People v. Figgs

A grand jury indicted the defendant, Livell Figgs, and his codefendant, Jesse Hamilton, for first degree murder for the August 5, 1990, fatal shooting of Carlos Palton. The defendant filed a motion for severance, and he and Hamilton were tried simultaneously before two separate juries. The defendant’s jury found him guilty, and the judge sentenced the defendant to 40 years’ imprisonment. The defendant contends that the State denied him a fair trial by discriminating in its use of peremptory challenges to potential jurors, by asking improper questions of a witness and by engaging in…