Riley v. Commonwealth

ANNUNZIATA Judge.

Following a jury trial, the appellant, Charles Richard Riley, was convicted of abduction, five counts of rape, and two counts of sodomy. On appeal, he contends that the trial court erred in the following: (1) sustaining the Commonwealth’s peremptory challenges even though based on the gender of the stricken jurors; (2) ruling that the Commonwealth’s peremptory challenges based on age were proper; and (3) bifurcating the trial and sentencing proceedings pursuant to Code § 19.2-295.1. We find that the Commonwealth’s peremptory strikes were gender-based and, therefore, improper.…