In a 5-1 vote, the Colorado Supreme Court held that when a trial court conducts remand proceedings under Batson v. Kentucky, a party cannot introduce new race-neutral explanations for a peremptory strike that weren’t made at trial.
Theodore Madrid went to trial in 2012 for charges of murder and child abuse resulting in death. During jury selection, Madrid raised a Batson challenge regarding a prospective juror identified as J.T., a Black man who indicated on his juror questionnaire that he was 68 years old, married with children, and a retired customer-service specialist. The prosecution used its ninth peremptory challenge to excuse J.T., according to the majority’s opinion filed March 27.
