P. v. Holmes CA2/7
A prosecutor’s reasons for exercising a peremptory challenge to excuse a prospective juror must be race-neutral. In this case, the prosecutor asked the trial court to excuse a prospective juror because the prosecutor’s notes indicated the prospective juror could not be fair and impartial and because the prospective juror had previously served on a civil jury. The trial court accepted both reasons and denied the defendant’s motion to dismiss the panel of prospective jurors under Batson v. Kentucky (1986) 476 U.S. 79 and People v. Wheeler (1978) 22 Cal.3d 258 (Batson/Wheeler motion). Deferring to the trial court’s evaluation of the prosecutor’s second explanation, we conclude substantial evidence supports the court’s ruling. We also conclude, after independently reviewing the sealed record of an in camera hearing under Pitchess v. Superior Court (1974) 11 Cal.3d 531, the trial court did not improperly withhold any discoverable information. Therefore, we affirm.
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