State v. Jose A. B.

Citations

• 342 Conn. 489

Syllabus

Convicted of sexual assault in the first degree, attempt to commit sexual assault in the first degree, sexual assault in the fourth degree, and two counts of risk of injury to a child, the defendant appealed, claiming that the trial court improperly had overruled defense counsel's objections to the prosecutor's use of peremptory challenges to excuse two prospective jurors, C and N, and that his conviction of two counts of risk of injury to a child violated the constitutional prohibition against double jeopardy. C is an African-American, and N is also a member of a racial minority. The prosecutor had explained that the basis for the peremptory challenges to C and N was their stated distrust of law enforcement and/or the criminal justice system. Specifically, the prosecutor relied on N's state- ments during voir dire indicating that she previously had been convicted of a crime for which she received a pardon, that she had resented the police at the time she was arrested but no longer felt that way, and that her husband's friend had previously pleaded guilty to sexual assault but that she did not believe the truth of the allegations against him. With respect to C, the prosecutor relied on the fact that, although C had disclosed an incident involving a larceny on his juror questionnaire, he also revealed during voir dire an undisclosed conviction resulting from an assault of a police officer, for which C believed he was unfairly prosecuted. Defense counsel objected to the peremptory challenges on the basis of the United States Supreme Court's decision in Batson v. Kentucky (476 U.S. 79), which prohibits a party from challenging pro- spective jurors solely on account of their race. The trial court overruled the Batson challenges, concluding that the reasons proffered by the prosecutor, namely, N's resentment toward the police and her criminal conviction resulting in a pardon, as well as C's prior arrest for a serious crime for which he believed he was unfairly prosecuted