Court Opinion

ID: 9595128
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-22 00:35:56.285822+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:01:26.147049
License: Public Domain

Beasley, Judge,
dissenting.
All of the State’s peremptory challenges were exercised against black jurors although there were an equal number of white jurors on the panel. Several of these members of the venire were stricken for the stated reason that they were unemployed or had unstable work histories. A number of white jurors also were unemployed, but the State did not articulate why this factor weighed against one race but not against the other.
In my view, the explanation given by the state is one of those “certain stereotypical attitudes as to particular groups . . . [which] should be given additional scrutiny by the trial court before they are found acceptable.” Tharpe v. State, 262 Ga. 110, 112 (6) (416 SE2d 78) (1992). Considering the strength of the prima facie case (see Bess v. State, 187 Ga. App. 185 (1) (369 SE2d 784) (1988)) in that all strikes from the equally populated panel were against black jurors, together with the absence of an offered distinction between the stricken jurors and the white jurors with similar employment circumstances, I cannot agree that the State’s burden was met. Thus, I cannot join in the affirmance.
However, since it appears that the trial court did not give the matter the “additional scrutiny” required, the case should be remanded to that factfinder, as was done in Weems v. State, 262 Ga. 101, 103 (3) (416 SE2d 84) (1992), and Berry v. State, 262 Ga. 614, 615 (2) (422 SE2d 861) (1992).