Ex Parte Yelder

This petition for certiorari presents a case of first impression in Alabama. Yelder argues that he was denied effective assistance of counsel in that at his trial his lawyer did not object, under Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 79,106 S.Ct. 1712, 90 L.Ed.2d 69 (1986), to the State's use of its peremptory challenges to strike 17 of 18 black jurors. The legal standard for determining claims of ineffective assistance of counsel is set out in Strickland v. Washington,466 U.S. 668, 104 S.Ct. 2052, 80 L.Ed.2d 674 (1984):

"First, the defendant must show that counsel's performance was deficient. This…