People v. Johns CA1/4

BACKGROUND

I. Legal Background

Enacted in 2020, section 231.7 prohibits the use of “a peremptory challenge to remove a prospective juror on the basis of the prospective juror’s race, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, or religious affiliation, or the perceived membership of the prospective juror in any of those groups.” (§ 231.7, subd. (a); Stats. 2020, ch. 318, § 2, subd. (a).) Section 231.7 is designed to address and eliminate both purposeful discrimination and implicit unconscious bias in the jury selection process. (People v. Uriostegui (2024) 101 Cal.App.5th 271, 277–278 (Uriostegui).) Pursuant to section 231.7, subdivision (b), a party may object to another party’s peremptory challenge as improper on the ground that it seeks to remove a juror based on a prohibited factor. Once such an objection is made, the party seeking to challenge the juror must “state the reasons the peremptory challenge has been exercised.” (Id., subd. (c).) The trial court must then evaluate “the reasons given to justify the peremptory challenge in light of the totality of the circumstances. The court shall consider only the reasons actually given and shall…