Opinion ID: 1822334
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: arguments about race-neutral justifications for peremptory strikes

Text: ¶ 59. Given the long history of racial discrimination in jury selection, Lamon asks this court to reverse the decision of the court of appeals, and remand the case for a new trial. [8] ¶ 60. With regard to step three of the Batson test, Lamon maintains the prosecutor, without asking Bell individual voir dire questions, illustrated evidence of modern-day jury selection discrimination. Lamon argues that peremptory challenges cannot be based solely on race, yet Bell was the only African-American in the venire. Lamon argues, inter alia, that it is the circuit court's guidance in making the decision to uphold the peremptory strike, rather than the sufficiency of the reasons given by Bollendorf, that must be examined. Lamon asserts that the totality of the circumstance test plus other factors established in Walker should be used during step three of the Batson test because the judge must weigh the totality of the circumstances. (Pet'r Br. at 10) (citing Walker, 154 Wis. 2d at 174-175). In support of this argument, Lamon argues that courts in other jurisdictions have held that the failure to voir dire a stricken juror is a factor in showing discriminatory intent. ¶ 61. Lamon argues that the State's refusal to conduct individual voir dire of Bell raises the inference that the State knew its race-neutral reasons for the strike would not be supported by the facts. In addition, Lamon maintains that the State's evidence in Exhibit 1, a list of police contacts at Bell's address, was not sufficient to support any proffered race-neutral claims. To the contrary, Lamon claims that the list does not conclusively prove that any arrests or convictions occurred at Bell's address. One contact with someone named Bell was civil in nature and the other ended in a withdrawn complaint. Additionally, Lamon claims that the evidence does not sufficiently prove whether prospective juror Bell lived at that address at the time of any of the listed occurrences. Finally, Lamon contends that Bell is a common name and should not necessitate an assumption of crime association. ¶ 62. Lamon maintains prospective juror Bell did not fail to disclose anything during the general voir dire. The State never specifically asked the venire whether any of them had contact with police, yet the State claimed one of the reasons for striking Bell was that he did not respond to questions about having contact with law enforcement officers. ¶ 63. Lamon further contends that the State prejudged Bell when the State claimed that Bell might not have been forthright if asked follow-up questions. The failure to ask follow-up questions, according to Lamon, is demonstrative evidence of the prosecutor's discriminatory intent. ¶ 64. Next, Lamon argues that both the Gregory holding and the findings in the post-conviction motion are contradictory and should be ignored. Gregory, 244 Wis. 2d 65. Lamon contends that Gregory states that the decision in a Batson ruling must be made before the jury is sworn; thus, the State should not be able to rely on the findings of the post-conviction motion. Id., ¶ 14. As such, Lamon argues that reliance on Judge Daniel T. Dillon's post-conviction findings would overrule Gregory. Alternatively, Lamon argues that Gregory is not applicable to this case because the juror who was struck in Gregory was questioned individually. [9] ¶ 65. Beyond the refusal to individually voir dire Bell, Lamon argues that the State's use of certain terms and phrases was discrimination in disguise. For example, Lamon contends that high crime area was code for black neighborhood, and varied employment was code for unemployed person. [10] ¶ 66. Moreover, Lamon contends the State's claim that individual questions for Bell would have singled him out does not qualify as a race-neutral reason. Lamon notes that the prosecutor singled out white jurors for individual voir dire; therefore, asking Bell questions would not have isolated him. ¶ 67. Finally, given the above arguments, Lamon argues a new trial is warranted because the commission of a Batson error is not harmless error. Lamon cites a Second Circuit decision, Tankleff, where the court held a Batson error is a structural error, which is not subject to harmless error review. Tankleff v. Senkowski, 135 F.3d 235, 248 (2d Cir. 1998). ¶ 68. The State disagrees and asserts that even though the law has expanded to protect against discrimination since Batson, the right to exercise peremptory challenges is still protected. Additionally, the State asserts that evidence of a potentially discriminatory or disparate impact is not sufficient to establish a Batson violation. To the contrary, discriminatory intent must be proven, and according to Purkett v. Elem, 514 U.S. 765, 769, 775 (1995), almost any legitimate explanation given for a strike could satisfy the second step of Batson. ¶ 69. The State maintains that Bollendorf gave several race-neutral reasons for using her peremptory strike. Those reasons were based on information obtained before voir dire, and on Bollendorf's observations of Bell during voir dire. The reasons given by Bollendorf for her peremptory strike of Bell included: (1) that her office and the federal prosecutor have prosecuted a number of Bells who live in Beloit through the years, and it is a well-known criminal name in Beloit; (2) that Bell's address is in a high crime area in Beloit, and that the State obtained police reports evidencing police contacts at that address; [11] (3) that Bell's juror card listed his employment as varies, which goes to his responsibility as a juror; and (4) that Exhibit 1, containing the police contacts at Bell's address, spoke for itself. The State further argued that a lack of response from Bell during the initial voir dire indicated that he may not respond forthrightly with further questioning, and the State didn't want to appear to single him out. ¶ 70. As stated earlier, the third step of Batson is the relevant inquiry in this case. [12] In examining that step, Purkett held that the burden of persuasion showing a racially motivated strike rests with the opponent of the strike. Purkett, 514 U.S. at 767. The State argues, using the totality of the circumstances test, that Lamon did not carry the burden of proving discriminatory intent. The application and outcome of the totality of the circumstances test is determined on a case-by-case basis. The State maintains that the individual reasons given by the prosecutor should be viewed in combination with one another. ¶ 71. In addition, the State argues that Lamon overstates the holding in Walker with respect to the totality of the circumstances test. Possible factors that may raise an inference of discrimination could contradict each other. For example, failure to examine a juror or singling a juror out could each be argued to weigh against race neutrality, so it is important to examine the other circumstances surrounding the strike. [15] ¶ 72. Finally, the State relies on the holding in Davidson, which held that individual follow-up questions are not required in order to strike a potential juror. Davidson, 166 Wis. 2d 35. Accordingly, the statement that the prosecutor believed Bell would not be forthright was based on research combined with Bell's unresponsiveness to general voir dire questions. Hunches are permissible when there is no discriminatory intent, and discriminatory intent must be proven by the opponent of the strike.