| People v Gray |
| 2009 NY Slip Op 09675 [68 AD3d 1131] |
| December 22, 2009 |
| Appellate Division, Second Department |
| The People of the State of New York,Respondent, v Terrell Gray, Appellant. |
—[*1] Thomas J. Spota, District Attorney, Riverhead, N.Y. (Rosalind C. Gray of counsel), forrespondent.
Appeal by the defendant from a judgment of the County Court, Suffolk County (Crecca, J.),rendered December 18, 2006, convicting him of murder in the second degree, upon a juryverdict, and imposing sentence.
Ordered that the matter is remitted to the County Court, Suffolk County, to hear and reporton the defendant's challenge to the prosecutor's exercise of a peremptory challenge against ablack venireperson, and the appeal is held in abeyance in the interim. The County Court, SuffolkCounty, shall file its report with all convenient speed.
During the first round of jury selection, the prosecutor used a peremptory challenge to strikethe only black venireperson from a panel of 18 prospective jurors. The prospective juror wasemployed as head of security for a chain of 200 retail stores and considered himself to be amember of law enforcement. The defendant challenged pursuant to Batson v Kentucky(476 US 79 [1986]), arguing that, since the prospective juror might be expected to favor theprosecution due to his law enforcement background, an inference should be drawn that he wasstricken because of his race. The trial court held that the defendant failed to meet his burdenunder the first step of Batson because he had not demonstrated a pattern ofdiscrimination, and denied the defendant's challenge.
"[I]n order to establish a prima facie case of discrimination in the selection of jurors underBatson, a defendant asserting a claim must show that the exercise of peremptorychallenges by the prosecution removes one or more members of a cognizable racial group fromthe venire and that facts and other relevant circumstances support a finding that the use of theseperemptory challenges excludes potential jurors because of their race" (People v Brown,97 NY2d 500, 507 [2002]; see Batson v Kentucky, 476 US at 96). Here, the defendantmet his burden by establishing objective facts indicating that the prosecutor had challenged amember of a particular racial group who might be expected to favor the prosecution because ofhis background (see People v Bolling, 79 NY2d 317, 324 [1992]; People v Scott,70 NY2d 420, 425 [1987]). We note that, contrary to the trial court's ruling, the defendant wasnot required to show a pattern of discrimination in order to meet this initial burden (seePeople v Smocum, 99 NY2d 418, 421-422 [2003]; People v Bolling, 79 NY2d at321; see also Johnson v California, 545 US 162, 169 n 5 [2005]; cf. [*2]People v Jones, 11 NY3d 822 [2008]).
Since the trial court should have proceeded with the second and third steps of the Batsoninquiry, we remit the matter to the County Court, Suffolk County, for that purpose (seePeople v Jones, 63 AD3d 758 [2009]). We decide no other issues at this time. Mastro, J.P.,Balkin, Belen and Chambers, JJ., concur.