Peremptory Strikes - The Impartial Jury Right

Sex-based and race-based peremptory strikes are prohibited by the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution. Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 79 (1986) (prohibiting race based strikes); J.E.B. v. Alabama, 511 U.S. 127 (1994) (prohibiting sex based strikes).

New Jersey law prohibits them primarily as a violation of the right to an impartial jury under N.J. Const. art. I ¶¶ 5, 9, and 10. Thus, the New Jersey judiciary prevents the U.S. Supreme Court from exercising appellate review because there is no subject matter jurisdiction, so long as state law provides at least the same protection as federal law.

Here, the N.J. Supreme Court adopts a modification under federal law for purposes of state law analysis. State v. Osorio. See also Comment, Criminal Procedure - The Quintessential Exercise of the Peremptory Challenge: Denial of Peremptory Strike Possibly Violates Section One of the Kentucky Constitution. Rutgers L.J. 1485 (2007) (available at http://ssrn.com/abstract=1143026).

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Gang Violence and Criminal Law

This case involves the VICAR statute and addresses:

1. voir dire as related to Fifth Amendment due process and Sixth Amendment impartial jury rights,
2. proof of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt,
3. federal rules of evidence 401 and 403, and
4. sentencing.

United States v. Preston Jones a.k.a. Death (3rd Cir. 2009).