State v. Letica

ZEL M. FISCHER, Judge.

Ines Letica was tried and found guilty by a jury of one count of first degree assault and one count of armed criminal action. The State made a reverse-Batson1 challenge alleging that a venireperson was struck with a peremptory challenge on the basis of gender, race or ethnic origin. The circuit court erred when it ruled prematurely on the challenge and did not require the State to demonstrate that racial or gender discrimination was the motivating factor for the peremptory strike. However, this error, resulting in an otherwise qualified juror being empaneled, is harmless…