Team October’s Program

Members of Team October during their performance

Stranger Things: Batson Challenges INN The Upside Down

(1.0 hours MCLE General Credit)

Presented by Team October:

Gina Campbell (program chair)

Cathy Ongiri

Judge Pelayo Llamas

Lizzie Lockwood

Daniel Hodsdon

Michael Johnson

Alyssa Wolf

Team October presented our first program for 2022 in style. Their program was styled after Stranger Things, the hit Netflix show. This program had it all - the music, the costumes, the media clips!

The program was on Batson challenges, the act of objecting the validity of a peremptory challenge, on grounds that the other party used it to exclude a potential juror based on race, ethnicity, or gender. To succeed at a Batson challenge in a criminal case like the one presented by Team October, there are three steps. (1) the defendant must make a prima facie case of discriminatory intent; (2) the state must then offer a race-neutral justification for the challenge; and (3) the trial court must decide whether the defendant has proven purposeful discrimination.

It is a challenge indeed to make a topic as sensitive as a Batson challenge interesting and lively. Thank you Team October! A special thank you to the members and guests who joined us in person and via Zoom. Enjoy a few fun photos below.