Opinion ID: 47916
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Equal Protection Under Batson

Text: 21 The Supreme Court has long since made clear that the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment prohibits prosecutors from striking prospective jurors solely on the basis of race. Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 79, 89, 106 S.Ct. 1712, 90 L.Ed.2d 69 (1986); accord United States v. Webster, 162 F.3d 308, 349 (5th Cir.1998) (recognizing that the Fifth Amendment prohibits use of peremptory strike of prospective jurors solely on the basis of race). In Batson, the Court delineated a three-step analysis for evaluation of a defendant's claim that a prosecutor used a peremptory strike in a racially discriminatory manner: (1) a defendant must make a prima facie showing that the prosecutor exercised his peremptory challenges on the basis of race; (2) the burden then shifts to the prosecutor to articulate a race-neutral reason for striking the juror in question; and (3) the trial court must determine whether the defendant carried his burden of proving purposeful discrimination. See Hernandez v. New York, 500 U.S. 352, 358-59, 111 S.Ct. 1859, 114 L.Ed.2d 395 (citing Batson, 476 U.S. at 96-98, 106 S.Ct. 1712). The ultimate burden of persuasion lies at all times with the defendant. See Purkett v. Elem, 514 U.S. 765, 768, 115 S.Ct. 1769, 131 L.Ed.2d 834 (1995); see also Miller-El v. Dretke, 361 F.3d 849, 853 (5th Cir.2004), rev'd on other grounds, 545 U.S. 231, 125 S.Ct. 2317, 162 L.Ed.2d 196 (2005). 22 For the second step of the analysis, a prosecutor is not allowed to merely deny that he did not have a discriminatory motive; he must provide a specific explanation that is clear and reasonable. Elem, 514 U.S. at 768, 115 S.Ct. 1769. Although the prosecutor's explanation must be clear and reasonable, the explanation is not required to be persuasive or even plausible. Id. at 767-68, 115 S.Ct. 1769; see also United States v. Huey, 76 F.3d 638, 640-41 n. 12 (5th Cir. 1996). The question is the facial validity of the explanation. Elem, 514 U.S. at 768, 115 S.Ct. 1769. Therefore, [u]nless a discriminatory intent is inherent in the prosecutor's explanation, the reason offered [by the prosecutor] will be deemed race neutral. Id. at 768, 115 S.Ct. 1769. 23 Whether a defendant has carried his burden under Batson 's third step to prove purposeful discrimination is based on the persuasiveness and credibility of the prosecutor's justification for his exercise of the peremptory strike. Id. This step of the analysis is extremely fact intensive. Because of the importance of demeanor and credibility evidence in making such determinations, this step of the analysis should lie solely in the province of the trial judge. Id. Indeed, it is at this stage that the persuasiveness of a prosecutor's explanation becomes relevant. Accordingly, implausible or fantastic justifications may (and probably will) be found to be pretexts for purposeful discrimination. Id.
24 As stated, [u]nder the AEDPA deference scheme, pure questions of law and mixed questions of law and fact are reviewed under § 2254(d)(1), and questions of facts are reviewed under § 2254(d)(2). Trevino v. Johnson, 168 F.3d 173, 181 (5th Cir.1999). Accordingly, Moody is not entitled to habeas relief unless the state court's decision is based on an unreasonable determination of the facts in light of the evidence presented in the State court proceeding. § 2254(d)(2). Further, a state court's factual findings are presumed to be correct unless contravened by clear and convincing evidence. § 2254(e)(1). With this standard of deference in mind, we consider Moody's equal protection claim. 25 From our review of the record, it is patently clear that the state trial court's ruling was contrary to clearly established Supreme Court law. The trial court did not even consider Moody's request for a Batson hearing because it incorrectly concluded that Moody had no standing to challenge the prosecution's exclusion of Hightower. As noted above, the Supreme Court has held that defendants have standing to raise a prospective juror's equal protection claim by way of a Batson challenge, even if the prospective juror is of a different race. Powers, 499 U.S. at 415, 111 S.Ct. 1364. Because of the trial court's erroneous ruling in contravention of Powers, it did not broach the three-step analysis required to evaluate a defendant's Batson challenge. Given the Supreme Court's holding in Powers, we find that the state trial court's ruling was an unreasonable application of clearly-established Supreme Court law. As to AEDPA's requirement that this court defer to the state trial court's findings of fact, this directive is not applicable as to this state trial court because it failed to make any findings of fact relative to the heart of Moody's claim.
