Opinion ID: 1712255
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 8

Heading: Peremptory Challenges and Batson v. Kentucky

Text: In assignments of error Numbers 15, 16, and 17, defendant maintains the State exercised its peremptory challenges in a manner aimed to exclude prospective African-American jurors, in violation of Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 79, 106 S.Ct. 1712, 90 L.Ed.2d 69 (1986). See also, LSA-C.Cr.P. art. 795. Specifically, defendant contends prospective jurors Lee Ester Bolden, Dynell Butler, and Larry J. Burke, Jr. were impermissibly excluded by the State. In Batson, the Supreme Court held that an equal protection violation occurs if a party exercises a peremptory challenge to exclude a prospective juror on the basis of that person's race. Id. 476 U.S. at 84-89, 106 S.Ct. at 1716-19. To determine whether relief is warranted under Batson, a defendant must first establish a prima facie case of discrimination by showing facts and circumstances which raise an inference that the prosecutor used his or her peremptory challenges to exclude potential jurors on account of race. The burden of production then shifts to the State to come forward with a race-neutral explanation. If a race-neutral explanation is tendered, then the trial court must decide, in the final step of this three-part analysis, whether the defendant has established purposeful racial discrimination. Purkett v. Elem, 514 U.S. 765, 767-768, 115 S.Ct. 1769, 1770-1771, 131 L.Ed.2d 834 (1995) (per curiam). To be facially valid, the prosecutor's explanation need not be persuasive or even plausible. Unless a discriminatory intent is inherent in the prosecutor's explanation, the reason offered will be deemed race-neutral. Id. Faced with a race-neutral explanation, the defendant must then prove purposeful discrimination to the trial court. Id. The proper inquiry, in this, the final step of the Batson analysis, is whether the defendant's proof, when weighed against the prosecutor's proffered race-neutral explanations, is sufficient to persuade the trial court that discriminatory intent is present. State v. Hobley, 98-2460, p. 19 (La.12/15/99), 752 So.2d 771, 783. Because the factual determination pertaining to purposeful discrimination rests largely on credibility evaluations, the trial court's findings are entitled to great deference by the reviewing court. Hobley, 98-2460 at 20, 752 So.2d at 783; Batson, 476 U.S. at 98 n. 21, 106 S.Ct. at 1724 n. 21. In the instant case, defendant argues the State exercised peremptory challenges on the basis of race when it used 11 of its 12 peremptory challenges to strike African-Americans. However, defense counsel objected on Batson grounds only once during the proceedings, after the State had used four of five peremptory challenges to strike African-Americans. In failing to renew the Batson challenge thereafter, and failing to request a race-neutral explanation for subsequent peremptory challenges, counsel waived the Batson claim with respect to the State's remaining seven peremptory challenges. LSA-C.Cr.P. art. 841; see e.g. State v. Snyder, 98-1078, pp. 7-8 (La.4/14/99), 750 So.2d 832, 839-840. [4] The jury finally empaneled in the instant case was composed of nine white jurors and three African-American jurors. Defense counsel's Batson objection was lodged in rejoinder to an unsuccessful reverse- Batson challenge by the State. At that point in the proceedings, the State had exercised five peremptory challenges, four of them against prospective African-American jurors. Two jurors had been seated  one white and one African-American. Look[ing] at the numbers alone, the trial court ruled that defense counsel had made out a prima facie case of purposeful discrimination and ordered the State to justify its use of peremptory strikes against prospective African-American jurors with race-neutral reasons. Although we are not convinced that the numbers alone establish a prima facie showing of discrimination, [5] [o]nce a prosecutor has offered a race-neutral explanation for the peremptory challenges and the trial court has ruled on the ultimate question of intentional discrimination, the preliminary issue of whether the defendant had made a prima facie showing becomes moot. Hernandez v. New York, 500 U.S. 352, 359, 111 S.Ct. 1859, 1866, 114 L.Ed.2d 395 (1991). See also, State v. Green, 94-0887, p. 25 (La.5/22/95), 655 So.2d 272, 288. The State offered various explanations for exercising its peremptory strikes against the four African-Americans. According to the prosecutor, Lee Ester Bolden was excused because she had only a ninth grade education. During questioning, and after explanation, she had reportedly stated that life means life, raising concerns as to whether she understood the process and the law. Earlier, the State had challenged Bolden