1

The Honorable J. Thomas Ray, United States Magistrate Judge for the Eastern

District of Arkansas, to whom the case was referred pursuant to the consent of the

parties. See 28 U.S.C. § 636(c)(1).

United States Court of Appeals

FOR THE EIGHTH CIRCUIT

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No. 08-1037

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Anarian Chad Jackson, *

*

Appellant, *

* Appeal from the United States

v. * District Court for the

* Eastern District of Arkansas.

Larry Norris, Director, Arkansas *

Department of Corrections, *

*

Appellee. *

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Submitted: May 11, 2009

Filed: July 30, 2009

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Before WOLLMAN, JOHN R. GIBSON, and MURPHY, Circuit Judges. 

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WOLLMAN, Circuit Judge.

Anarian Chad Jackson was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to

life in prison for the 2001 killing of Charles Raynor. In 2006, Jackson filed a petition

for a writ of habeas corpus in the United States District Court for the Eastern District

of Arkansas. The court1

 denied Jackson’s petition, and we granted a certificate of
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appealability on whether Jackson was prejudiced by a state expert’s testimony that

Jackson was a “slinger” and a “banger.” We now affirm. 

I.

Jackson was the leader of a Little Rock, Arkansas, gang known as the West

Side Posse, and Raynor led the rival Monroe Street Hustlers. The two gangs fought

frequently over drugs, women, and territory. On January 5, 2001, Jackson and Chris

Bush, a fellow gang member, were riding in a friend’s vehicle when they spotted

Raynor talking on a cordless phone in his front yard. Jackson remarked, “There go

Little Chuck [Raynor], man. He out there slipping. We need to go on and get him.”

Jackson instructed the driver to park behind the house, and Jackson and Bush exited

the vehicle carrying a .40 caliber semiautomatic handgun and a .357 Magnum,

respectively. They approached Raynor from an alley running alongside the house and

began firing. One of the bullets struck Raynor in the head, killing him. 

Bush pled guilty to the murder and subsequently provided a firsthand account

of the shooting at Jackson’s trial. Among other things, he stated that the .40 caliber

handgun was obtained from a “dope house” where members of the West Side Posse

frequently hung out. An expert for the prosecution testified that four .40 caliber

casings were found at the scene and that the bullet that killed Raynor could have been

fired by a .357 Magnum, but not the .40 caliber handgun. 

 Little Rock Police Detective Todd Hurd testified as a gang intelligence expert.

Detective Hurd stated that the feud between the West Side Posse and the Monroe

Street Hustlers was the worst gang rivalry he had encountered, and he noted that it

often provoked violent conflicts. Hurd also explained to the jury the significance of

the terms “slinger” and “banger”:
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“Slinger” is a street term, or “slanger” as it’s commonly referred to, is a

person who deals dope. They’re slinging dope on the streets. And a

“banger” is a person that’s referred—a gang member that is referred to

as really being into the gang rivalries if you will; shooting at, having

conflict with other gangs and other gang members. 

Later, when asked if Jackson was a slinger or a banger, Hurd stated that “[Jackson] is

both. He’s done both.” 

The prosecution introduced statements from three other individuals, all of

whom had given sworn testimony in front of a grand jury but refused to cooperate

when questioned at Jackson’s trial. Markevious King and Rodrick Pennington, both

members of the West Side Posse, identified Jackson as the leader of the gang and

described instances where he had encouraged or ordered individuals to shoot members

of the Monroe Street Hustlers. King also testified to dealing cocaine while he was in

the gang. Takesha Griffin, Jackson’s first cousin, gave a tape-recorded statement that

Jackson was the leader of the West Side Posse and that he had admitted to killing

Raynor. When called to testify, King, Pennington, and Griffin all asserted that they

could not remember their prior grand jury testimony or denied making any statements

incriminating Jackson. 

Following his conviction, Jackson appealed to the Arkansas Supreme Court,

arguing, among other things, that he was prejudiced by Detective Hurd’s statement

that he was a slinger and a banger. According to Jackson, the statement was hearsay

and inadmissible character evidence. He contended that the trial court’s failure to

exclude that evidence violated his right to a fair and impartial jury trial under the Sixth

and Fourteenth Amendments. The court concluded that although the testimony was

improperly admitted, it did not prejudice Jackson because it was cumulative and the

evidence of Jackson’s guilt was strong. Jackson v. State, 197 S.W.3d 468, 475 (Ark.

2004). Justice Hannah dissented from the majority’s holding that the error was

harmless, concluding that the slinger reference was not cumulative because there was
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insufficient evidence in the record to show that Jackson dealt drugs. Id. at 484-86

(Hannah, J., dissenting).

II.

We review the district court’s conclusions of law de novo and its factual

findings for clear error. Palmer v. Clarke, 408 F.3d 423, 428 (8th Cir. 2005). Under

the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act, a writ of habeas corpus may be

granted only if the relevant state court decision was either “contrary to, or involved

an unreasonable application of, clearly established Federal law, as determined by the

Supreme Court of the United States,” 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d)(1), or “based on an

unreasonable determination of the facts in light of the evidence presented in the State

court proceeding.” Id. § 2254(d)(2). The standard for reviewing state trial errors

under § 2254 is significantly narrower than that which we apply on direct review. See

Fry v. Pliler, 551 U.S. 112, 121-22 (2007). On direct review, constitutional error

requires reversal unless the reviewing court concludes that the error was harmless

beyond a reasonable doubt. See id. at 114 (citing Chapman v. California, 386 U.S. 18

(1967)). In a habeas proceeding, however, federal courts may not grant relief unless

the state trial error had a “substantial and injurious effect or influence in determining

the jury’s verdict.” Id. at 116 (quoting Brecht v. Abrahamson, 507 U.S. 619, 631

(1993)). Our review is therefore more circumscribed than the harmless error analysis

undertaken by the Arkansas Supreme Court. The sole question before us is whether

the state expert’s slinger and banger testimony had a substantial and injurious effect

on the jury’s verdict. We conclude that it did not. 

The slinger and banger reference was cumulative of other evidence suggesting

that Jackson was violent and involved in illegal drug trade. Jackson was repeatedly

identified as the leader of a gang in which violence and drug dealing were

commonplace. King and Pennington both claimed that Jackson ordered attacks on the

Monroe Street Hustlers, and Bush testified that the West Side Posse frequented a dope
2

Although Jackson raised additional arguments in his reply brief and

supplemental briefs, our review is limited to the issue set forth in the certificate of

appealability. See Chang v. Minnesota, 521 F.3d 828, 831 (8th Cir. 2008). 

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house. Although there was little evidence that Jackson personally dealt drugs, his role

as a leader, combined with the ubiquity of narcotics dealing within the gang, was

enough to make the slinger comment cumulative. 

Moreover, the evidence of Jackson’s guilt was strong. Bush’s firsthand account

of the shooting was corroborated by forensic evidence showing that two weapons

were used to commit the murder. In her recorded statement, Griffin told the police

that Jackson admitted to substantially the same details that Bush provided. And

Jackson had both the means and motive to kill Raynor. Given these circumstances,

we cannot say that Detective Hurd’s comments had a substantial impact on the jury’s

verdict. Accordingly, the district court did not err in denying Jackson’s petition for

a writ of habeas corpus. 

The judgment is affirmed.2

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