Opinion
May 6, 1996
Appeal from the Supreme Court, Kings County (Vaughan, J.).
Ordered that the matter is remitted to the Supreme Court, Kings County, to hear and report on the prosecutor's exercise of peremptory challenges against black prospective jurors, and the appeal is held in abeyance in the interim. The Supreme Court, Kings County, is to file its report with all convenient speed.
During jury selection the defendant contended that his right to equal protection was violated when the prosecutor used either six or seven of seven peremptory challenges to strike black members of the venire where the panel consisted of 21 individuals, 12 of whom were black ( see, Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 79; People v Garcia, 222 A.D.2d 605; People v. McDougle, 203 A.D.2d 593; People v. Barnes, 198 A.D.2d 289; People v. Bennett, 186 A.D.2d 812). The defendant made a prima facie showing of purposeful discrimination. The court should have required the prosecutor to provide race-neutral reasons for his exercise of the peremptory challenges. Since the court failed to do so, the matter must be remitted to the Supreme Court to afford the People the opportunity to offer race-neutral reasons for the challenges ( see, Batson v. Kentucky, supra; People v. Jenkins, 75 N.Y.2d 550; People v. Blunt, 162 A.D.2d 86).
No other issue is addressed at this juncture. Miller, J.P., O'Brien, Copertino and Pizzuto, JJ., concur.