The Court reversed this capital murder case, finding that the State’s “[t]wo peremptory strikes on the basis of race are two more than the Constitution allows.” The defendant was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death in a Georgia court. Jury selection proceeded in two phases: removals for cause and peremptory strikes. The first phase whittled the list of potential jurors down to 42 “qualified” prospective jurors. Five were black. Before the second phase began, one of the black jurors—Powell—informed the court that she had just learned that one of her close friends was related to the defendant; she was removed, leaving four black prospective jurors: Eddie Hood, Evelyn Hardge, Mary Turner, and Marilyn Garrett. The State exercised nine of its ten allotted peremptory strikes, removing all four of the remaining black prospective jurors. The defendant immediately lodged a Batson challenge. The trial court rejected the objection and empaneled the jury. The jury convicted the defendant and sentenced him to death. After the defendant unsuccessfully pursued his Batson claim in the Georgia courts, the U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari. Before the Court, both parties agreed that the defendant demonstrated a prima facie case and that the prosecutor had offered race-neutral reasons for the strikes. The Court therefore addressed only Batson’s third step, whether purposeful discrimination was shown. The defendant focused his claim on the strikes of two black prospective jurors, Marilyn Garrett and Eddie Hood. With respect Garrett, the prosecutor had told the trial court that Garrett was “listed” by the prosecution as “questionable” and its strike of her was a last-minute race-neutral decision. However, evidence uncovered after the trial showed this statement to be false; the evidence showed that the State had specifically identified Garret in advance as a juror to strike. In fact, she was on a “definite NO’s” list in the prosecution’s file. The Court rejected attempts by the State “to explain away the contradiction between the ‘definite NO’s’ list and [the prosecutor’s] statements to the trial court as an example of a prosecutor merely ‘misspeak[ing].’” Regarding Hood, the Court noted that “[a]s an initial matter the prosecution’s principal reasons for the strike shifted over time, suggesting that those reasons may be pretextual.” It further found that the State’s asserted justifications for striking Hood “cannot be credited.” In the end, the Court found that “the focus on race in the prosecution’s file plainly demonstrates a concerted effort to keep black prospective jurors off the jury.”

During a state murder trial, the defendant was denied the opportunity to exercise a peremptory challenge against a female juror because the trial judge erroneously, but in good faith, believed that the defendant’s use of a peremptory challenge violated Batson. The Due Process Clause does not require an automatic reversal of a conviction when a state trial court committed a good-faith error in denying the defendant’s peremptory challenge of a juror and all jurors seated in the trial were qualified and unbiased.

In this Columbus County case, the Supreme Court affirmed the Court of Appeals decision finding no error with the determination that defendant failed to establish a prima facie showing of racial discrimination during jury selection.

In July of 2017, defendant’s charges of first-degree murder and second-degree kidnapping reached trial. During jury selection, defense counsel raised an objection under Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 79 (1986), arguing that the state had used three of its four peremptory challenges to strike potential jurors who were black. The trial court denied the Batson objection, finding defendant did not establish a prima facie case, but required the state to offer race-neutral reasons for all four jurors who were stricken. After defendant was convicted, the matter was appealed in State v. Campbell (Campbell I), 269 N.C. App. 427 (2020). Although the Court of Appeals majority found no error, the Supreme Court remanded for consideration in light of State v. Hobbs (Hobbs I), 374 N.C. 345 (2020), and State v. Bennett, 374 N.C. 579 (2020). In the case giving rise to the current opinion, a Court of Appeals majority again found no error in State v. Campbell (Campbell II), 272 N.C. App. 554 (2020).

Reviewing the appeal from Campbell II, the Supreme Court first noted that under both the U.S. and North Carolina constitutions the striking of potential jurors for race through peremptory challenges is forbidden. When a defendant raises a Batson objection, the trial court must apply the first step of the Batson inquiry, which requires “determin[ing] whether the defendant has met his or her burden of ‘establish[ing] a prima facie case that the peremptory challenge was exercised on the basis of race.’” Slip Op. at 10, quoting State v. Cummings, 346 N.C. 291, 307–08 (1997). In the current case, the court reviewed the trial court’s determination under a “clearly erroneous” standard, finding no error and determining “the Batson inquiry should have concluded when the trial court first determined that defendant failed to make a prima facie showing.” Id. at 14. Because the court held the inquiry should have concluded, it did not explore the adequacy of the state’s reasons for each stricken juror. 

