P. v. Beal
Defendant Bobbie Beal was convicted of possessing hydrocodone for sale and sentenced to an eight-year prison term. He contends on appeal that the trial court erred in denying his challenge pursuant to Batson v. Kentucky (1986) 476 U.S. 79 (Batson) and People v. Wheeler (1978) 22 Cal.3d 706 (Wheeler) to the prosecution’s peremptory excusal of three African-American jurors. We conclude that the trial court’s denial of the Batson/Wheeler challenge to one juror was supported by substantial evidence, but that the trial court erred in finding defendant’s challenge to the other two untimely. We therefore conditionally reverse the judgment and remand with directions.
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