Taitano v. Commonwealth

Opinion

COLE, J.

James Edward Taitano was tried by a jury and convicted of first-degree murder and the use of a firearm in the commission of a felony. He contends on this appeal that the conviction should be reversed because (1) the Commonwealth’s peremptory challenges were racially motivated in violation of his sixth and fourteenth amendment rights, and (2) the Commonwealth’s failure to furnish an alleged exculpatory statement of one of its witnesses violated his due process rights. Finding no error, we affirm.

I. Peremptory Challenges

In the course of impaneling the jury, the Commonwealth used…