The court rejected defendant’s argument that the mathematical ratio of the strike rate justified a prima facie case of discrimination under State v. Barden, 356 N.C. 316 (2002), pointing out that this interpretation would effectively remove the first step of the Batson analysis and the deference granted to the trial court. Explaining the holding, the court emphasized “[o]ur decision in Barden was not an invitation for defendants to manufacture minimal records on appeal and force appellate courts to engage in a purely mathematical analysis.” Slip Op. at 16-17. The court likewise rejected defendant’s argument under Hobbs I, that the trial court failed to adequately explain its reasoning in denying the Batson motion. After noting that Hobbs I did not address the prima facie portion of the Batson inquiry, the court held that “[d]efendant has provided no case law from this state or any other jurisdiction establishing that a trial court is required to enter extensive written factual findings in support of its determination that a defendant has failed to establish a prima facie case, and we decline to impose such a requirement.” Id. at 18. 

Justice Earls dissented, and would have held that the first step of the Batson inquiry was moot due to the trial court’s requirement that the state offer race neutral justifications for each stricken juror. Id. at 20. 

The defendant was tried for armed robbery and possession of firearm by felon in Wake County. When the prosecution struck two Black jurors from the panel, defense counsel made a Batson challenge. The prosecution argued the strikes were based on the jurors’ body language and failure to look at the prosecutor during questioning. The prosecution also pointed to one of the juror’s answer of “I suppose” in response to a question on her ability to be fair, and to the other juror’s former employment at Dorothea Dix, as additional race-neutral explanations for the strikes. The trial court initially found that these reasons were not pretextual and overruled the Batson challenge. After the defendant was convicted at trial, the Court of Appeals affirmed in an unpublished opinion, agreeing that the defendant failed to show purposeful discrimination. The defendant sought review at the North Carolina Supreme Court. In a special order, the Court remanded the case to the trial court and retained jurisdiction of the case.

On remand, the defense noted that the “I suppose” answer used to justify the prosecutor’s strike was in fact a mischaracterization of the juror’s answer—the juror in question responded with that answer to a different question about her ability to pay attention (and not about whether she could be fair). The defense argued this alone was enough to establish pretext and obviated the need to refute other justifications for the strike. As to the other juror, the defense noted that while the juror was asked about her past work in the mental health field, no other juror was asked similar questions about that field. The defense argued with respect to both jurors that the prosecutor’s body language and eye contact explanations were improper, pointing out that the trial court failed to make findings on the issue despite trial counsel disputing the issue during the initial hearing. It also noted that the prosecutor referred to the two women collectively when arguing this explanation and failed to offer specific reasons for why such alleged juror behavior was concerning. This evidence, according to the defendant, met the “more likely than not” standard for showing that purposeful discrimination was a substantial motivating factor in the State’s use of the strikes.

The State argued that it struck the juror with a history in mental health as someone who may be sympathetic to the defendant but did not argue the juror’s body language or eye contact as explanations for its use of that strike at the remand hearing. As to the other juror, the State reiterated its original explanations of the juror’s body language and eye contact. It also explained that the mischaracterization of the juror’s “I suppose” answer was inadvertent and argued that this and another brief answer of “I think” from the juror during voir dire indicated a potential inability of the juror to pay attention to the trial.

The trial court ruled that the strike of the juror with previous employment in the mental health field was supported by the record, but that the prosecution’s strike of the other juror was not. It found it could not rely on the mischaracterized explanation, and that the body language and eye contact justifications were insufficient explanations on their own without findings by the trial court resolving the factual dispute on the issue. The trial court therefore determined that the prosecutor’s justifications failed as to that juror. The trial court considered the defendant’s statistical evidence of racial discrimination in the use of peremptory strikes in the case and historical evidence of racial discrimination in voir dire statewide. It also noted disparate questioning between Black and White jurors on the issue of their ability to pay attention to the trial but found this factor was not “particularly pertinent” under the facts of the case. The trial court ultimately concluded that this evidence showed the prosecutor’s explanation was improper as to the one juror, but nonetheless held that no purposeful discrimination had occurred, distinguishing the case from others finding a Batson violation.  Thus, the objection was again overruled, and the defendant again sought review at the North Carolina Supreme Court.  

