Diaz
Diaz v. Tesla, Inc.
Opinion
Trial Court Opinion
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 6 OWEN DIAZ, Case No. 3:17-cv-06748-WHO
Plaintiff,
ORDER ON BATSON CHALLENGES
v.
TESLA, INC., et al., Defendants.
12 During voir dire in this case, I sustained a Batson challenge by plaintiff Owen Diaz to one of defendant Tesla, Inc.’s (“Tesla”), peremptory strikes for a prospective juror (“Juror 26”) who was ultimately seated. See generally Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 79 (1986); Edmonson v. Leesville Concrete Co., 500 U.S. 614 (1991) (applying Batson to civil cases). This Order provides a written explanation for that decision and for the rejection of a second Batson challenge. “A Batson challenge has three steps: first, the [challenging party] must make a prima facie showing that a challenge was based on race; second, the [striking party] must offer a race-neutral basis for the challenge; and third, the court must determine whether the [challenging party] has shown purposeful discrimination.” Briggs v. Grounds, 682 F.3d 1165, 1169 (9th Cir. 2012) …