Batson Challenges During Jury Selection
For a refresher on the procedure to follow when objecting to a peremptory challenge which may have been exercised on the basis of race, in violation of a party's constitutional rights, see the recent western section Court of Appeals opinion Zakour v. U.T. Medical Group, Inc., et. al., Batson's three step process requires that the objecting party first make a prima facie showing that the other party has exercised peremptory challenges on the basis of race. If this initial burden is satisfied, then the burden shifts to the party asserting the peremptory challenge to articulate a race-neutral explanation for excluding the venire member in question. Finally, the court must resolve the issue. The court must articulate specific reasons for each of its findings. Link here to case.