People v. Scott
Annotate this CaseAfter a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of first degree murder, rape, and sodomy. Defendant also pleaded guilty to charges arising from separate burglaries committed after the charged murder. The trial court sentenced him to death. Defendant appealed, arguing, among other things, that the prosecutor violated Batson v. Kentucky and People v. Wheeler by peremptorily excusing two African American prospective jurors. The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment in its entirety, holding (1) the trial court correctly concluded that Defendant failed to make out a prima facie case of discrimination as to either strike; (2) the trial court did not abuse its discretion in denying Defendant’s pretrial motion to sever the homicide charges from the burglary charges; and (3) any remaining errors or assumed errors were not prejudicial.
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