Opinion ID: 2325769
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Batson Claim of Racial Discrimination in Jury Selection

Text: In Appellant's first issue, he contends that trial and direct appeal counsel were ineffective for failing to raise the claim that the Commonwealth had used its peremptory strikes in a discriminatory manner, in violation of Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 79, 106 S.Ct. 1712, 90 L.Ed.2d 69 (1986). See Appellant's Brief at 13. To support this contention, Appellant proffers the following: (1) the prosecutor struck African-American venirepersons at approximately twice the rate of non-African-American venirepersons; and (2) a policy of racial discrimination in jury selection within the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office was allegedly suggested by the existence of two particular training lectures, delivered by then-Assistant District Attorneys Jack McMahon and Bruce Sagel. In Batson, supra at 89, 106 S.Ct. 1712, the United States Supreme Court held that the Equal Protection Clause forbids a prosecutor to challenge potential jurors solely on account of their race. Accordingly, the United States Supreme Court permitted an individual defendant to show that he was denied equal protection by the prosecutor's improper exercise of peremptory challenges in a racially discriminatory manner in his individual case. Commonwealth v. Daniels, 600 Pa. 1, 963 A.2d 409, 434 (2009). We have previously explained the framework for analyzing a Batson claim as follows: First, the defendant must make a prima facie showing that the circumstances give rise to an inference that the prosecutor struck one or more prospective jurors on account of race; second, if the prima facie showing is made, the burden shifts to the prosecutor to articulate a race-neutral explanation for striking the juror(s) at issue; and third, the trial court must then make the ultimate determination of whether the defense has carried its burden of proving purposeful discrimination. Batson, 476 U.S. at 97, 106 S.Ct. 1712. Commonwealth v. Cook, 597 Pa. 572, 952 A.2d 594, 602 (2008) (quoting Commonwealth v. Harris, 572 Pa. 489, 817 A.2d 1033, 1042 (2002)). However, when, as here, defense counsel did not raise or preserve any claim of racial discrimination in jury selection with a contemporaneous Batson objection at trial, we have repeatedly held that the Batson framework does not apply. See, e.g., Commonwealth v. Ligons, 601 Pa. 103, 971 A.2d 1125, 1142 (2009); [4] Daniels, supra at 434 (citing Commonwealth v. Uderra, 580 Pa. 492, 862 A.2d 74, 87 (2004)). Rather, when a claim of racial discrimination in jury selection has not been preserved, a post-conviction petitioner bears the burden in the first instance and throughout of establishing actual, purposeful discrimination by a preponderance of the evidence. Ligons, supra at 1142. In the instant case, Appellant contends that he has established a pattern of racial discrimination in jury selection based on the disparity in the percentages of African-American versus white venirepersons that the prosecutor struck by peremptory challenges. He alleges that Assistant District Attorney William Fisher, who prosecuted his case, struck 10 out of 16 African-American venirepersons (62.5%), but struck only 8 out of 25 non-African-American venirepersons (32.0%), yielding a jury composed of 3 African-Americans, 8 white persons, and 1 person of unknown race. See Appellant's Brief at 14-15 & n. 7. In denying Appellant's claim, the PCRA court pointed out that 53 persons were eligible to be struck by either the Commonwealth or the defense; of this total, 20 were African-American and 33 were non-African-American. The Commonwealth used 18 of its available 20 peremptory strikes, 10 against African-Americans and 8 against non-African-Americans. The defense used 21 strikes, 8 against African-Americans and 13 against non-African-Americans. Of the 8 African-Americans struck by the defense, the Commonwealth had accepted 4 of them before they were struck by the defense. PCRA Court Opinion, dated 10/25/06, at 3. The PCRA court determined that the voir dire record as a whole refuted on its face Appellant's claim of discrimination in jury selection. Id. We see no abuse of discretion with regard to the PCRA court's determination, and repeat our conclusion in Ligons, supra at 1144: While it is clear that the prosecutor peremptorily struck more African Americans than Caucasians, this fact, in and of itself, is insufficient to demonstrate purposeful discrimination when considering the totality of the circumstances. The additional allegations that Appellant proffers, even when taken together with the argument based on peremptory strikes discussed above, likewise do not demonstrate purposeful discrimination. Appellant contends that, in seven other capital cases tried before juries between 1991 and 1997, Mr. Fisher likewise struck a higher percentage of African-American venirepersons than non-African-Americans. Appellant proffers similar statistics for the District Attorney's Office as a whole. [5] We have previously held that such statistical analyses, taken individually or collectively, do not satisfy a petitioner's burden to establish actual, purposeful discrimination in his or her own case. Ligons, supra at 1145. The only other evidence that Appellant proffers to support his Batson claim is the existence of the McMahon and Sagel training lectures. Appellant references specifically a videotape of the McMahon lecture and handwritten notes by then-A.D.A. Gavin Lentz from the Sagel lecture. On numerous occasions, we have condemned in the strongest possible terms the tactics and practices expounded in the McMahon lecture as violative of basic constitutional principles. See, e.g., Commonwealth v. Marshall, 596 Pa. 587, 947 A.2d 714, 722 (2008); Commonwealth v. Basemore, 560 Pa. 258, 744 A.2d 717, 731 n. 12 (2000). We do so again here. However, we have also made clear that the mere existence of the McMahon and Sagel lectures establishes neither a general policy in the District Attorney's Office of racial discrimination in jury selection, nor the presence of racial discrimination in jury selection in an individual case when a prosecutor other than McMahon or Sagel represented the Commonwealth. See Ligons, supra at 1145-46 (rejecting the appellant's Batson claim of a culture of discrimination based on the McMahon lecture videotape and Sagel lecture notes because there was no connection to the appellant's individual case); Clark, 961 A.2d at 96 (rejecting a Batson claim that was based on the McMahon lecture videotape and Sagel lecture notes and emphasizing that the evidence offered in a Batson claim must be grounded in the particular facts of the appellant's case); Marshall, supra at 722 & n. 7 (rejecting the appellant's Batson claim based on the McMahon lecture videotape and Sagel lecture notes because neither McMahon nor Sagel was involved in the appellant's prosecution); Commonwealth v. Bond, 572 Pa. 588, 819 A.2d 33, 48-49 (2002) (rejecting a Batson claim because Mr. McMahon had not prosecuted the case, and the appellant offered only speculation that the McMahon training lecture had, in any way, affected the assistant district attorney who did try his case years later); Commonwealth v. Lark, 560 Pa. 487, 746 A.2d 585, 589 (2000) (rejecting the suggestion that Mr. McMahon's statements in the training lecture governed the conduct of a different prosecutor merely based on the fact that both attorneys worked in the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office). In Appellant's case, the prosecutor was William Fisher, and Appellant has not alleged any connection between Mr. Fisher and either Mr. McMahon or Mr. Sagel or their lectures. Furthermore, the two lectures were delivered, respectively, twelve and nine years before Appellant's trial. [6] In sum, we conclude that the denial of Appellant's Batson claim by the PCRA court is supported by the record and is legally sound. Appellant's proffered evidence does not establish actual, purposeful discrimination in jury selection. Appellant has cited no occurrence at trial, no words of the prosecutor or defense counsel or trial judge, and no action by the court that could lead to an inference of racial discrimination in jury selection. Because Appellant's Batson claim is meritless, he is unable to prove a claim of trial counsel ineffectiveness for failing to raise a Batson objection at trial, and hence his derivative claim of appellate counsel ineffectiveness also must fail.