Massachusetts felony conviction for OUI Homicide overturned as prosecutor improperly excluded minority juror
A Massachusetts felony conviction for OUI motor vehicle homicide was reversed by the Massachusetts Appeals court as the trial judge improperly denied the defendant's challenge to the prosecutor's preemptory challenge. Under the United States Constitutional and the Massachusetts Declaration of Rights, a defendant is entitled to a jury that is selected from affair selection of the community and is not selected based on racial discrimination. While generally either side in a criminal case, can exclude at least two jurors without regard to cause, referred to as a preemptory challenge. Neither the prosecutor or defendant is allowed to strike jurors based on race or gender discrimination under the United States Supreme Court case law. Under the Massachusetts Declaration of Rights, a defendant has a similar right to a race neutral jury, which was set forth in the case of Commonwealth v. Soares.
In Commonwealth v. Douglas, decided by the Massachusetts Appeals Court, the court overturned a conviction for OUI motor vehicle homicide and negligent operation of a motor vehicle because the trial judge did not ensure that the prosecutor excluding a juror based on racial neutral reasons. Douglas involved a case where a prosecutor attempted to exclude the only black juror from the jury panel, which prompted an objection from the defense counsel. The prosecutor stated that the juror was excluded
As an experienced Massachusetts OUI criminal defense lawyer, it is crucial to ensure that a jury panel is selected fairly and not based on any racial or gender discrimination.
