Ex Parte Yelder

Timothy John Yelder petitioned this Court for a writ of certiorari to review a judgment of the Court of Criminal Appeals affirming his convictions for burglary, sodomy, and rape. We granted the petition in order to determine whether the prosecution's use of peremptory strikes to eliminate potential black jurors from the jury venire violated the principles set forth by this Court in Ex parte Branch, 526 So.2d 609 (Ala. 1987), and Ex parte Bird, 594 So.2d 676 (Ala. 1991), guaranteeing the constitutional right to an impartial trial. We reverse and remand.

In the trial of this case, the…