contact with defense counsel and the lawyers who wereâ uh, not the lawyers, but theâ the other men that were over there with defense counsel during some recesses. She likewise reads some of those publications which I perceive orâ or have had articles in them on the O.J. Simpson trial, once again espousing the innocence of O.J. Simpson ... ś 129. Manning only asserts that Merritt was not equivocal on the death penalty and that the State's reason for striking her was pretextual. Merritt stated in her questionnaire that she had no opinion on the death penalty but that she could vote to impose it. In voir dire, she stated that the evidence would have to be without a doubt. The prosecutor asked her if the evidence was anything less than without a doubt if she could impose the death penalty and she responded that she could not. As discussed with potential juror Wooten, this type of equivocation is a legitimate and racially-neutral reason for a strike. Further, the prosecutor stated into the record several more obviously race-neutral reasons for this strike. This claim is meritless, and is also be barred from review by this Court because of defense counsel's failure to rebut the reason given as pretextual. Blue, supra .