Error and/or relief
The trial court erroneously overruled the defendant’s objection to the prosecutor’s use of a peremptory challenge against a Black prospective juror because the main reason given by the prosecutor for exercising the challenge was presumptively invalid under Code of Civil Procedure section 231.7. The record did not contain clear and convincing evidence rebutting the presumptive invalidity of the challenge.
First Holding:
Code of Civil Procedure section 231.7 prohibits the use of a peremptory challenge on the basis of a prospective juror’s race, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, or religious affiliation, or perceived membership in any of those groups. The Legislature enacted section 231.7, effective in criminal trials beginning January 1, 2022, to establish a new process for identifying unlawful bias in the use of peremptory challenges during jury selection because studies showed that the existing Batson/Wheeler analysis was inadequate to prevent racial discrimination.
Authority:
CCP 231.7
People v. Jimenez (2024) 99 Cal.App.5th 534, 539–540
Batson v. Kentucky (1986) 476 U.S. 79
People v. Wheeler (1978) 22 Cal.3d 258
Second Holding:
Upon objection to the exercise of a peremptory challenge pursuant to CCP 231.7, the party exercising the peremptory challenge shall state the reasons the peremptory challenge has been exercised. The trial court must then evaluate the reasons given to justify the peremptory challenge in light of the totality of the circumstances, considering only the reasons actually given.
If the court determines there is a substantial likelihood that an objectively reasonable person would view race, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, or religious affiliation, or perceived membership in any of those groups, as a factor in the use of the peremptory challenge, then the objection shall be sustained. For purposes of section 231.7, an objectively reasonable person is aware that unconscious bias, in addition to purposeful discrimination, have resulted in the unfair exclusion of potential jurors in the State of California.
Authority:
CCP 231.7
Third Holding:
Section 231.7 also contains two separate provisions describing presumptively invalid reasons for the exercise of a peremptory challenge. Each subdivision sets out a distinct process by which a court determines whether a presumptively invalid reason can be absolved of that presumption.
The challenge of a prospective juror who expresses a distrust of or having a negative experience with law enforcement or the criminal legal system is presumed to be invalid unless the party exercising the peremptory challenge can show by clear and convincing evidence that an objectively reasonable person would view the rationale as unrelated to a prospective juror’s race, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, or religious affiliation, or perceived membership in any of those groups, and that the reasons articulated bear on the prospective juror’s ability to be fair and impartial in the case
Authority:
CCP 231.7(e) and (g)
People v. Alston (2026) 118 Cal.App.5th 575, 581
Fourth Holding:
The denial of an objection made under CCP section 231.7 shall be reviewed by the appellate court de novo, with the trial court’s express factual findings reviewed for substantial evidence. The appellate court shall not impute to the trial court any findings, including findings of a prospective juror’s demeanor, that the trial court did not expressly state on the record.
The reviewing court shall consider only reasons actually given under subdivision (c) and shall not speculate as to or consider reasons that were not given to explain either the party’s use of the peremptory challenge or the party’s failure to challenge similarly situated jurors who are not members of the same cognizable group as the challenged juror, regardless of whether the moving party made a comparative analysis argument in the trial court. Should the appellate court determine that the objection was erroneously denied, the error shall be deemed prejudicial, the judgment shall be reversed, and the case remanded for a new trial.
Authority:
CCP 231.7(j)
Fifth Holding:
The defendant did not forfeit review of this issue, because his attorney’s general objection to the exercise of the peremptory challenge was sufficient to preserve the issue in this case.
Authority:
People v. Jaime (2023) 91 Cal.App.5th 941, 946 [forfeiture rule applies to section 231.7 claims]
People v. Espiritu (2026) 119 Cal.App.5th 1128 [The court was not confronted with a situation in which a defendant wholly failed to object “under the applicable statute. Rather, the defendant’s general objection was sufficient to preserve an argument alleging error based on a category of presumptively invalid reasons not brought to the trial court’s attention by defense counsel.]
Sixth Holding:
An objection to a peremptory challenge must be sustained whenever any reason identified for the challenge becomes conclusively invalid under section 231.7(g), regardless of whether the party exercising the peremptory challenge also identifies facially neutral reasons that do not fall within the scope of subdivision (g). Under the circumstances in this case, the defendant’s objection to the peremptory challenge was erroneously overruled, and prejudicially so. We reverse the judgment and remand for a new trial.
Authority:
People v. Caparrotta (2024) 103 Cal.App.5th 874, 896