for cause, arguing that she was more prone to vote for life imprisonment. As to Trevor Jeffery, the State informed the court that it challenged Jeffery because he had worked with the defendant three years previously and because of his preference for a life sentence over death. Dynell Butler was excused because he was the brother-in-law of a potential witness, Detective Lou Landry. The prosecutor explained that he didn't want any kind of reversible error in the record, and challenged the prospective juror on that basis. Finally, the State explained that it excused Larry J. Burke, Jr. because he was pre-disposed to voting for a life sentence, and because he worked for the St. James Parish Juvenile Detention Center, and thus might be more compassionate to defendants. The trial court found the State's race-neutral reasons for excusing the prospective jurors sufficient and overruled defendant's Batson objection without further explanation. Defendant maintains that the trial court erred in accepting the State's race-neutral explanation as to prospective jurors Bolden, Butler, and Burke because the State did not exercise peremptory challenges against white prospective jurors whose responses during voir dire revealed traits similar to those recited by the State as reasons for excusing the three African-Americans. With respect to prospective juror Bolden, defendant argues the State's explanation that Bolden was excused because her responses and ninth grade education raised concerns as to whether she understood the law and because she was more prone to vote for life imprisonment is merely pretextual and belies the State's alleged discriminatory intent to preclude African-Americans from serving on the jury. Defendant points out several white potential jurors had educational records similar to that of Bolden, [6] and three Caucasians who expressed reluctance to impose a death sentence were nevertheless seated on the jury. However, the fact that a prosecutor excuses one person with a particular characteristic and not another similarly situated person does not in itself show that the prosecutor's explanation was a mere pretext for discrimination. State v. Collier, 553 So.2d 815, 822 (La.1989). The accepted juror may have exhibited traits which the prosecutor could have reasonably believed would make him or her desirable as a juror. Id. [7] In the present case, we can find nothing in the record that undermines the determination of the trial court that the stated reasons for Bolden's exclusion were legitimate grounds for the exercise of the peremptory challenge. Difficulty in understanding legal concepts has been deemed to constitute a race-neutral basis for exercising a peremptory challenge. State v. Smith, 222 Conn. 1, 12, 608 A.2d 63, 69-70 (1992). While it could also serve as pretext, see Splunge v. Clark, 960 F.2d 705, 708 (7th Cir.1992), there is support in the record for the State's contention that Bolden displayed confusion when queried as to her ability to return a death sentence. [8] This confusion, in turn, produced an equivocal response in answer to whether she could legitimately consider voting for death. [9] Although that response may not have risen to the level of a sustainable challenge for cause, it does support the race-neutral reasons furnished by the State after defense counsel objected on Batson grounds to the peremptory strike against Bolden. See, State v. Tyler, 97-0338, p. 7 (La.9/9/98), 723 So.2d 939, 944 (there are different degrees of death penalty leanings; a juror's feelings with respect to capital punishment can serve as a race-neutral explanation for the exercise of a peremptory strike). As we have repeatedly noted, the ultimate focus of the Batson inquiry is on the prosecutor's intent at the time of the strike. State v. Green, 94-0887 at 24, 655 So.2d at 287. In resolving the ultimate inquiry before it  whether the proffered race-neutral explanation should be believed  the trial court should examine all of the evidence available. Tyler, 97-0338 at 4, 723 So.2d at 942-43. Patterns of strikes and other statements or actions by the prosecutor during voir dire are relevant and may support a finding of discriminatory intent. Id. The trial court plays a unique role in the dynamics of a voir dire, for it is the court that observes firsthand the demeanor of the attorneys and venire persons, the nuances of questions asked, the racial composition of the venire, and the general atmosphere of the voir dire that simply cannot be replicated from a cold transcript. State v. Myers, 99-1803, p. 6 (La.4/11/00), 761 So.2d 498, 502. As a result, the trial court's evaluation of discriminatory intent is entitled to great deference by reviewing courts. Hernandez, 500 U.S. at 364, 111 S.Ct. 1859, 114 L.Ed.2d 395; Hobley, 98-2460 at 20, 752 So.2d at 783. In this particular