Court Opinion

ID: 9803278
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-31 15:29:08.120247+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T10:03:00.093396
License: Public Domain

HUGHES, J.,
concurring.
_JjThe majority holds that “we reverse the judgment of the Court of Appeal, reinstate defendant’s conviction and sentence, and overrule Knighten only insofar as it pertains to the Knighten ‘rule’.”
I agree the conviction should be reinstated. The jury consisted of four blacks and two whites. The trial judge specifically found that the defendant did not make a prima facie case of discrimination. The Batson challenge fails. The conviction should be reinstated.
Respectfully, there is no reason to delve into derivative Batson issues which are immaterial and unnecessary to resolve this case. I am less concerned about referring to the holding in the Knighten case as a “rule” than I am about the principle that information that is solely within the possession of one party, when used to determine constitutional rights, should be disclosed.