State v. Martin

In November 1989, Omaha police officers answered a call regarding four teenagers’ being shot during a sorority-sponsored dance at which members of the Blood and Crip gangs were in attendance. The incident arose from a fistfight between a Blood and a Crip on the dance floor. Upon seeing the confrontation, members from both gangs began to participate in the fight. One of the victims saw Jacquas L. Martin, the defendant, with a gun in his hand, and three other witnesses testified that they had seen Martin fire a gun at the dance.

During voir dire at trial, the prosecutor used her peremptory…