case, there was no indication that racial animus infected the voir dire. In fact, our review of the voir dire discloses no questions or statements by the prosecutor in exercising his challenges which might support an inference of purposeful discrimination. [10] While other prospective Caucasian jurors with similar educational backgrounds as Bolden might not have been challenged by the State, the basis for the State's peremptory strike was not simply the grade level attained by the prospective juror, but concerns over whether she was able to comprehend the process and the law. Bolden's apparent difficulty in comprehending the questions posed by the State, resulting in her ability to provide only a tentative reply when asked whether she could consider the death penalty, supports the race-neutral explanation provided by the State for its exercise of a peremptory strike. [11] The record reflects that the trial court paid close attention to the responses of each potential juror during voir dire and carefully considered the responses of the State to defendant's Batson challenge. In view of the vast amount of discretion to be accorded to the findings of the trial court in assessing intent and judging credibility, we cannot say the trial court erred in choosing to believe the race-neutral explanation offered by the State. Accordingly, we find defendant has failed to carry his burden of proving purposeful discrimination with regard to prospective juror Lee Ester Bolden. With respect to prospective jurors Butler and Burke, the State explained it exercised peremptory challenges against these men because of a perceived bias. The State explained it challenged Butler because he was the brother-in-law of a potential witness, Detective Lou Landry, and did not wish to be responsible for creating reversible error in the record. The State also posited that Butler did not like his brother-in-law, which might result in some bias. Burke was challenged because he expressed a pre-disposition toward imposing a life sentence and because he worked for the St. James Parish Juvenile Detention Center, a position the State alternately posited might make him more pre-disposed to the State and at the same time, more compassionate to defendants and more likely to impose a life sentence. While, ultimately, Butler stated his relationship with his brother-in-law would not affect his deliberations, and the State offered conflicting arguments with respect to whether Butler and Burke's connections would render them unfairly pre-disposed to the State or the defendant, the prosecutor in this case obviously perceived the disclosed connections could consciously or unconsciously affect the jurors' deliberations, and he was entitled to strike the jurors on that ground alone. See, Green, 94-0887 at 29-30, 655 So.2d at 290-291. The trial court, able to see and hear these prospective jurors during voir dire, obviously felt the State had a reasonable basis for making this call. We find the record, although scant, supports that determination. Defendant points to no other prospective white juror with connections comparable to those of Butler who was accepted by the State. [12] In addition, Burke's responses on voir dire support the State's perception that he would be more compassionate to defendants and more inclined to impose a life sentence. [13] In conclusion, we find defendant has pointed to no evidence in the record rebutting the determination of the trial court that the State's expressed reasons for exclusion of prospective jurors Bolden, Butler, and Burke were non-pretextual and legitimate grounds for exercise of the challenges against the three African-Americans. Moreover, the record in this case is devoid of evidence supporting defendant's accusation that the State pursued a strategy of excluding African-Americans in violation of Batson. In fact, three African-Americans ultimately served on the jury that unanimously convicted defendant of first-degree murder and sentenced him to death. Although the mere presence of African-American jurors does not necessarily defeat a Batson claim, the unanimity requirement of a capital case sentencing recommendation may be considered as a factor in determining whether a prima facie case of discrimination was established. State v. Manning, 03-1982, p. 41 (La.10/19/04), 885 So.2d 1044, 1084, cert. denied, ___ U.S. ___, 125 S.Ct. 1745, 161 L.Ed.2d 612 (2005); State v. Duncan, 99-2615, p. 27 (La.10/16/01), 802 So.2d 533, 552-553; State v. Tart, 93-0772 p. 18 (La.2/9/96), 672 So.2d 116, 141. Here, the fact that the State accepted three African-Americans who eventually served on the jury provides added support for the trial court's conclusion that race was not the motivating factor behind the State's peremptory challenges. Defendant's assignments of error Numbers 15, 16, and 17 lack merit.