2012-M-200       State of Minnesota, Respondent, vs. Chaun Dubae Carridine, Appellant.

A Hennepin County jury found Chaun Dubae Carridine guilty of first-degree premeditated murder in the shooting death of Lorenzo Guffie.  The district court convicted Carridine of that offense and sentenced him to life in prison. 

In this direct appeal, Carridine challenges his conviction on five grounds:  (1) the district erred by rejecting his challenges to the State’s exercise of two peremptory strikes; (2) the district court committed prejudicial error when it allowed the State to impeach him through his prior statement; (3) the district court committed prejudicial error when it instructed the jury; (4) the State committed prejudicial prosecutorial misconduct; and (5) recusal of the district court judge was required.  We affirm.

HELD:  First, the district court did not clearly err when it rejected appellant’s challenges, alleging racial bias under Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 79 (1986), to the State’s exercise

of two peremptory challenges against persons of color during the jury selection process

because the State offered a race-neutral explanation for one of the objected-to peremptory challenges, and appellant failed to establish a prima facie case of racial discrimination regarding the other objected-to peremptory challenge.

Second, even if the district court abused its discretion by admitting appellant’s prior statement made in an unsolicited letter to the district court in connection with withdrawal of his guilty plea, the admission of the prior statement did not substantially influence the jury’s verdict and was therefore not prejudicial.

Third, the district court did not commit plain error when it instructed the jury, at appellant’s request, on the justifiable taking of human life because the error did not affect appellant’s substantial rights.

Fourth, because there was substantial evidence that appellant was the initial aggressor, the district court did not err when it instructed the jury on the revival of the aggressor’s right of self-defense.

Fifth, the district court’s impartiality could not be reasonably questioned, and therefore, no recusal was required.

Barry Anderson (Gildea, Page, Paul Anderson, Meyer, Dietzen and Stras)

[MURDER]