A majority of the Court reversed, finding a Batson violation by the State. The prosecutor’s shifting and mischaracterized explanation for the strike of the juror who answered “I suppose”—initially argued as an indication the juror could not be fair, but later argued as going to her ability to pay attention—indicated the reason was pretextual, and the trial court correctly rejected that justification for the strike. The trial court also correctly determined that the demeanor-based explanations for the strike of this juror were insufficient without findings of fact on the point. However, the trial court erred in several critical ways. For one, when the trial court rejects all of the prosecutor’s race-neutral justifications for use of a strike, the defendant’s Batson challenge should be granted. According to the Court:

If the trial court finds that all of the prosecutor’s proffered race-neutral justifications are invalid, it is functionally identical to the prosecutor offering no race-neutral justifications at all. In such circumstances, the only remaining submissions to be weighed—those made by the defendant—tend to indicate that the prosecutor’s peremptory strike was ‘motivated in substantial part by discriminatory intent.’ Clegg Slip op. at 47.

Further, while the trial court correctly recited the more-likely-than-not burden of proof in its order, it failed to meaningfully apply that standard. While the present case involved less explicit evidence of racial discrimination in jury selection than previous federal cases finding a violation, it is not necessary for the defendant to show “smoking-gun evidence of racial discrimination.” Clegg Slip op. at 41. The trial court also erred in reciting a reason for the strike not offered by the prosecution in its order denying relief. Finally, there was substantial evidence that the prosecutor questioned jurors of different races in a disparate manner, and the trial court failed to fully consider the impact of this evidence. Collectively, these errors amounted to clear error and required reversal. Because the Court determined that purposeful discrimination occurred as to the one juror, it declined to consider whether discrimination occurred with respect to the strike of the other juror.

The conviction was therefore vacated, and the matter remanded to the trial court for any further proceedings. A Batson violation typically results in a new trial. The defendant here had already served the entirety of his sentence and period of post-release, and the Court noted the statutory protections from greater punishment following a successful appeal in G.S. 15A-1335. In conclusion, the Court observed:

[T]he Batson process represents our best, if imperfect, attempt at drawing a line in the sand establishing the level of risk of racial discrimination that we deem acceptable or unacceptable. If a prosecutor provides adequate legitimate race-neutral explanations for a peremptory strike, we deem that risk acceptably low. If not, we deem it unacceptably high. . . Here, that risk was unacceptably high. Clegg Slip op. at 56-57.

Justice Earls wrote separately to concur. She would have considered the Batson challenge for both jurors and would have found clear error with respect to both. She also noted that this is the first case in which the North Carolina Supreme Court has found a Batson violation by the State. Her opinion argued the State has been ineffective at preventing racial discrimination in jury selection and suggested further action by the Court was necessary to correct course.

Justice Berger dissented, joined by Chief Justice Newby and Justice Barringer. The dissenting Justices would have affirmed the trial court’s finding that a Batson violation did not occur in the case.

The defendant was tried capitally in Cumberland County and convicted of first-degree murder (among other offenses). On appeal, he argued the trial court erred in denying his Batson challenges to three peremptory strikes used by the State against black jurors during jury selection. The Court of Appeals unanimously affirmed (here). On discretionary review, the North Carolina Supreme Court reversed in a 6-1 divided opinion.

