State v. Surratt

796 S.W.2d 131, 1990 Mo. App. LEXIS 1443, 1990 WL 139456
CourtMissouri Court of Appeals
DecidedSeptember 26, 1990
DocketNos. 16005, 16704
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 796 S.W.2d 131 (State v. Surratt) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Missouri Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Surratt, 796 S.W.2d 131, 1990 Mo. App. LEXIS 1443, 1990 WL 139456 (Mo. Ct. App. 1990).

Opinion

SHRUM, Judge.

A jury found defendant Kevin Surratt guilty of receiving stolen property (worth over $150.00), § 570.080, RSMo 1986, a class C felony, and he was sentenced to four years’ imprisonment. Defendant appeals, and that appeal is Case No. 16005.

After the jury trial, defendant filed a motion under Rule 29.15, seeking relief from the conviction. The motion was denied without evidentiary hearing. Defendant appeals from that denial, and that appeal is Case No. 16704. The appeals have been consolidated and will be dealt with separately in this opinion.

Case No. 16005

Defendant’s only point on appeal is that the trial court erred in striking juror William Turner from the jury panel on its own motion because this action removed the only black juror from the panel thereby denying defendant, who was black, an opportunity to be tried by a jury of his peers selected from a fair cross-section of the community. Defendant claims that juror Turner did not give clear and unequivocal answers showing he could not fairly consider the case, and that a more searching inquiry was mandated before the only black venireperson could be removed from the jury.

During initial voir dire of the jury panel by the trial court, inquiry was made if any veniremembers knew defendant. Jury panel member Turner responded affirmatively. The trial court then inquired if anyone on the panel had heard anything about the case, and the following colloquy with Turner occurred:

VENIREMAN TURNER: I just heard something about it. I don’t know any details.
THE COURT: Did you form any opinion about it one way or the other? I don’t want to know what your opinion was, I just want to know if you formed one.
VENIREMAN TURNER: I don’t have an opinion.
THE COURT: You don’t have an opinion one way or the other?
VENIREMAN TURNER: No, sir.
THE COURT: You indicated, Mr. Turner, a moment ago that you knew the defendant.
VENIREMAN TURNER: Yes, sir.
THE COURT: How long have you known him?
VENIREMAN TURNER: Well, I know his family. As a matter of fact I graduated with one of his relatives.
THE COURT: Is there anything about your relationship with his family that would cause you a problem sitting as a juror?
VENIREMAN TURNER: Probably would.
THE COURT: You feel that the court should excuse you because of that?
VENIREMAN TURNER: Yes, sir.

Venireman Turner was not stricken from the panel at that point. Following the trial court’s questioning of the jury, the State and defendant’s counsel conducted an unrestricted voir dire of the panel. No inquiry was made of venireman Turner by either party to further explore or determine why his relationship with defendant’s family would cause him a problem in sitting as a juror. Both the State and defendant had ample opportunity to make the “more searching inquiry,” which defendant now says should have been made of venireman Turner. Defendant’s counsel did ask the panel: “Because my client, Mr. Surratt, is black does anybody think that will influence their decision one way or the other?” No response was received from any jury panel member, including Turner. At the conclusion of defendant’s voir dire examination, the trial court was still faced with venireman Turner’s clearly stated problem in sitting as a juror. Accordingly, the trial court struck Turner for cause. Counsel for defendant objected, citing Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 79, 106 S.Ct. 1712, 90 L.Ed.2d 69 (1986). The trial court responded as follows:

THE COURT: He [venireman Turner] told me that he knew the family and it would cause him a problem in sitting as a juror against the defendant and I asked [134]*134him if he felt he needed to be excused and he said he would. Did I misunderstand?
MR. WOODS: Well, no, sir.
THE COURT: ... I was under the impression that jurors in response to the court’s questions that say that they need to be excused and are prejudicial and can’t give somebody a fair trial that I can strike them for cause. If I’m wrong let me know.
MR. WOODS: The court is probably correct in that statement, but it seems that in Batson vs. Kentucky that whenever there is a black defendant that whoever seeks to strike him must give a racially neutral reason and it’s my opinion that that is not a racially neutral reason....

The trial court then restated its ruling striking venireman Turner for cause.

Defendant’s reliance on Batson v. Kentucky, supra, is misplaced. That case reexamined the evidentiary burden placed on a criminal defendant who claimed he had been denied equal protection through the State’s use of peremptory challenges to exclude members of his race from a petit jury. Batson, 476 U.S. at 82, 106 S.Ct. at 1714-15, 90 L.Ed.2d at 77.

[T]he component of the jury selection process at issue here, the State’s privilege to strike individual jurors through peremptory challenges, is subject to the commands of the Equal Protection Clause.... [T]he Equal Protection Clause forbids the prosecutor to challenge potential jurors solely on account of their race....

Batson, 476 U.S. at 89, 106 S.Ct. at 1719, 90 L.Ed.2d at 82-83 (emphasis added). The trial court clearly stated it was striking venireman Turner for cause. Defendant recognized that fact when, in his brief, he claims, “The record here was not sufficient to show Turner should have been stricken for cause.” Legislation in effect at the time this case was tried clearly distinguishes between challenges for cause 1 and peremptory challenges.2

As can best be discerned, defendant’s argument is that the trial court abused its discretion in striking venireman Turner for cause, and that such abuse transmuted a challenge for cause into a peremptory challenge which, in turn, violated the Equal Protection Clause. No authority is cited by defendant for such proposition. Defendant correctly states that under Batson v. Kentucky, the State must adhere to equal protection principles as embodied in the fourteenth amendment when peremptorily striking a juror, and that a defendant can meet his initial burden to show a prima facie case by showing: (a) that the defendant is a member of a cognizable racial group; (b) that peremptory challenges were utilized to strike members of defendant’s race from the jury; and (c) that these facts and any other relevant circumstances raise an inference that the prosecutor used that practice to exclude the venireman from the petit jury on account of his race. However, that principle does not aid the defendant here inasmuch as the exclusion of venireman Turner was not based upon a peremptory challenge.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

State v. Hankins
801 S.W.2d 781 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 1991)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
796 S.W.2d 131, 1990 Mo. App. LEXIS 1443, 1990 WL 139456, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-surratt-moctapp-1990.