A trial court's determination of whether a defendant has established purposeful discrimination in jury selection is a finding of fact and is entitled to appropriate deference from an appellate court because such a finding will largely turn on evaluation of credibility. State v. Bronson, 242 Neb. 931, 496 N.W.2d 882 (1993); State v. Edwards, 2 Neb. App. 149, 507 N.W.2d 506 (1993). A trial court's determination of the adequacy of the State's "neutral explanation" of its peremptory challenges will not be reversed on appeal unless clearly erroneous.
A trial court's determination of the adequacy of the State's "neutral explanation" of its peremptory challenges will not be reversed upon appeal unless clearly erroneous. State v. Morrow, 237 Neb. 653, 467 N.W.2d 63 (1991); State v. Edwards, 2 Neb. App. 149, 507 N.W.2d 506 (1993). All the jury instructions must be read together, and if taken as a whole, they correctly state the law, are not misleading, and adequately cover the issues supported by the pleadings and the evidence, there is no prejudicial error necessitating a reversal.
In prior criminal cases, this court and the Nebraska Court of Appeals have determined that where a juror was struck from the venire because the State was concerned about the juror's ability to pay adequate attention during trial, such race-neutral explanation was adequate. See, State v. Myers, supra (prosecutor concerned about elderly and disabled juror's ability to pay attention during trial and to follow directions); State v. Pratt, 234 Neb. 596, 452 N.W.2d 54 (1990) (prosecutor concerned that juror who appeared tired would not pay attention); State v. Edwards, 2 Neb. App. 149, 507 N.W.2d 506 (1993) (prosecutor concerned about juror's ability to process evidence where juror was not alert and was unable to clearly answer questions). The explanation given by Pegler in this case was clearly race neutral.
Under Neb. Rev. Stat. ยง 27-609 (Reissue 1995), once a prior conviction has been established, the inquiry must end, and it is improper to inquire into the nature of the crime, the details of the offense, or the time spent in prison as a result thereof. See State v. Edwards, 2 Neb. App. 149, 507 N.W.2d 506 (1993). The district court determined that because Spinar went beyond the permissible inquiry and did not object when the State made further inquiry, Spinar's performance was deficient, thus satisfying the first prong of the two-pronged test for determining the effectiveness of counsel in a postconviction case as explained in Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 104 S.Ct. 2052, 80 L.Ed.2d 674 (1984).