Under Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 79 (1986), when a defendant objects that the State has struck a juror for racially discriminatory reasons, the court undertakes a three-step hearing. First, the court determines whether the defendant made a prima facia showing that the exercise of the peremptory strike was discriminatory. The defendant meets that hurdle “by showing that the totality of the relevant facts give rise to an inference of racial discrimination [and] is not intended to be a high hurdle . . .” Slip op. at 8-9. At this stage, the defendant’s burden is one of production, not persuasion. If the defendant meets that burden, the State must then provide a race-neutral justification for the use of the strike. If the State provides facially neutral explanations, then the court proceeds to the third step, allowing the defendant an opportunity to rebut the State’s explanation and show purposeful discrimination by the State in its exercise of the strike.  At this stage, the court must consider all of the evidence and determine whether the prosecution’s use of the strike “was motivated in substantial part by discriminatory intent.” Id. at 12.

(1) As to the defendant’s first two Batson objections, the trial court ruled against the defendant at the first stage, finding that he did not make a prima facia case. However, the trial court proceeded to the second and third steps of the analysis, asking the State to justify its use of the strikes and then denying the Batson challenge on the merits. The Court of Appeals held that the issue of whether the defendant made a prima facia case was not moot and agreed with the trial court that a prima facia case had not been established. This was error, as that issue was moot. See, e.g. State v. Robinson, 330 N.C. 1, 17 (1991) (so holding). “When the trial court has already ruled that a defendant failed in his ultimate burden of proving purposeful discrimination, there is no reason to consider whether the defendant has met the lesser burden of establishing a prima facia case of discrimination.” Hobbs slip op. at 13 (citations omitted). These circumstances were distinguishable from other cases cited in the Court of Appeals decision where the trial court ruled on the first step but did not conduct a complete Batson analysis.

(2) The trial court and the Court of Appeals failed to properly weigh the defendant’s evidence of purposeful discrimination. As to the first two challenges, the Court of Appeals did not consider purposeful discrimination at all, ruling only that the defendant did not make a prima facia showing. Since that issue was moot, the Court of Appeals should have conducted a full Batson analysis. While the trial court purported to conduct a “full hearing” on the Batson claims for the first two challenged jurors, its analysis of purposeful discrimination also failed to consider all of the evidence. The trial court noted the races of the defendant, the victims, and witnesses, and observed that the State had used three-fourths of its peremptory challenges on black venire members. It also noted that the defendant had exercised nearly half of his peremptory challenges to excuse black venire members. The trial court listed the State’s race-neutral justifications and stated that it “considered” the defendant’s argument that comparative answers between jurors struck and jurors kept by the State rebutted those justifications. It concluded no discrimination had occurred and did not specifically address the defendant’s argument regarding historical evidence of discrimination in jury selection in the county. Multiple errors in this analysis required a new Batson hearing.

One, the defendant’s use of peremptory challenges is irrelevant to determining the State’s intention in striking the juror, and it was improper for the trial court to consider that evidence. Second, the trial court failed to address all of the defendant’s evidence of discriminatory intent, including evidence of a pattern of historical discrimination in voir dire within the county. Without explaining how this evidence was weighed, the trial court’s analysis was incomplete. Finally, the trial court erred by failing to conduct comparative analysis of the answers of the jurors struck and of those passed on by the State. The trial court examined the different questions asked by the State of the jurors but failed to meaningfully compare the jurors’ answers in response. Evidence in the record suggested that white jurors passed by the State gave answers similar to those given by similar black jurors who were excused by the State. This was relevant and should have been addressed. In the court’s words:

Evidence about similar answers between similarly situated white and nonwhite jurors is relevant to whether the prosecutor’s stated reasons for exercising a peremptory strike are mere pretext for racial discrimination.  Potential jurors do not need to be identical in every regard for this to be true. ‘If a prosecutor’s proffered reason for striking a black panelist applies just as well to an otherwise-similar nonblack who is permitted to serve, that is evidence tending to prove purposeful discrimination to be considered at Batson’s third step’. Id. at 21-22 (citations omitted).

These errors required reversal and remand to the trial court for new hearing. The same errors affected the trial court’s denial of the defendant’s third Batson claim. On remand, the trial court was instructed to conduct another Batson hearing as to all three claims, taking into account the totality of the evidence, including comparative analysis of juror answers and the historical evidence regarding racial discrimination. The trial court was further instructed to make findings of fact and conclusions of law, and to certify its order to the North Carolina Supreme Court within 60 days or “within such time as the current state of emergency allows.” Id. at 24.

