BATSON Justifications:
Articulating Juror Negatives
TOP GUN II

This Source Verification Page documents a Continuing Legal Education (CLE) training handout entitled BATSON Justifications: Articulating Juror Negatives. The handout was referenced in the State v. May Racial Justice Act Motion for Appropriate Relief and provides examples of race-neutral explanations prosecutors could articulate when exercising peremptory strikes during jury selection. Statement of Facts D cites this material to document the type of training available to prosecutors concerning jury selection practices. The document is included as evidence relevant to allegations concerning Batson challenges, jury selection procedures, and racial discrimination claims raised in connection with Buncombe County capital prosecutions, including issues examined during post-conviction litigation involving Lyle C. May's prosecution arising from the July 1997 murders in Asheville, North Carolina.

Related SMAR Citation

“[See "Top Gun II" CLE Hand out in State v. May Racial Justice Act M.A.R.]”

Source Name

BATSON Justifications: Articulating Juror Negatives

Date

1995

Verification Source

BATSON Justifications: Articulating Juror Negatives

Source Location

Top Gun II CLE Handout referenced in State v. May Racial Justice Act Motion for Appropriate Relief

Highlighted Pages

1 - 2
There are 2 pages for this source:
- Page 1 is the download found at the website above.
- Page 2 is the same document, but is visually easier to read.

Referenced in the Supplemental Motion

Page 34, Paragraph 61

Source Status

✔ Article obtained and reviewed.

✔ Relevant passages highlighted.

✔ Publicly available source.

✔ Included within the Source Verification Archive.

Cited to Support

Lyle C. May alleges that the Buncombe County District Attorney's Office participated in specialized prosecutorial training concerning the exercise and defense of peremptory strikes during jury selection. The Top Gun II CLE handout is cited to establish that prosecutors attending the training were provided examples of race-neutral explanations that could be articulated to justify the removal of prospective jurors, including "unrevealed criminal history" as a potential juror negative. May relies upon this training material to support his claim that prosecutors, including ADA Kate Dreher, received instruction regarding the formulation and presentation of race-neutral justifications for peremptory strikes and to support his broader allegations concerning Batson-related issues in Buncombe County capital prosecutions, including jury selection practices relevant to the prosecution arising from the July 1997 murders in Asheville, North Carolina.

Supporting Documents

Original Article

Link to the original article.

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Highlighted Research Copy

Working research copy containing the highlighted passages cited in the Supplemental Motion.

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