Opinion ID: 2559519
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Batson and Swain

Text: Appellant's next issue is premised on Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 79, 106 S.Ct. 1712, 90 L.Ed.2d 69 (1986) [9] and Swain v. Alabama, 380 U.S. 202, 223, 85 S.Ct. 824, 13 L.Ed.2d 759 (1965). Although Appellant has presented a global  Batson  challenge as one issue, we have identified five discrete claims within this issue, which we discuss below. With respect to each of these five claims, Appellant relies on the same evidence regarding the prosecutor's use of peremptory challenges and the racial composition of the jury. Specifically, central to Appellant's contentions is his evidentiary proffer as follows, which was gathered from the voir dire record and an affidavit from an attorney who viewed trial counsel's contemporaneous written observations that purportedly indicate the races of the venirepersons: during jury selection, 35 African Americans and 64 Caucasians were questioned; of these, 47 were excused for cause, hardship, or by agreement, leaving 52 available for peremptory strikes or selection16 African Americans and 36 Caucasians; of these, trial counsel struck 8 Caucasians, leaving 16 African Americans and 28 Caucasians for the prosecutor to strike or accept; the prosecutor used 17 peremptory strikes against 14 African Americans and 3 Caucasians, striking 88% of African Americans and 11% of Caucasians, while accepting 13% of African Americans and 89% of Caucasians; and the final jury, including alternates, constituted 2 African Americans and 13 Caucasians. The Commonwealth has stipulated that 12 jurors stricken by the prosecutor were African-American, 3 were Caucasian, and that trial counsel's notes indicate that 2 other stricken jurors were African American. Additionally, as further relevant circumstances supporting a prima facie showing of discrimination, Appellant describes a culture of discrimination in the Office of the Philadelphia District Attorney as demonstrated by the following: an assertion by a former Philadelphia assistant district attorney that it was the general practice of prosecutors in that office to strike African American jurors; Philadelphia homicide prosecutions in other cases; a study conducted by Professor David Baldus regarding racially discriminatory jury selection in Philadelphia; [10] a 2003 report by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court Committee on Racial and Gender Bias in the Justice System; and a 1987 videotape of a lecture given by Philadelphia Prosecutor Jack McMahon advocating discrimination in jury selection. Before addressing Appellant's five specific claims, a brief review of four controlling cases will help place them in context. First, the United States Supreme Court in Swain required a defendant alleging race discrimination in jury selection to show that the prosecution engaged in a systematic pattern of exclusion, based on race, over a series of cases. 380 U.S. at 227, 85 S.Ct. 824. Next, Batson expressly overruled Swain in this respect by establishing a three-part burden-shifting approach which allows a defendant to show purposeful discrimination in his own case. 476 U.S. at 95, 106 S.Ct. 1712. Pursuant to Batson, the defendant must make a prima facie showing of discrimination in jury selection, which shifts the burden to the prosecutor to articulate a race-neutral explanation for striking the jurors in question, and the trial court resolves whether the defendant has carried his burden of proving purposeful discrimination. Batson, 476 U.S. at 96-98, 106 S.Ct. 1712. Third, in Commonwealth v. Uderra, 580 Pa. 492, 862 A.2d 74, 86 (2004), we held that in cases on collateral review like the one before us, where no Batson challenge was raised during voir dire and the only viable claim is one of counsel ineffectiveness for failing to raise a Batson objection during voir dire, the post-conviction petitioner may not rely on Batson's burden-shifting formula, but instead bears the burden in the first instance and throughout of establishing actual, purposeful discrimination by a preponderance of the evidence. Next, in Commonwealth v. Sneed, 587 Pa. 318, 899 A.2d 1067, 1076-77 (2006), where voir dire occurred before Batson, we rejected the claim that appellate counsel was ineffective for failing to attempt to raise a Batson claim on direct appeal under this Court's then-existing relaxed waiver doctrine, because there was no guarantee that we would have analyzed this issue under relaxed waiver, and, moreover, because the lack of a supporting record constructed during voir dire would have rendered the appellate claim unsuccessful. With this context in mind, we now turn to our discussion of Appellant's five claims.
