The People, Plaintiff and Respondent v. Charles Alex Black, Defendant and Appellant

Summary

The court held that defendant was not prejudiced by having to use peremptory challenges to remove two prospective jurors who should have been excused for cause because no incompetent juror ultimately sat on the jury. It also held that the trial court was not statutorily required to provide additional peremptory challenges so defendant could remove otherwise competent jurors he found objectionable. The court affirmed the judgment of the Court of Appeal. Liu, J., concurring, would assess prejudice by asking whether the trial court's errors substantially disadvantaged the defense relative to the prosecution, but agreed that no such disadvantage occurred here.