Townsend v. State

BLEIL, Justice.

Donnell Townsend appeals his conviction for burglary of a building. He contends that the prosecutor’s use of peremptory strikes to remove all eight black persons from the jury panel violated his rights under the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution. We find no violation of his rights and affirm.

On April 28, 1986, the prosecutor and defense counsel conducted a brief voir dire examination of the jury panel. The prosecutor asked only one question of an individual, who was not a black person. Subsequently, the prosecutor used eight of the ten peremptory…