When considering a Batson challenge, i.e. a challenge that a litigant has exercised its use of preemptory strikes in a discriminating manner, an appellate court will defer to a trial court's findings of fact unless clearly erroneous, and will review the trial court's application of the law de novo. State v. Ford, 2001 MT 230, ¶ 7, 306 Mont. 517, 39 P.3d 108. We review a district court's application of the law regarding the timeliness of a Batson-type challenge de novo. State v. Parrish, 2005 MT 112, ¶ 9, 327 Mont. 88, 111 P.3d 671.