Yarborough v. State

OPINION ON STATE’S PETITION FOR DISCRETIONARY REVIEW

WOMACK, Judge.

The question in this case is whether a prosecutor’s unchallenged statement about a venire member’s'demeanor can constitute adequate support for a trial court’s finding in a Batson hearing.

The venire panel in this case comprised 42 persons. Because one person was excused for cause, the last person reached for jury service was Number 33. The parties agreed that the State peremptorily challenged 7 black venire members and 2 Hispanic venire members. The parties also agreed that 10 of the 33 people were black, 3 of whom served on…