State v. Daniels

FREDERICKA HOMBERG WICKER, JUDGE

*384Defendant, Furnell D. Daniels,1 was found guilty of manslaughter in violation of La. R.S. 14:31 for the death of his fourteen-year-old son, J.D., and seeks the reversal of his conviction and sentence. Defendant assigns the following issues for review: 1) whether the trial court erred in denying the defense's Batson / J.E.B. challenge to the State striking African-American prospective jurors; and 2) whether the trial court erred in imposing the maximum sentence for a first time offender with evidence of mitigation throughout the trial. We find that under the…