The People of the State of Colorado, Petitioner v. Romielo Rodriguez, Respondent

Summary

The court held that a pattern of racially motivated peremptory strikes is not required to establish a prima facie showing of purposeful discrimination. Because the trial court stopped its inquiry after incorrectly treating the absence of a pattern as dispositive and failed to complete the required three-step analysis, the appropriate remedy was to remand for further findings rather than automatically order a new trial. The court therefore reversed the court of appeals and remanded with instructions to return the case to the trial court for a complete analysis.