Justice Newby dissented and would have affirmed the trial court and Court of Appeals. [Prior to the Supreme Court’s decision, Emily Coward blogged about this case, here.]

In this Buncombe County case, defendant appealed his convictions for first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, and malicious maiming, arguing error in overruling his Batson objection and denying his motions for mistrial. The Court of Appeals found no prejudicial error.  

During voir dire for defendant’s trial in June of 2019, the State used a peremptory strike on a black potential juror who expressed reservations about the death penalty. Defendant raised a Batson objection, and the trial court conducted the three-step analysis (this exchange is reproduced on pages 6-11 of the opinion). The trial court found that there had not been a sufficient showing of race as a motivating factor in the third step of the Batson analysis, overruling the objection. After the denial but during the trial, one of the State’s witnesses was killed. One juror learned of the killing through a press release issued by the DA’s office, and was excused for cause. Defendant moved for a mistrial, and the motion was denied. After the verdict, defendant learned another juror had heard of the killing, and moved for a mistrial again; the trial court denied this motion as well.  

Beginning with the Batson issue, the Court of Appeals explained the procedural requirements for a Batson objection as clarified by State v. Hobbs, 374 N.C. 345, 356 (2020). The court then turned to the scope of review, explaining “we base our analysis on a review of the whole record, engaging in a full, written analysis of all arguments raised by Defendant at trial.” Slip Op. at 19. The court considered and rejected defendant’s argument that striking jurors for their views on race was equivalent to striking jurors for their actual race, but noted that “to the extent Defendant offers [the juror’s] views about race and the views of the three stricken white jurors as context to support an allegation that the strike of [the juror] was pretextual, we consider his argument for that limited purpose.” Id. at 21. Moving to the actual Batson analysis, the court examined the questioning of white jurors along with the black juror who triggered the Batson objection. Although the court noted that “the case is close,” it could not establish clear error in denying the Batson objection, pointing out that the black juror who was struck shared many similarities with a white juror who was struck for her views on the death penalty. Id. at 32. 

Considering the motions for mistrial, the court could not find an abuse of discretion by the trial court in denying either motion. The court noted that the trial court issued a curative instruction about the use of cell phones, and that the juror in question for the second motion only saw a headline and did not express any issue with being fair and impartial. The court likewise rejected defendant’s argument that the trial court should have recused itself from the second mistrial motion, explaining the judge did not act as a witness on the question of whether the juror could perform his duties impartially. 

Chief Judge Stroud and Judge Zachary concurred in the result only. 

In this Rowan County case, defendant argued error in overruling his objection under Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 79 (1986) to the prosecution peremptorily striking two black jurors. The Court of Appeals found no error. 

Defendant, a black man, reached trial in June of 2021 for charges of misdemeanor assault on a government official/employee. Relevant for the consideration of the objection, the victim of the assault was a white police officer. During jury selection, only four black potential jurors were a part of the jury pool; one black juror was struck for cause, and then the prosecutor used two peremptory challenges on two remaining black potential jurors. At this point, defense counsel objected and the trial court proceeded with the inquiry required by Batson.

The Court of Appeals reviewed defendant’s arguments, initially noting that under both the U.S. and North Carolina constitutions, the use of peremptory challenges for racially discriminatory reasons is prohibited, and courts in North Carolina apply the Batson analysis to determine if a violation occurred. Here, defendant only challenged the third step of the Batson inquiry, where the trial court determined that the prosecutor’s peremptory strikes were not motivated by discriminatory intent. Defendant also argued in the alternative that the trial court failed to sufficiently explain the basis of its ruling. 

The court found no issue with the trial court’s description of the basis for its ruling, and denied remand. Using the analogy of a scale, the court found that “[h]ere, unlike in [related Batson precedent], the trial court placed all the factors presented to it by the parties on the scale, and thus we do not need to remand.” Slip Op. at 17. The court walked through the considerations made by the trial court, including the consideration of issues not raised by either party, and satisfied itself that the trial court “adequately accounted for all the factors presented to it at Batson’s third step.” Id. at 21. 

