An appeals court on Friday ordered Hamilton County prosecutors to explain why they blocked an African-American woman from serving on an all-white jury last year.

        The Ohio First District Court of Appeals concluded the defendant, who is black, should get a hearing within 30 days that will determine whether he deserves a new trial.

        At the hearing, prosecutors will be required to show that they excluded the juror for reasons other than race.

        The case is only the second of its kind in Hamilton County since the U.S. Supreme Court in 1986 established a test designed to prevent racial discrimination in jury selection.

        The decision Friday is based on the exclusion of Khalilah Glover, who was one of the jurors considered for the aggravated robbery trial of Fernando Kiner, a 21-year-old African-American man. Mr. Kiner was convicted of the charges and sentenced to six years in prison.

        Ms. Glover was the only African-American in the pool of prospective jurors when prosecutors used one of their peremptory challenges to exclude her.

        In criminal cases, prosecutors and defense attorneys each have a limited number of peremptory challenges, which allow them to block jurors without explanation.

        But if the excluded juror is a minority, the opposing attorney may question whether race was a factor and demand a more detailed explanation. Mr. Kiner's attorney, Edward Keller, said that's what he did.

        “She was the only black person on the panel,” Mr. Keller said. “I have no idea why they would have excluded that person other than race. The prosecutors may or may not have another, legitimate, reason, but I don't know what it is.”

        The appeals court did not speculate about the exclusion, but it acknowledged in its decision that race could have been a factor.

        “The facts and circumstances ... were sufficient to raise an inference that Glover was excluded on the basis of her race,” wrote Judge Howard Sundermann Jr., who along with judges Rupert Doan and Mark Painter ordered the new hearing.

        Prosecutor Mike Allen said he was not familiar with the details of Mr. Kiner's case, but he defended the work of his prosecutors and said he is certain race was not a factor in the decision to exclude Ms. Glover from the jury.

        He said he's confident the trial judge, Ann Marie Tracey, will accept the prosecution's explanation when the case returns to Common Pleas Court for the hearing.

        “We feel the exclusion was valid,” Mr. Allen said. “Once the hearing is conducted, we think that will be borne out.”

        Email dhorn@enquirer.com

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