Burnett v. State

Olly Neal, Judge.

The appellant, Stephanie Scott Burnett, was convicted in a jury trial of delivering a controlled substance (cocaine) and sentenced to ten years in prison. On appeal, Burnett, who is black, contends the trial court erred in allowing the State to exercise one of its peremptory challenges to exclude an African-American from the jury in violation of the Equal Protection Clause as construed by the United States Supreme Court in Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 79 (1986).

Our courts have developed a three-step process for assessing Batson challenges. Hinkston v. State, 340 Ark. 530, 10…