The court then looked directly at the conclusion of no discriminatory purpose in the third step, reviewing the relevant factors to determine if the trial court committed clear error. After conducting a lengthy review spanning pages 22 to 41 of the opinion, the court concluded that "[t]he statistics of strike rates and susceptibility of the case to racial discrimination both weigh on the side of discriminatory intent,” but the lack of disparate questioning and investigation, and the race-neutral reasons given by the prosecutor for striking the jurors both weighed on the side of no discrimination. Id. at 40-41. Based on this review, the court could not find clear error to support defendant’s Batson challenge. 

(1) The defendant, on trial for multiple drug charges, challenged the prosecutor’s peremptory strike of the only Black juror in the venire under Batson v. Kentucky. The trial court overruled the defendant’s objection, finding that although the “100 percent rejection rate of African American jurors” established a prima facie showing of discrimination, the State gave credible race-neutral reasons for striking the prospective juror, and the defendant therefore did not prove purposeful discrimination. The defendant appealed, arguing that the trial court erred in denying his Batson challenge or, in the alternative, failed to make adequate findings of fact as required by State v. Hobbs, 374 N.C. 345 (2020). The Court of Appeals rejected the State’s argument that the defendant had not preserved the issue because the record did not disclose direct evidence of the race of the challenged juror and the jury selection process was not recorded. The Court held that the record sufficed to permit appellate review when the record of the Batson hearing included express statements, undisputed by the State, that the defendant was African American and that the lone African American in the jury pool was excluded. On the merits of the Batson challenge, the Court concluded that the trial court failed to make sufficient findings of fact on its comparative analysis of the answers regarding prior criminal history given by the stricken Black juror (who had a previous child abuse charge dismissed) and a White juror passed by the State (who had a prior drug charge dismissed). The trial court also failed to make findings of fact on the defendant’s argument that the State’s purported concern about the defendant’s “tone of voice” suggested racial bias. The Court remanded the matter to the trial court for specific findings, including, but not limited to the details of the court’s comparative juror analysis and on the defendant’s assertion that the prosecutor’s statements regarding the defendant’s answers to questions and tone of voice evinced racial bias. (2) The trial court erred by assessing costs in each of the four judgments against the defendant. Under State v. Rieger, ___ N.C. App. ___, 833 S.E.2d 699 (2019), the trial court should assess costs only once for cases adjudicated together in the same hearing or trial regarding multiple charges arising from the same underlying event or transaction.

This case involves a first-degree murder conviction previously upheld by the Court of Appeals, ___ N.C. App. ___, 838 S.E.2d 660 (2020), back before the court for reconsideration in light of the Supreme Court’s recent decisions in State v. Hobbs, ___ N.C. ___, 841 S.E.2d 492(2020), and State v. Bennett, ___ N.C. ___, 843 S.E.2d 222 (2020). 

At his murder trial, the defendant raised a Batson challenge in response to the State’s use of three of its four peremptory challenges to strike African American prospective jurors. The trial judge said that he did not find that the defendant established a prima facie case of discrimination, but he nonetheless ordered the State to give reasons for its challenges, which the State did. After hearing the State’s explanations, the trial court reiterated its finding that the defendant had not made a prima facie showing of purposeful discrimination and denied his Batson challenge. The defendant was convicted of first-degree murder and appealed.

The Court of Appeals first rejected the State’s motion to dismiss the appeal in light of the defendant’s failure to include in the appellate record a transcript of jury selection proceedings. At trial, the defendant’s lawyer made a motion for recordation of all proceedings, but specifically noted that she was not requesting recordation of jury selection. The appellate court concluded that the record was minimally sufficient to permit appellate review here, but emphasized that it will generally be extremely difficult for a defendant to prevail on a Batson argument without a transcript of jury selection. 

