California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from Wells, In re, 20 Cal.App.3d 640, 98 Cal.Rptr. 1 (Cal. App. 1971):
Moreover, in appellant's case, the prosecutor, although not required to do so (Swain v. Alabama, Supra, 380 U.S. 202, 221--222, 85 S.Ct. 824), explained to the trial court the reasons for his three challenges of black persons. Two black prospective jurors were excused because they had previously been charged with crimes, and the prosecutor feared bias against policemen who would be appearing as witnesses. The third black prospective juror was excused because the prosecutor observed conduct which indicated that she was familiar with, or biased toward, the accused. The trial court, which had the opportunity to observe the excused persons and consider the prosecution's explanations, determined that there was no systematic exclusion of jurors on the basis of race. The record does not compel a contrary conclusion.
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