Opinion ID: 2731285
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Have you ever sat on a jury?

Text: In total, 29 venirepersons were questioned.1 In some instances, after a venireperson had answered the questions on the board, the prosecutor would follow up by asking additional questions, such as the occupations of the venireperson’s adult children, the type of case (civil or criminal) on which the venireperson sat as a juror, and whether that jury had reached a verdict. After each venireperson had answered the questions directed specifically to him or her, the prosecutor posed additional questions to the group. Those questions included, as is relevant to this appeal, (1) whether any venireperson was “related to or . . . ha[d] close friends in law enforcement,” (2) whether any venireperson or a relative “ha[d] . . . ever 1 The prosecutor began by questioning 18 jurors, 12 of whom were seated in the main jury box and 6 of whom were seated in the area designated for alternate jurors. If a venireperson seated in the main jury box was excused, the court moved a venireperson from the area designated for alternate jurors to replace the excused venireperson inside the box. After all 6 venirepersons seated in the alternate juror area had been either excused or moved, the court called 6 more venirepersons to fill their seats and answer the same questions. 6 CASTELLANOS V. SMALL been victims of a crime,” (3) whether any venireperson or relative had “ever been charged with or arrested for an offense,” and (4) whether any venireperson was “familiar with gangs or criminal street gangs.” The prosecutor concluded by asking whether “there [is] anything that you believe is important to disclose at this time that has not yet been asked that would affect the impartiality or sitting as a juror on this case?” Over the course of questioning, the prosecutor elicited the following information from each of the venirepersons at issue in this appeal. Venirewoman 4968 (Seat 2) Venirewoman 4968 was a Hispanic female from Santa Fe Springs, California. She worked for a bread company. At the time of trial, she was divorced and had two adult children.2 One of her children—her daughter—did not work at the time, and her son worked for “export magazines” in “[a] lot of cities.” Her ex-husband worked for Boeing, and she had never before served on a jury. Venireman 3693 (Seat 5) Venireman 3693 was a Hispanic male from La Puente, California. He worked as a salesman for Bernard and Sons, an electrical product retail company. His wife worked as a day care provider for La Puente Unified School District. At 2 There is some ambiguity in the transcript as to whether Venirewoman 4968 had two children (both adult) or four children (two adult and two “kids”). Venirewoman 4968 initially stated, “I have two girls, kids.” The prosecutor responded by asking, “And what are the occupations of your adult children, your adult children?” Venirewoman 4968 answered, “My daughter, she doesn’t work. And my son works . . . for the [export magazines].” The ambiguity does not affect the outcome of this case. CASTELLANOS V. SMALL 7 the time of trial, he had no adult children and had never before sat on a jury. Venireman 6963 (Seat 12(A)) Venireman 6963 was from Montebello, California, and worked as a store manager for a Van’s store. His wife worked as an office manager for an optometrist’s office. He had once before sat on a jury in a criminal case; the jury had reached a verdict in that case. Venireman 6963 did not answer the question whether he had any adult children, and the prosecutor did not follow up on his failure to do so. During group questioning, Venireman 6963 informed the court that his “brother was a gang member for a long time,” and that “now [his brother is] a pastor and goes to jail now and helps.” He also stated that he did not think that would “cause [him] not to be a fair or impartial juror in this case.” Venireman 5816 (Seat 12(B)) Venireman 5816 was a Hispanic male who worked for APL Logistics in West Covina, California. He was single, did not have adult children, and had never before sat on a jury. During group questioning, he informed the court that he “ha[s] family and friends in gangs.” He did not think that would affect his ability to be impartial in this case. Each party was allowed twenty peremptory strikes. See Cal. Civ. Proc. Code § 231(a). Twelve members of the venire occupied the main jury box at any given time; a new venireman would enter the main jury box each time another was excused. At the outset, at least five of the twelve venirepersons seated in the main jury box were Hispanic. The prosecutor used six peremptory strikes, four of which 8 CASTELLANOS V. SMALL were against the Hispanic venirepersons described above, before defense counsel made the Batson/Wheeler motion at issue in this appeal.3 At the time of the motion, seven of the twelve venirepersons seated in the main jury box were Hispanic, and the prosecution had 14 peremptory strikes remaining. When defense counsel made the Batson motion, he contended that “the prosecutor [was] exercising his challenges to exclude mainly people of Hispanic descent.” The parties and the court then engaged in the following colloquy. [DEFENSE COUNSEL]: [The prosecutor] exercised – he excluded juror No. 2, was a female Hispanic. He excluded juror No. 5, who was a Hispanic male. He excluded juror No. 12, who was a Hispanic male. He excluded juror No. 1, 2, 3, 4 people based on race, two Anglos, and I will submit the matter. THE COURT: All right. People. [PROSECUTOR]: Your Honor, the way the current law is, the Court has to find a prima facie showing. 3 A Wheeler motion, established in People v. Wheeler, 22 Cal. 3d 258 (1978), is the California analogue of a motion under Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 79 (1986). See Aleman v. Uribe, 723 F.3d 976 (9th Cir. 2013), cert. denied, 134 S. Ct. 903 (2014). Throughout this opinion, we refer to Castellanos’s motion as a Batson motion, although technically it was made under Wheeler. CASTELLANOS V. SMALL 9 THE COURT: Well, there are four Hispanics excused. [PROSECUTOR]: The last juror had friends – THE COURT: He had friends in gangs. [PROSECUTOR]: In gangs. THE COURT: That’s the reason? Okay. [PROSECUTOR]: Let’s see. What other individuals? THE COURT: Well, No. 2 was 4968. Was that a Hispanic female? [DEFENSE COUNSEL]: Yes. THE COURT: 4968? [PROSECUTOR]: I have that as a female white. THE COURT: 4968 was the name. [DEFENSE COUNSEL]: She was Hispanic. .... [PROSECUTOR]: 4968 – I thought the person was white, but regardless, the person, she didn’t have any children. The victim in here is going to be a child testifying, so I want 10 CASTELLANOS V. SMALL jurors to understand children, so I’ve kicked a lot of jurors who don’t have children, and she had no children. As far as the – Which one is the next one that is being contested? THE COURT: I guess 5816, 12. [DEFENSE COUNSEL]: No. 5 as well. [PROSECUTOR]: Is the fifth one? The fifth one I kicked, was the one in gangs. THE COURT: No. He’s talking about juror No. 5, 3693. [DEFENSE COUNSEL]:4 This person had trouble following didn’t appear to be paying attention when I was asking questions and stuff. This was the person that was up on – THE COURT: On top. [PROSECUTOR]: Right. And that person also had no children, but that was more because the person didn’t appear to be following directions, was kind of sitting there, 4 The parties dispute whether the transcript is correct that defense counsel, as opposed to the prosecutor, made this statement. CASTELLANOS V. SMALL 11 and that’s why I had to ask him specifically, “Are you shaking your head ‘yes’ or ‘no’?” What’s the next one? Is there another? [DEFENSE COUNSEL]: I think juror No. 12, we’ve already discussed that. That’s it. THE COURT: All right. The motion is denied. The court then continued with voir dire until the parties accepted the empaneled jury. In the end, the prosecution had exercised 12 of its 20 peremptory strikes, leaving 8 unused. After the jury was empaneled, the court noted that, “of the twelve [empaneled] jurors, seven are Hispanics, there are four Caucasians, and one Asian.”