People v Jones, 11 NY3d 822 (2008)

2008 NY Slip Op 08159 [11 NY3d 822]
October 28, 2008
Court of Appeals

[*1]

In the Matter of The People of the State of New York, Respondent,
v
Lionel Jones, Appellant.

Argued September 11, 2008; decided October 28, 2008

People v Jones, 48 AD3d 1116, affirmed.

{**11 NY3d at 823} OPINION OF THE COURT

Memorandum.

The order of the Appellate Division should be affirmed.

Defendant Lionel Jones failed to meet his burden of establishing a prima facie case of discrimination pursuant to Batson v Kentucky (476 US 79 [1986]). While the party making a Batson challenge need not establish a pattern of discrimination to satisfy the step-one [*2]burden (see People v Smocum, 99 NY2d 418, 421-422 [2003]), “sketchy assertions” and declarations that the prospective juror “indicated no reason why [the juror] could not serve fairly” are, standing alone, generally insufficient to establish a prima facie case of discrimination (People v Childress, 81 NY2d 263, 267-268 [1993] [internal quotation marks omitted]). Defense counsel’s contentions that the prosecutor’s peremptory challenge of an African-American prospective juror must have been based on her race because the challenged juror’s answers were “neutral” and “would not give [the prosecutor] any reason to believe that she could [not] be impartial” are exactly the kind of vague and conclusory assertions this Court rejected in Childress.

Finally, the hearing court’s determination that the police possessed founded suspicion of criminality justifying a common-law inquiry, a mixed question of law and fact, is supported by the record (People v Battaglia, 86 NY2d 755, 756 [1995]). Accordingly, this Court’s review process is exhausted.

Chief Judge Kaye and Judges Ciparick, Graffeo, Read, Smith, Pigott and Jones concur.

Order affirmed in a memorandum.