People v. Williams

Harwood, J.,

dissents and votes to reverse the judgments appealed from and to remit the matters to the County Court, Nassau County, for further proceedings on the indictments, with the following memorandum: In response to defendant’s motion for a mistrial, made at the conclusion of the first day of jury selection and premised on the theory that peremptory challenges were exercised in a racially discriminatory manner, the prosecutor justified the challenges based upon a "gut feeling” that the three potential black jurors then challenged would not make good jurors, although he also posited that…