When Criminal History is Not Neutral Basis to Exclude?

In the following summary, defendant was African American. He was convicted of multiple crimes and sentenced to 73 years to life in prison. On appeal, he argued that the prosecutor excluded certain jurors based on their being African American. One prospective juror, who was African American, stated during voir dire that she was prosecuted for shoplifting earlier and the prosecutor excused her without asking any follow up questions. Defendant claimed this juror was excused due to her race and the appellate court agreed that her criminal history was not a race-neutral basis for her exclusion because the prosecutor did not ask any follow up questions about this (and the conviction was then reversed). To read more about the case, please click on the following link – https://www.greghillassociates.com/when-criminal-history-is-not-neutral-basis-to-exclude.html