William S. Sells, Iii, Defendant-Below, Appellant v. State of Delaware, Plaintiff-Below, Appellee

Summary

The Supreme Court of Delaware reversed Sells's convictions and remanded for a new trial because the trial court improperly sustained a reverse-Batson objection to the defense's peremptory challenge of Juror #8. The State failed to establish a prima facie case of purposeful racial discrimination based on Sells's strikes, and the trial court improperly aggregated Sells's and his codefendant's separately exercised strikes. Because Juror #8 was improperly seated after the court denied the challenge, prejudice was presumed. The opinion did not reach Sells's severance claim.