Background

• Defendant Kevin McMiller was convicted by a Jefferson County jury of capital murder, aggravated residential burglary, kidnapping, and rape; jury sentenced him to life without parole for capital murder and consecutive life terms for the other offenses.
• Facts at trial: after the victim (D.O.) broke up with McMiller, he armed himself, entered D.O.’s residence through a window, fatally stabbed D.O.’s mother, forced D.O. to a vacant house, and raped her; McMiller confessed.
• McMiller did not challenge sufficiency of the evidence on appeal; his sole appellate claim was that the State’s use of peremptory strikes violated Batson v. Kentucky by excluding Black jurors, resulting in an all-white jury.
• During voir dire the State used eight peremptory strikes, five of which were against Black veniremembers; the defense raised a Batson objection and the State provided race-neutral explanations for each strike.
• The circuit court found the State’s explanations credible and race-neutral and denied the Batson challenge; the State’s explanations included juror statements of inability to sit in judgment, lack of engagement, employment deadlines, and family felony history.
• The Supreme Court of Arkansas affirmed, deferring to the circuit court’s credibility findings and noting that once the State offered race-neutral reasons, the initial prima facie determination became moot.

Issues

Key Cases Cited

• Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 79 (prohibits race-based peremptory strikes)
• Jackson v. State, 375 Ark. 321 (describes three-step Batson framework and standard of appellate review)
• London v. State, 354 Ark. 313 (gives deference to trial court's credibility findings on Batson issues)