First, although Batson was decided after Appellant's trial, Appellant claims he has established a prima facie showing of purposeful discrimination during voir dire as required by Batson. Appellant explains that the prosecutor's strikes were exercised disproportionately against African Americans, members of his race. See Powers v. Ohio, 499 U.S. 400, 416, 111 S.Ct. 1364, 113 L.Ed.2d 411 (1991). Appellant further asserts that the prosecutor's voir dire questioning was perfunctory, and the prosecutor struck certain African Americans with characteristics that would ordinarily be favored by the Commonwealth, making it more likely that the strikes were based on stereotypical assumptions. Finally, Appellant relies on the evidence described above as demonstrating a culture of discrimination in the prosecutor's office. The Commonwealth responds that Appellant's claim that the prosecutor violated Batson is waived because counsel did not object to the prosecutor's use of peremptory strikes during voir dire. The PCRA court rejected Appellant's claim, holding that Appellant was not entitled to retroactive application of Batson. Having identified the respective arguments, we turn to our review of the law relevant to this claim. As noted above, prior to the decision in Batson, to establish a violation of equal protection in the jury selection process, a defendant was required to establish a pattern or practice of purposeful discrimination on the part of the prosecution occurring across multiple cases. Swain; Basemore, 744 A.2d at 728. In Batson, however, the U.S. Supreme Court held that such a requirement was overly burdensome, unworkable, and had the effect of immunizing prosecutors from constitutional scrutiny. Batson, 476 U.S. at 92-93, 106 S.Ct. 1712. The Court held that the Equal Protection Clause prohibits a prosecutor from challenging potential jurors on the basis of race in any case, and established a burden-shifting framework for analyzing claims of discrimination in jury selection. See Commonwealth v. Cook, 597 Pa. 572, 952 A.2d 594, 602-03 (2008) (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.); see also Sneed, 899 A.2d at 1075; Uderra, 862 A.2d at 83. This burden-shifting paradigm at the trial court level enables the trial court to issue findings of fact and credibility determinations, which will be accorded great deference on appeal. Miller-El v. Cockrell, 537 U.S. 322, 340, 123 S.Ct. 1029, 154 L.Ed.2d 931 (2003) (explaining the role of the trial court in addressing a defendant's Batson claim at trial); Cook, 952 A.2d at 603; Sneed, 899 A.2d at 1076 (noting that  Batson contemplated a central role for the trial judge ... in assessing the credibility of the neutral reasons for peremptory strikes proffered by the lawyer who exercised them.). Turning to the facts of this case, and addressing Appellant's argument that the prosecutor's peremptory strikes were exercised disproportionately against African Americans in violation of Batson, we observe the timing of Batson in relation to Appellant's trial: Appellant was convicted on February 6, 1985; Batson was decided on April 30, 1986, fourteen months after trial and one week before counsel filed the last of several post-trial motions. The U.S. Supreme Court has held that Batson can be applied retroactively to matters pending on direct appeal at the time the case was decided. Griffith v. Kentucky, 479 U.S. 314, 328, 107 S.Ct. 708, 93 L.Ed.2d 649 (1987); Commonwealth v. Freeman, 573 Pa. 532, 827 A.2d 385, 395 (2003); see also Abu-Jamal, 555 A.2d at 849. However, it is well-settled that in order for a new law to apply retroactively to a case pending on direct appeal, the issue had to be preserved in the trial court and at all subsequent stages of the adjudication up to and including the direct appeal. Freeman, 827 A.2d at 395; see also Commonwealth v. Marshall, 596 Pa. 587, 947 A.2d 714 (2008); Commonwealth v. Tilley, 566 Pa. 312, 780 A.2d 649, 652 (2001); Abu-Jamal, 555 A.2d at 849; Commonwealth v. Cabeza, 503 Pa. 228, 469 A.2d 146, 148 (1983); Commonwealth v. Hernandez, 498 Pa. 405, 446 A.2d 1268 (1982). To be entitled to the retroactive benefit of Batson, Appellant had to challenge the Commonwealth's use of peremptory challenges both at trial and on direct appeal. See Sneed, 899 A.2d at 1075. As he acknowledges, he did not do so. Appellant, therefore, is not entitled to the benefit of Batson in his quest to prove that the Commonwealth violated the Equal Protection Clause during voir dire. Commonwealth v. Jones, 597 Pa. 