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THE BATSON RECONSTRUCTION HEARING, HELD AFTER THE MATTER WAS SENT BACK BECAUSE OF THE LACK OF AN ADEQUATE RECORD FOR APPEAL, WAS ITSELF DEFICIENT, THE ORIGINAL PROSECUTOR DID NOT TESTIFY AND THE NOTES OF THE ORIGINAL PROSECUTOR WERE NOT PROVIDED TO THE COURT, CONVICTIONS REVERSED AND INDICTMENT DISMISSED (FIRST DEPT).

The First Department, in a full-fledged opinion by Justice Manzanet-Daniels, over two separate dissenting opinions, reversing the defendant’s convictions and dismissing the indictment, determined the Batson reconstruction hearing, held after the matter was sent back to the trial court because the record on appeal was not sufficient, did not demonstrate that the prosecution’s peremptory challenges to African-American-male venire persons were justified by nondiscriminatory reasons. The Batson reconstruction hearing was itself deficient because it was held with a different prosecutor and the original prosecutor’s notes were not provided, nor did the orignal prosecutor testify:

The purpose of a Batson reconstruction hearing is to attempt to recreate, after the fact, a record of the prosecutor’s proffered justifications for striking certain venire persons. At such a hearing, it is typical to rely on the contemporaneous notes of the prosecutor and to elicit testimony from him or her. The prosecutor testifies as a sworn witness, and is subject to cross-examination concerning the strike or strikes … .

“[T]here is no better evidence of a prosecutor’s intent than her notes from jury selection”… ; indeed, seminal opinions on Batson have referred to jury selection notes as evidence of prosecutorial bias (see e.g. Foster v Chatman, ___ US ___, 136 S Ct 1737, 1755 [2016]). In Foster, the prosecutor’s notes were not disclosed until post-conviction proceedings years later. The notes showed the letter “B” next to the names of the African American jurors and their names highlighted in green pen. Three decades after trial, the contents of the notes led the Supreme Court to reverse the defendant’s conviction.

No testimony or notes were offered at this Batson reconstruction hearing. The ADA who conducted the voir dire did not appear and his notes were never disclosed. The ADA at the reconstruction hearing could only speculate as to the motives of his colleague. This procedure was insufficient to satisfy the requirements of Batson. People v Watson, 2019 NY Slip Op 00217, First Dept 1-10-19

 

 

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