Opinion
S91A1595.
DECIDED MARCH 17, 1993.
Striking of jury; constitutional question. Jefferson Superior Court. Before Judge Hartley.
Richard A. Malone, District Attorney, W. Steven Askew, Assistant District Attorney, for appellant.
Maloy Jenkins, W. Bruce Maloy, Mary Erickson, Michael J. Moses, for appellee.
In State v. Carr, 261 Ga. 845 ( 413 S.E.2d 192) (1992), we affirmed the denial of the State's motion, made pursuant to Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 79 ( 106 S.C. 1712, 90 L.Ed.2d 69) (1986), to require the defendant, an African-American, to articulate race-neutral reasons for using 15 peremptory strikes to remove 15 white persons from the jury. In doing so, we relied on our decision in State v. McCollum, 261 Ga. 473 ( 405 S.E.2d 688) (1991).
The resulting jury consisted of eleven African-Americans and one Latino.
Subsequently, the United States Supreme Court reversed McCollum. See Georgia v. McCollum, 505 U.S. ___ ( 112 S.Ct. 2348, 120 L.Ed.2d 33) (1992). That court also granted certiorari to State v. Carr, and remanded Carr to us to consider in light of its decision in Georgia v. McCollum.
In Georgia v. McCollum, the U.S. Supreme Court held that the United States Constitution prohibits a criminal defendant from exercising his or her peremptory strikes in a purposeful, racially discriminatory manner. The Court concluded that if the State makes a prima facie showing of racial discrimination, the defendant will be required to articulate racially neutral explanations for the exercise of his or her peremptory strikes. Id., 112 SC at 2359.
We therefore vacate the judgment of this court in this case, and reverse the decision of the trial court. The case is remanded to the trial court to conduct further proceedings in a manner consistent with Georgia v. McCollum, supra.
Judgment reversed. All the Justices concur.