286, 951 A.2d 294, 303 (2008) (where Batson was decided during the pendency of a direct appeal, and no challenge to the Commonwealth's use of peremptory challenges was made during trial or on direct appeal, a PCRA petitioner is not entitled to the benefit of Batson ); Marshall, 947 A.2d at 719 (where Appellant did not preserve a Batson claim at trial, he is not entitled to retroactive application of Batson ); Sneed, 899 A.2d at 1075 (Appellee would not be entitled to retroactive application of the Batson decision if this were a direct appeal, and he certainly is not entitled to its retroactive benefit on a collateral attack under the PCRA.); see also Abu-Jamal, 555 A.2d at 849 (in a pre- Batson case, finding waiver of challenge to prosecutor's use of peremptory challenges for failing to raise it before the trial court); Commonwealth v. Clair, 458 Pa. 418, 326 A.2d 272 (1974) (holding that allegations of error must be preserved). Accordingly, because Appellant did not object during voir dire, he did not preserve a challenge to the Commonwealth's use of peremptory strikes. Because he did not preserve his challenge, he is not entitled to the retroactive application of Batson, and cannot succeed on this claim.
What is cognizable and not waived under the PCRA are Appellant's derivative claims of counsel ineffectiveness for failing to challenge the prosecutor's use of peremptory challenges based on Batson in post-trial motions and on direct appeal. It is to these arguments that we turn, and which, for the reasons identified below, we discuss together. Appellant argues that because Batson was decided a week before trial counsel filed the last of several supplemental post-trial motions, trial counsel was ineffective for not challenging the prosecutor's use of peremptory strikes as violating Batson. Appellant argues that reasonable trial counsel would have raised Batson in post-trial motions notwithstanding the absence of an objection to the prosecutor's peremptory strikes during voir dire. Additionally, Appellant argues that counsel was ineffective for failing to raise a Batson claim on direct appeal. According to Appellant, under this Court's relaxed waiver rules, we would have addressed the Batson claim on direct appeal notwithstanding trial counsel's failure to challenge the prosecutor's jury selection during voir dire. See, e.g., Commonwealth v. Abu-Jamal, 521 Pa. 188, 555 A.2d 846, 850 (1989). Appellant supports both of these assertions with the same evidence discussed above, regarding the prosecutor's use of peremptory challenges, the racial composition of the jury, and an alleged culture of discrimination. Responding to these arguments of counsel ineffectiveness, the Commonwealth argues that where a claim of racial discrimination was not preserved at trial, a defendant may not simply make a prima-facie showing of discrimination in accord with Batson's burden-shifting approach, but must prove actual, purposeful discrimination by a preponderance of the evidence in accord with Uderra, 862 A.2d 74. The Commonwealth argues that Appellant has not recognized his burden under the PCRA pursuant to Uderra, or attempted to meet it. The PCRA court did not consider Appellant's claims of post-trial or appellate ineffective assistance of counsel in this regard. Appellant has not developed these two assertions of trial counsel ineffectiveness separately, and we see no need to discuss them discretely. Whether a waived Batson claim is raised post-trial or on direct appeal, it presents the same difficulties. Both instances of alleged ineffectiveness occurred long after the conclusion of voir dire. Batson contemplated a central role for the trial judge in assessing whether the defendant had established a prima facie case of purposeful discrimination, and, if so, in assessing the credibility of the raceneutral reasons offered by the prosecutor. See Sneed, 899 A.2d at 1076. Therefore, a Batson claim must be raised during voir dire. When Batson is not raised during voir dire, and the argument is that counsel was ineffective for not raising the argument for the first time in post-trial motions or on appeal, a PCRA petitioner must overcome the hurdles associated with the absence of a trial court record. See Ford v. Georgia, 498 U.S. 411, 111 S.Ct. 850, 112 L.Ed.2d 935 (1991) (stating in dictum that [t]he requirement that any Batson claim be raised not only before trial, but in the period between the selection of the jurors and the administration of their oaths, is a sensible rule.). Therefore, we