26 Essentially acknowledging that the state trial court's decision is not entitled to deference under AEDPA, the State contends alternatively that the district court should have denied relief based on the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals' holding regarding Moody's Batson claim. It contends that the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals' rejection of Moody's Batson claim was proper because the prosecutor's reason for striking Hightower was a valid race-neutral explanation. The State argues that because of AEDPA's deferential standard requiring that reviewing federal courts defer to the factual findings of state courts, the district court committed error when it failed to accede to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals' factual findings that the prosecutor's race-neutral explanation was sufficient and that Moody failed to prove discriminatory intent. We agree. 27 The Supreme Court has held that the presumption of correctness is equally applicable when a state appellate court, as opposed to a state trial court, makes the finding of fact. Sumner v. Mata, 455 U.S. 591, 592-93, 102 S.Ct. 1303, 71 L.Ed.2d 480 (1982); see also Rolan v. Vaughn, 445 F.3d 671, 680 (3d Cir.2006) (applying presumption of correctness to appellate court's findings of fact where petition was filed after the effective date of AEDPA); Norton v. Spencer, 351 F.3d 1, 6 (1st Cir.2003) (same); Bugh v. Mitchell, 329 F.3d 496, 501 (6th Cir.2003) (same). In the instant case, we have already determined that the state trial court did not conduct the three-step Batson test. Nevertheless, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals on direct appeal did so in its stead. First, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals presumed that Moody made the requisite showing necessary to establish a prima facie case to challenge the prosecutor's peremptory strike of Hightower. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals next concluded that the State had volunteered a valid race-neutral explanation sufficient to meet its burden under step two of the analysis. Based upon its review of the record, the court concluded that Moody failed to prove that the prosecutor was motivated by discriminatory intent and thus failed to satisfy his burden under step three of the Batson analysis. 28 In considering Moody's petition for federal habeas relief, instead of determining whether the record supported the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals' finding that the prosecutor was not motivated by discriminatory intent, the district court essentially concluded that the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals erred by not remanding the case to the state trial court to conduct a proper Batson hearing. Recognizing the futility of ordering a remand to reconstruct the Batson hearing, the district court ordered a new trial. 29 Given the Supreme Court's directive in Batson that the third step of the analysis should lie solely in the province of trial judges, 476 U.S. at 98, 106 S.Ct. 1712, it is easy to understand the district court's analysis of this claim. The district court found that the Texas state courts erred, first by failing to recognize that Moody had standing under Powers to challenge the prosecutor's use of peremptory strikes, and second, by failing on direct appeal to remand the case back to the state trial court to conduct a proper Batson hearing. 2 Nevertheless, the district court's task was not to assess whether it agreed with the state court's ruling, but to determine whether the state court's finding was entitled to the presumption of correctness and to decide whether that determination was unreasonable in light of the evidence presented. Cf. Rice v. Collins, 546 U.S. 333, 126 S.Ct. 969, 973, 163 L.Ed.2d 824 (2006) (Though it recited the proper standard of review, the panel majority improperly substituted its evaluation of the record for that of the state trial court.); Brown v. Payton, 544 U.S. 133, 143, 125 S.Ct. 1432, 161 L.Ed.2d 334 (2005) (Even on the assumption that its conclusion was incorrect, it was not unreasonable, and is therefore just the type of decision that AEDPA shields on habeas review.). 30 In Elem, 514 U.S. 765, 115 S.Ct. 1769, 131 L.Ed.2d 834, the Supreme Court considered the Eighth Circuit's reversal of a district court's denial of habeas relief in similar circumstances. During jury selection for Jimmy Elem's (Elem) trial, a defendant charged with second degree robbery for snatching a young woman's purse, Elem objected to the prosecutor's use of peremptory strikes to exclude two prospective black jurors, prospective jurors 22 and 24. Id. at 766, 115 S.Ct. 1769. The prosecutor, without request from the state trial judge, offered explanations for its strikes of the two prospective jurors. Id. With regard to prospective juror 22, the prosecutor explained that he struck the juror because he had long, unkempt hair, a mustache, and a beard. Id. at 769, 115 S.Ct. 1769. Prospective juror 24 was struck because the juror had previously been robbed