Gilchrist v. State

627 A.2d 44, 97 Md. App. 55
CourtCourt of Special Appeals of Maryland
DecidedNovember 23, 1993
Docket1594, September Term, 1992
StatusPublished
Cited by16 cases

This text of 627 A.2d 44 (Gilchrist v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Special Appeals of Maryland primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Gilchrist v. State, 627 A.2d 44, 97 Md. App. 55 (Md. Ct. App. 1993).

Opinions

[58]*58Opinion by BLOOM, Judge.

In this appeal we are asked to determine whether the trial court erred in striking the jury panel and beginning jury selection anew based on a finding that defense counsel had used peremptory strikes for a racially biased purpose. The facts of this case distinguish it from other instances of racial prejudice. We are convinced by the Supreme Court’s decisions in Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 79, 106 S.Ct. 1712, 90 L.Ed.2d 69 (1986), and Georgia v. McCollum, — U.S.-, 112 S.Ct. 2348, 120 L.Ed.2d 33 (1992), and this Court’s decisions in Mejia v. State, 90 Md.App. 31, 599 A.2d 1207, vacated and remanded, 328 Md. 522, 616 A.2d 356 (1992), and Brashear v. State, 90 Md.App. 709, 603 A.2d 901, cert. denied, 327 Md. 523, 610 A.2d 796 (1992), to conclude that the trial court correctly dismissed the jury panel. Accordingly, we affirm the lower court.

Facts

The appellant, Gary Gilchrist, was charged with distribution of cocaine and possession of cocaine with intent to distribute. He was tried before a jury in the Circuit Court for Baltimore City, the Honorable Ellen M. Heller presiding, on August 3rd and 4th of 1992. Appellant was convicted of both charges and sentenced to concurrent terms of five years imprisonment. From this conviction he now appeals.

During the jury selection process, the prosecuting attorney, Ms. McNamara, expressed her concern that defense counsel was exercising the use of her peremptory strikes in a racially biased manner. The following colloquy occurred between the court and counsel:

MS. STEPHENSON: Your Honor, may we approach?
THE COURT: Yes.
(Counsel and the defendant approached the bench, and the following ensued:)
THE COURT: Do you want to try to get that juror back who was just excused? Yes?
[59]*59MS. McNAMARA: I don’t know the name of the case, but it is the case that came down after Basso which indicates that there are — there is no right to any racially motivated strikes. And every strike so far exercised by the defense counsel has been of white jurors.
Some of those jurors have not answered questions so it cannot be based on the fact that they gave answers that would indicate—
THE COURT: Which juror are you questioning or do you want to go through a reason for each of them?
MS. McNAMARA: For each one.
THE COURT: All right. That’s seven jurors you’ve struck. They were all white. Let’s go through them one by one and give me the reasons you struck them.
Juror number one?
MS. STEPHENSON: She is a victim of a crime, Judge.
THE COURT: What crime?
MS. STEPHENSON: She’s the victim of a robbery, a store was held up.
MS. McNAMARA: Excuse me—
THE COURT: Her parents?
MS. STEPHENSON: Right. Parents and grandparents.
MS. McNAMARA: Do you want me to address them as we go through them?
THE COURT: I appreciate it.
MS. McNAMARA: Your Honor, as to Juror Number One, there was no — she was one of many people who indicated that she was the victim of a crime. Also after questioning she indicated that could be fair and there was no request to strike her for cause at the time that we were at the bench initially.
THE COURT: Well, that’s right. But what I do for cause is still different from what she does for peremptory. Although I wouldn’t see it reason for cause.
[60]*60I don’t think even with the latest decision you need a cause. You just cannot have a racially discriminatory reason for striking someone.
MS. McNAMARA: I’m just putting—
THE COURT: That doesn’t mean you can’t strike for your own reasons.
MS. McNAMARA: I’m just putting my reasons on the record.
THE COURT: Okay. Until the day they say that we do [away] with peremptories — and we’re almost there — I cannot — you strike for your cause as long as it’s not a discriminatory, unconstitutional reason. But we’ll go through — all right.
MS. STEPHENSON: Can I just ask one question before we go on?
THE COURT: Yes.
MS. STEPHENSON: What is the remedy for this, a new panel?
THE COURT: Well, it might be just that.
MS. STEPHENSON: It’s really rather interesting.
THE COURT: It is true that of seven jurors you struck, they were all white.
MS. STEPHENSON: I understand that is true.
THE COURT: So let’s go through them.
MS. STEPHENSON: But the record should reflect the first three — six—the first six jurors on the first page are all white. The next — and then the next three were black and the next one was white. That’s on the first page.
THE COURT: All right. But now that the call has been made, I’ve got to, in the first instance, make a decision—
MS. STEPHENSON: Okay.
THE COURT: —whether or not your reason was discriminatory because of an individual’s race. I mean, that’s what the cases say.
MS. STEPHENSON: That’s true, Judge. But I want the record to reflect that the majority of the jurors that were [61]*61presented to me were, in fact, white. There have been very few black jurors that have been called up.
THE COURT: But as I understand the case law, that’s [sic] still might have it. The circumstances and the context might explain, but we’ve got to go through them one by one.
MS. STEPHENSON: Okay.
THE COURT: The next juror in numbers of where they were seated, not the numbers of who you struck, was Juror Number — Summons Number 117, Juror Number Three, you struck.
MS. STEPHENSON: Judge, I personally, by looking at her — I see jurors in the box and I look at the way they relate to each other.
THE COURT: Well, how did she look?
MS. STEPHENSON: She looked — she reminded me of my Catholic school teacher that I didn’t particularly like, and I didn’t particularly—
THE COURT: I don’t find that was a valid reason.
MS. STEPHENSON: Well, that’s why I struck her, Judge.

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Gilchrist v. State
627 A.2d 44 (Court of Special Appeals of Maryland, 1993)

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Bluebook (online)
627 A.2d 44, 97 Md. App. 55, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/gilchrist-v-state-mdctspecapp-1993.