MCCRAY v. STATE (1998)

District Court of Appeal of Florida,Third District.

Sean MCCRAY, Appellant, v. The STATE of Florida, Appellee.

No. 98-301.

Decided: December 30, 1998

Before SCHWARTZ, C.J., and NESBITT and COPE, JJ.

Bennett H. Brummer, Public Defender and Rosa C. Figarola, Assistant Public Defender, for appellant. Robert A. Butterworth, Attorney General and Alison B. Cutler, Assistant Attorney General, for appellee.

We are more than inclined to believe that the trial court erroneously permitted the prosecution to exercise a peremptory challenge upon a particular African American juror despite clear evidence that the proffered explanation for the strike was a pretextual attempt to disguise its actual, racial, motivation. See Melbourne v. State, 679 So.2d 759 (Fla.1996); State v. Slappy, 522 So.2d 18 (Fla.1988), cert. denied, 487 U.S. 1219, 108 S.Ct. 2873, 101 L.Ed.2d 909 (1988). Nevertheless, we reluctantly affirm solely because the defendant's objection was not preserved below by appropriate renewal prior to the swearing of the jury as a whole as required by Joiner v. State, 618 So.2d 174 (Fla.1993). See also Davis v. State, 691 So.2d 1180 (Fla. 3d DCA 1997)(claim that characteristics of peremptorily stricken juror are comparable to similar juror of different race who was not stricken waived for failure to specifically make argument below).

Affirmed.

PER CURIAM.

Was this helpful?

Why was this helpful?

Easy to understand

Solved my problem

Other

Why was this not helpful?

Missing the information I need

Too complicated / too many steps

Out of date

Other

Thank you for your feedback!

Trusted by Consumers. Recognized by AI.

As the largest network of trusted legal brands, we help firms build authority across the platforms consumers and AI systems rely on most. Our network helps attorneys strengthen visibility, credibility, and preference where legal decisions begin.

Explore the Network