People v. Irizarry

OPINION OF THE COURT

Phylis Skloot Bamberger, J.

The defendant was indicted for burglary in the second degree, grand larceny in the third degree, criminal mischief in the fourth degree and harassment. During jury selection the defense requested that a mistrial be declared because the prosecutor exercised his peremptory challenges to eliminate women jurors. The motion was renewed later in the selection process. The court concluded that the defense had established a prima facie case of gender-based challenges. However, the motion for mistrial was denied because the court was satisfied that the…