with a sawed-off shotgun. Id. at 766, 115 S.Ct. 1769. The prosecution's rationale was that because juror number 24 was robbed with an actual gun, he would not be able to find Elem guilty of robbery because Elem did not use a gun to commit his offense. Id. The state trial court, without explanation, overruled [Elem's Batson ] objection and empaneled the jury. Id. In other words, the state trial judge, concluding that Elem did not establish a prima facie case of race discrimination, failed to engage any of the three-step Batson analysis. See id. at 770, 115 S.Ct. 1769 (Stevens, J., dissenting). On direct appeal, the state appeals court affirmed the state trial court's judgment, finding that the `state's explanation constituted a legitimate `hunch' and that `[t]he circumstances fail[ed] to raise the necessary inference of racial discrimination.' Id. at 766, 115 S.Ct. 1769 (majority opinion) (quoting State v. Elem, 747 S.W.2d 772, 775 (Mo.App.1988)). 31 On federal habeas review, the district court, applying the deferential standard required under § 2254(d), affirmed the state appeals court, holding that based on the record the Missouri courts' determination that there had been no purposeful discrimination was a factual finding entitled to a presumption of correctness. Id. at 767, 115 S.Ct. 1769. On review to the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, the panel reversed the district court's decision and remanded the case with instructions that the district court grant Elem's petition for writ of habeas corpus. Id. The Eighth Circuit essentially concluded that the prosecution's explanation for striking prospective juror 22 was pretextual. Id. 32 The Supreme Court granted certiorari and reversed the Eighth Circuit, concluding that the panel had conflated steps two and three of the Batson analysis. Id. 768, 115 S.Ct. 1769. The Court stated that the panel erred by requiring that the justification tendered at the second step be not just neutral but also at least minimally persuasive. Id. The Court admonished the panel stating, [i]t is not until the third step that the persuasiveness of the justification becomes relevant—the step in which the trial court determines whether the opponent of the strike has carried his burden of proving purposeful discrimination. Id. (citing Batson, 476 U.S. at 98, 106 S.Ct. 1712). The Court stated that the prosecutor's explanation for striking prospective juror 22, i.e., that he had long, unkempt hair, a mustache, and a beard, was a sufficient race-neutral basis to satisfy the prosecution's burden under step-two of the analysis. Id. at 769, 106 S.Ct. 1712. The Court then concluded that from the prosecutor's race-neutral explanation, the inquiry properly proceeded to step three, where the state court found that the prosecutor was not motivated by discriminatory intent. Id. 33 On remand, the Eighth Circuit followed the Supreme Court's instructions to reevaluate, under the proper § 2254(d) standard, [the Missouri Court of Appeal's] `finding of no racial motive.' Elem v. Purkett, 64 F.3d 1195, 1200 (8th Cir.1995) (quoting Purkett v. Elem, 514 U.S. at 769, 115 S.Ct. 1769). The court's review of the record revealed the following: 34 When petitioner's counsel objected to the prosecutor's use of peremptory strikes to eliminate jurors 22 and 24, the trial judge noted, and then the prosecutor argued, that there was no evidence that jurors 22 and 24 were in fact African American. The prosecutor nonetheless stated that he struck jurors 22 and 24 because of their mustaches and beards, which look[ed] suspicious, and because of their hair, which the prosecutor [didn't] like. Responding to the trial court's comment and the prosecutor's responsive argument, the defense attorney requested that the court either allow him to ask the two jurors if they were black or take judicial notice of the fact that they were black, in order to establish a record of the jurors' race. The trial court responded, I am not going to do that, no, sir. 35 Elem, 64 F.3d at 1199 (alterations in original) (citations omitted). The Eighth Circuit explained that after the prosecution offered its reasons for striking jurors 22 and 24, petitioner made no attempt to persuade the trial court that the prosecutor's reasons for striking juror 22 were merely a pretext for purposeful discrimination. Id. at 1201. Indeed, defense counsel's response to the trial court's refusal of his request was: Okay. Nothing further. Id. at 1200 n. 7. Accordingly, the Eighth Circuit held that 36 because the prosecutor proffered reasons for striking juror 22 that were facially race-neutral, and petitioner made no attempt to persuade the state trial court that the prosecutor's reasons for striking juror 22 were merely a pretext for purposeful discrimination, the trial court's finding of no racial motive is fairly supported by the record, and petitioner is not entitled to habeas relief on his Batson claim. 37 Id. at 1201. 38 In the instant case, when the trial court erroneously stated that Moody could not assert a Batson claim, defense counsel responded Thank you. Note our exception. 