Cal.Sup.Ct.;
S224724

The California Supreme Court reversed judgments of conviction. The court held that the record was insufficient to support a finding that the prosecutor's race-neutral explanation for striking a Hispanic juror was reasonable.

Ramiro Enriquez, Gabriel Ramos, and Rene Gutierrez, Jr., were tried together before a jury on multiple felony charges. The prosecutor exercised peremptory challenges against ten out of eleven potential Hispanic jurors. The trial court found a prima facie case of bias under Batson/Wheeler. After hearing the race-neutral reasons for the challenges proffered by the prosecutor, the court nonetheless denied defendants' Batson/Wheeler motion. Defendants were found guilty of multiple crimes.