Lawyers can dismiss potential jurors for inattentiveness or lack of eye contact, even though a state law says such findings were historically used as excuses for removing people of color from juries.

That was the finding this week of a split Second District Court of Appeal, Division Six panel, which upheld the attempted murder conviction of a Thousand Oaks man. Joel SanMiguel had challenged his 11-years-to-life sentence, in part, for what he said was the prosecutor's improper use of a peremptory challenge to keep a Hispanic college student off the jury.