Clifford Howard v. Daniel A. Senkowski, Superintendent of Clinton Correctional Facility

JON 0. NEWMAN, Circuit Judge:

This appeal presents an issue concerning the application of the Batson rule barring' discriminatory use of peremptory challenges. See Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 79, 106 S.Ct. 1712, 90 L.Ed.2d 69 (1986). The precise issue is whether in the infrequent case where a court finds that race was a factor in a prosecutor’s exercise of peremptory challenges, the dual motivation principle applies such that the prosecutor bears the burden of proof to persuade the trier that the challenges would have been exercised for race-neutral reasons even if race had not been a factor.…