Opinion
Submitted October 23, 2000.
November 21, 2000.
Appeal by the defendant from a judgment of the Supreme Court, Queens County (Erlbaum, J.), rendered June 5, 1997, convicting him of robbery in the first degree, burglary in the second degree, and unlawful imprisonment in the second degree, upon a jury verdict, and imposing sentence.
M. Sue Wycoff, New York, N.Y. (John Schoeffel of counsel), for appellant.
Richard A. Brown, District Attorney, Kew Gardens, N.Y. (John M. Castellano, Nicoletta J. Caferri, and Jill Gross-Marks of counsel), for respondent.
Before: FRED T. SANTUCCI, J.P., THOMAS R. SULLIVAN, MYRIAM J. ALTMAN, GABRIEL M. KRAUSMAN, JJ.
DECISION ORDER
ORDERED that the judgment is affirmed.
During jury selection, the defendant raised an objection pursuant to Batson v. Kentucky ( 476 U.S. 79), regarding the prosecution's use of a peremptory challenge to exclude a black prospective juror from the panel. The prosecution offered a race-neutral explanation for the challenge, rendering the issue of a prima facie showing academic (see, People v. Payne, 88 N.Y.2d 172), and satisfying its obligation to provide a facially race-neutral explanation for its challenge (see, People v. Allen, 86 N.Y.2d 101). The burden then shifted to the defendant to demonstrate that the prosecutor's explanation was pretextual (see, Purkett v. Elem, 514 U.S. 765). The defendant's contention that the prosecution's explanation was pretextual is unpreserved for appellate review (see, People v. Santiago, 272 A.D.2d 418) and, in any event, without merit (see, People v. Lassic, 254 A.D.2d 303; People v. Hoover, 248 A.D.2d 728; People v. Morrison, 235 A.D.2d 553).