consider together these two contentions of ineffectiveness. Because trial counsel did not object to the prosecutor's use of peremptory challenges during voir dire, Appellant is arguing counsel ineffectiveness for failing to raise an unpreserved claim. Appellant claims that his evidentiary proffer establishes a prima facie case of discrimination in accord with Batson and proves that counsel was ineffective for failing to raise what would have been a meritorious Batson argument post-trial and on appeal. We have held, however, that in order to succeed on an unpreserved claim of racial discrimination in jury selection in the context of a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel, a post-conviction petitioner may not rely on the burden-shifting paradigm established by Batson. Rather, he must prove by a preponderance of the evidence, in the first instance and throughout, actual, purposeful discrimination by the prosecutor, in addition to all other requirements essential to overcome waiver of the underlying claim. Uderra, 862 A.2d at 87; see also Commonwealth v. Williams, 581 Pa. 57, 863 A.2d 505, 514-15 (2004). Placing this high burden on a post-conviction petitioner comports with the heightened criteria for obtaining post-conviction relief. Uderra, 862 A.2d at 86. Contrary to his obligation under Uderra, Appellant presents his argument in terms of Batson's burden-shifting approach. See Commonwealth v. Ligons, 601 Pa. 103, 971 A.2d 1125, 1142 (2009) (explaining that a post-conviction petitioner is not entitled to rely on Batson's burden shifting approach, but instead bears the burden in the first instance and throughout of establishing actual, purposeful discrimination by a preponderance of the evidence). Additionally, Appellant has not acknowledged the difficulties we discussed in Sneed. In Sneed, as here, Batson was decided after trial during the pendency of the appeal. On collateral review, the PCRA court granted relief on Sneed's claim that the prosecutor at his 1985 trial used his peremptory challenges in a racially discriminatory manner in violation of Batson. [11] We reversed the PCRA court, holding that the only cognizable claim was that of counsel ineffectiveness for failing to raise a Batson challenge on direct appeal. We observed that because there had been no objection to the use of peremptory challenges at trial, the claim was one of counsel ineffectiveness for failing to raise a waived claim on appeal by invoking direct capital review relaxed waiver. Id. at 1076. We held, however, that in faulting counsel for failing to do so, Sneed ignores that this [C]ourt's relaxed waiver doctrine was discretionary, and thus, there was no guarantee that we would have analyzed this issue under the relaxed waiver doctrine. Id. at 1076 (citing Commonwealth v. Duffey, 585 Pa. 493, 889 A.2d 56, 64 (2005)). Additionally, this Court in Sneed reasoned that belatedly faulting counsel for failing to seek the benefit of the new Batson rule on direct appeal overlooks the practical hurdles that would have derailed such an endeavor, id. at 1076; specifically, the lack of findings by the trial court. In Sneed, we thus rejected the argument that counsel was ineffective for failing to raise a claim on appeal premised on Batson when there was no record upon which to construct such a claim. Id. (The fact-intensive nature of a Batson claim, thus, negates the notion that one could successfully argue such a claim for the first time on appeal, with no supporting record, and have any reasonable prospect of success). Because Appellant did not object to the prosecutor's use of peremptory challenges during voir dire, his claims of post-trial or appellate counsel ineffectiveness are, likewise, premised on counsel's failure to raise a waived claim. Although counsel could have invoked direct capital review relaxed waiver, as we observed in Sneed, this doctrine was discretionary and did not guarantee that we would have analyzed the waived Batson claim. Sneed, 899 A.2d at 1076; Freeman, 827 A.2d at 400 n. 9 (The relaxed waiver practice ... was not absolute, but discretionary.). Moreover, as in Sneed, counsel would have had to overcome the lack of a trial record upon which to evaluate the claim of racial discrimination in jury selection. The only evidence Appellant has offered regarding the races of the venirepersons is an affidavit from an attorney who spoke to trial counsel and reviewed the notes trial counsel purportedly made during voir dire, in which counsel noted the race and gender of every potential juror, and the Commonwealth stipulation that 12 jurors stricken by the prosecutor were African-American, 3 were Caucasian, and trial counsel's notes indicate that 2 other stricken jurors were African American. [12] Appellant additionally asserts his belief that several African American venirepersons exhibited characteristics that should have been appealing to the Commonwealth, suggesting that the only reason they were stricken was their race. Appellant also adverts to an alleged culture of discrimination in the prosecutor's office. This evidence and Appellant's assertions do not rectify the absence of a full and complete trial record for appellate review.  