People v. Hazlett

Summary

The California Supreme Court affirmed a judgment of death imposed on Larry Kusuth Hazlett, Jr. for the 1978 rape-murder of Tana Woolley, tried under the 1977 death penalty law. The court held that the prosecutor's peremptory strike of Prospective Juror A.E., the sole African-American remaining in the venire, did not give rise to a prima facie inference of racial discrimination under Batson/Wheeler, because a single strike without more is insufficient and A.E.'s expressed reservations about imposing the death penalty based on fears of wrongful conviction supplied an obvious race-neutral reason apparent from the record. The court also rejected challenges to the admission of five uncharged sexual offenses under Evidence Code section 1108 and to the related CALJIC No. 2.50.01 and 2.50.01/2.50.1 instructions, finding no due process violation, no reasonable likelihood of jury confusion, and no abuse of discretion in admission. Justice Liu and Justice Evans each filed dissenting opinions, joining one another, which would find a prima facie showing of discrimination.