State v. Rhone

¶1 This case involves the question of whether a prosecutor’s peremptory challenge of the only African-American venire member in a trial of an African-American defendant amounts to a prima facie case of discrimination in violation of Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 79, 106 S. Ct. 1712, 90 L. Ed. 2d 69 (1986). The trial court concluded that defendant Theodore Rhone failed to establish a prima facie case of discrimination under Batson, did not require the prosecutor to provide a race-neutral explanation for his challenge, and denied Rhone’s challenge. Rhone’s conviction was affirmed by the Court of…