The Court of Appeals next determined that the scope of its review was limited to step one of the Batson analysis—that is, the trial judge’s finding that the defendant had failed to establish a prima facie case of discrimination. The court distinguished this case from State v. Williams, 343 N.C. 345 (1996) (step one becomes moot when the State volunteers the reasons for its peremptory challenges before the trial court rules on whether the defendant has made a prima facie showing), and State v. Hobbs, ___ N.C. App. at ___, 841 S.E.2d at 499–501 (step one becomes moot when the trial judge rules that the defendant has not established a prima facie case but nonetheless orders the State to provide nondiscriminatory reasons for its peremptory challenges and then enters findings on those reasons). Unlike Williams, the State did not volunteer reasons before the trial court ruled on step one; the State was ordered to give reasons after the court ruled. And unlike Hobbs, the trial judge never conducted a full hearing or made findings on the State’s proffered reasons. The step one inquiry therefore was not rendered moot, and Court of Appeals majority thus considered itself precluded from consideration of the State’s proffered nondiscriminatory reasons. The court concluded that the trial court’s order addressing only step one of the inquiry was not facially deficient when that was the only step of the inquiry the trial court technically reached.

On the merits, the court concluded that based on the limited available record, the defendant had not established that the trial court erred in finding that the defendant failed to make a prima facie showing. The transcript showed only the race of the defendant and that the State used three of its four peremptory challenges to remove prospective African American jurors. It did not provide other information about the so-called Quick factors (derived from State v. Quick, 341 N.C. 141 (1995)), such as the race of the victim, the questions and statements of the prosecutor during jury selection, or the final racial composition of the jury. The court noted its concern that the State used seventy-five percent of its peremptory challenges on African American prospective jurors, but said that alone was not sufficient to establish a prima facie case of discrimination. 

A judge dissenting in part would have concluded that the rate at which the State used its peremptory challenges on African American jurors obligated the trial court to conduct a more thorough analysis of the defendant’s objection. He therefore would have remanded the case for specific findings of fact in order to permit a meaningful appellate review.

The trial court did not err by denying the defendant’s Batson challenges in this capital case. The two victims and the eyewitness were Palestinian and the defendant was black. The State exercised a peremptory strike against Juror 2, a black male. When questioned about the death penalty, Juror 2 stated that he would not agree to the death penalty under any circumstances, elaborating that he was a pastor and that agreeing with the death penalty would make him a hypocrite; he added that he might hypothetically agree to the death penalty in one specified gruesome scenario. Reservations concerning ability to impose the death penalty constitute a racially neutral basis for exercising a peremptory challenge. The State exercised a peremptory strike against Juror 10, a black female. After the defendant raised a Batson challenge, the State provided reasons for the strike: Juror 10’s thoughts about the death penalty; her failure to disclose her criminal charges; reservations about whether law enforcement treated her brother fairly; and her lack of eye contact when asked whether her brother’s prosecution would affect her ability to be fair and impartial. These are racially neutral reasons for striking a juror. The State exercised a peremptory strike against Juror 11, a black male; it did not strike Juror 12, a white male. Jurors 11 and 12 were charged with writing worthless checks and driving while license revoked in the past and both knew a potential witness in the case. However, Juror 12 responded directly to questions about his criminal charges while Juror 11 minimized his criminal history; Juror 11 avoided questions regarding his family members’ criminal charges; Juror 12 had a business relationship with the witness whereas Juror 11 spoke with him on multiple occasions and his grandniece worked for the witness. The trial court did not commit clear error in rejecting the defendant’s Batson challenges

The trial court did not err by dismissing the defendant’s Batson objection. The prosecutor’s explanation for its peremptory challenge to the black juror was that she was unemployed and that the prosecutor recognized the juror’s name, possibly from a prior domestic violence case. The court noted that the State accepted a white juror who was unemployed. However, a review of the record revealed that the trial court conducted a full Batson inquiry and its conclusion that there was no purposeful discrimination was not erroneous.

The court rejected the defendant’s argument that the State used six of its peremptory challenges to excuse prospective African-American jurors in violation of Batson. At a Batson hearing, the State offered race-neutral explanations as to why it excused each juror, including unresponsiveness, deceit, failure to make eye contact, alleged acquaintance with the defendant’s former girlfriend, an extensive history of purchasing pawn tickets, and prior employment at the store where the crime occurred. After weighing these race-neutral explanations, the trial court found that the defendant had not demonstrated purposeful discrimination. The court concluded that “[a]fter careful review, we cannot find error that would justify overturning the trial court’s ruling.”