3 The judge then indicated that Mr. Hightower was free to go; however, the prosecutor immediately offered his race-neutral reason for dismissing Hightower. The judge once again stated that Mr. Hightower was free to leave. Defense counsel did not respond. We understand why defense counsel may have been reluctant to pursue the issue before the trial court; nevertheless, we conclude that Moody's failure to argue on appeal that the prosecution's reasons were pretextual is fatal to any argument that he was denied an opportunity to carry his burden. 39 On appeal to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, defense counsel did not even attempt to argue that the prosecution's reasons for striking Hightower were pretextual. Instead, counsel argued only that [t]he State failed to articulate a racially neutral reason, or any other reason, for exercising a peremptory strike on Mr. Hightower. But, as we noted above, the prosecutor's stated reason for striking Hightower was that he had two brothers-in-law that had been imprisoned and who he believed could be rehabilitated. It is understandable that defense counsel did not attempt to respond to the prosecutor's stated reasons following the trial judge's ruling that Moody lacked standing; nevertheless, we hold that Moody's failure to do so before the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals precludes a finding that the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals' determination was unreasonable. 40 Our conclusion is bolstered by defense counsel's objection to the prosecution's strike of a second juror on Batson grounds. In an effort to preempt a second erroneous ruling that Batson did not apply, defense counsel established a prima facie case that the prosecutor exercised a peremptory strike on the basis of race. The prosecutor then articulated several reasons for the strike including the juror's memory loss and her statement that she could not follow the evidence. Defense counsel responded by arguing that the prosecutor's explanation was not supported by the witness's testimony. The trial judge then made a finding that the juror was not struck because of her race. In his brief to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, Moody contended that there was nothing in the record to support the prosecutor's stated reasons for striking Lathon; however, he did not point to any evidence, or lack thereof, with regard to the prosecutor's stated reasons for striking Hightower. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals found that the prosecutor's stated reasons for striking Hightower are supported by the record and that Hightower was struck for those reasons and not because of his race. Moody has not rebutted these findings by clear and convincing evidence. See 28 U.S.C. § 2254(e)(1). 41 The district court's opinion and Moody's argument that the third stage of the Batson test necessarily requires a trial judge, not a reviewing appellate court, to scrutinize the demeanor, and thereby, the credibility of a prosecutor's offering are quite forceful and are indeed supported by the Supreme Court's own admonition. See Batson, 476 U.S. at 98, 106 S.Ct. 1712; Hernandez v. New York, 500 U.S. 352, 365, 111 S.Ct. 1859, 114 L.Ed.2d 395 (1991) (plurality opinion) (In the typical peremptory challenge inquiry, the decisive question will be whether counsel's race-neutral explanation for a peremptory challenge should be believed. There will seldom be much evidence bearing on that issue, and the best evidence often will be the demeanor of the attorney who exercises the challenge.). Further, we are mindful that the Supreme Court has observed that [t]here might be instances, however, in which the presumption [of correctness] would not apply to appellate factfinding . . . . For example, the question . . . . might in a given case turn on credibility determinations that could not be accurately made by an appellate court on the basis of a paper record. Cabana v. Bullock, 474 U.S. 376, 388 n. 5, 106 S.Ct. 689, 88 L.Ed.2d 704 (1986), overruled in part on other grounds, Pope v. Illinois, 481 U.S. 497, 107 S.Ct. 1918, 95 L.Ed.2d 439 (1987); see also Buxton v. Lynaugh, 879 F.2d 140, 146 (5th Cir.1989). But Moody did not argue that the prosecutor's demeanor demonstrated that his reasons for striking Mr. Hightower were pretextual; indeed, Moody has made no argument that the prosecutor's reasons were pretextual. Consequently, we cannot conclude that the state court's determination that the prosecutor did not strike Hightower because of his race was unreasonable in light of this record. 42 Accordingly, although we might disagree with the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals' failure to remand the case to the trial court, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals' finding that the prosecutor's striking of prospective juror Hightower was not a violation of Moody's equal protection rights was not unreasonable and is therefore not grounds for habeas relief. The district court's determination to the contrary is VACATED.