P. v. Kelly
A jury convicted defendant of driving/taking a vehicle, evading a police officer, and misdemeanor hit and run. In bifurcated proceedings, the trial court found that defendant had suffered three priors for which he served prison terms and three strike priors. Defendant was sentenced to prison for two consecutive terms of 25 years to life, plus three years. Defendant appealed, claiming the trial court erred in denying his Wheeler-Batson motion, admitting evidence, denying his new trial motions, failing to provide him with auxiliary services while he was representing himself, and sentencing him. Defendant also asserted that the prosecutor committed misconduct during argument to the jury. In an opinion since vacated, court rejected all his contentions and affirmed, while directing the trial court to add something to the abstract of judgment. The California Supreme Court directed the court to vacate our decision and reconsider it in light of Johnson v. California and People v. Johnson, the latter decided after the court's opinion was filed. These cases are relevant only to Defendant's Wheeler-Baston motion. Court hereby remand the matter to the trial court to allow the prosecutor to state her reasons for exercising the peremptory challenges of which Kelly complained below. If she offers a race-neutral explanation, the below court must try to evaluate that explanation and determine "whether Defendant has proved purposeful racial discrimination. . . . If it finds this prosecutor exercised [her] premeptory challenges in a permissible fashion, it should restate the judgment," while amending the abstract according to the directions in this opinion, as court reject defendant's remaining contentions. If the trial court is unable to make this ruling, "it should set the case for a new trial."
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