State v. Harris

OPINION

TOCI, Judge.

This is a petition for review of the trial court’s denial of post-conviction relief. The defendant’s direct appeal raised a claim that, under Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 79, 106 S.Ct. 1712, 90 L.Ed.2d 69 (1986), defendant was denied equal protection under the United States Constitution because the prosecutor used peremptory challenges to exclude jurors of defendant’s race. Defendant requested the Arizona Supreme Court remand the case to the trial court for a determination of whether the prosecutor could show a neutral explanation for the use of peremptory strikes. The…