Freeman v. State

Miller, Judge.

The primary issue on appeal is whether the trial court clearly erred in finding that the defendant did not carry his burden in showing the prosecution’s jury strikes were racially motivated. Since there was evidence from which the trial court could reach this conclusion, we affirm. The secondary issue concerns the defendant’s claim that trial counsel was ineffective, an issue raised for the first time on appeal. Inasmuch as appellate counsel did not have an opportunity to raise this earlier, we remand the case for an evidentiary hearing on this issue.

At the conclusion of voir…