Batson contemplated a central role for the trial judge both in assessing whether a prima facie case was made out, and if so, in assessing the credibility of the neutral reasons for peremptory strikes proffered by the lawyer who exercised them. Sneed, 899 A.2d at 1076. In this case, as in Sneed, counsel had no such record or findings to rely upon. Therefore, the fact-intensive nature of a Batson claim ... negates the notion that one could successfully argue such a claim for the first time on appeal, with no supporting record, and have any reasonable prospect of success. Id. at 1076-77. Additionally, we have repeatedly rejected the evidence Appellant offers as supporting a claim of discrimination by the prosecutor. Specifically, we have held that the McMahon tape itself does not suffice to establish a pattern or practice of discrimination on the part of the Philadelphia District Attorney's office. Ligons, 971 A.2d at 1145-46; Jones, 951 A.2d at 305; Washington, 927 A.2d at 610; Commonwealth v. Rollins, 558 Pa. 532, 738 A.2d 435, 443 (1999) (holding that the McMahon tape did not demonstrate that there was discrimination in the petitioner's case). We have similarly rejected speculative arguments based on the Baldus study. See Washington, 927 A.2d at 610; Williams, 863 A.2d at 523; Commonwealth v. Morris, 573 Pa. 157, 822 A.2d 684, 698 (2003). Finally, Appellant's claims of a culture of discrimination and reference to other cases in which Pennsylvania courts have found discriminatory use of peremptory challenges by the prosecutor are too speculative and attenuated to demonstrate actual, purposeful discrimination in Appellant's trial. See Ligons, 971 A.2d at 1145. Thus, in accord with Sneed, Appellant's attempt to raise his waived Batson claim via a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel either post-trial or on appeal fails.
Next, Appellant argues that the Commonwealth committed an equal protection violation pursuant to Swain v. Alabama, 380 U.S. 202, 223, 85 S.Ct. 824, 13 L.Ed.2d 759 (1965), because the prosecutor, in case after case, whatever the circumstances, whatever the crime and whoever the defendant or the victim may be, is responsible for the removal of Negros who were otherwise qualified to serve as jurors. Although Appellant acknowledges the heavy evidentiary burden imposed by Swain, he argues that his evidentiary proffer entitles him to a hearing. The Commonwealth responds that there was no evidence that the prosecutor violated Swain. The PCRA court did not address this claim. Because Appellant made no attempt to object to the prosecutor's peremptory challenges under the then-prevailing rules of Swain, this claim is waived. 42 Pa.C.S. § 9544(b).
Finally, Appellant argues that trial counsel observed the prosecutor striking African American potential jurors on account of race, and ineffectively failed to object premised on Swain. The Commonwealth argues that there were no grounds for a Swain objection. The PCRA court, once again, did not address this claim. This claim fails for two reasons. First, Swain imposed a very high burden on defendants, who were required to establish a pattern or practice of purposeful discrimination on the part of the prosecution occurring across multiple cases to be successful in any peculiar case. In fact, Batson overturned Swain because of this high burden, which the High Court described as being overly burdensome, unworkable, and having the effect of immunizing prosecutors from constitutional scrutiny. Batson, 476 U.S. at 92-93, 106 S.Ct. 1712. Where Swain violations have been found, they are usually premised on admissions by the prosecuting attorney. Id.; see also Jackson v. Herring, 42 F.3d 1350, 1357 (11th Cir.1995) (finding a Swain violation, inter alia, on the basis of testimony from the former prosecuting attorney himself ... that there was widespread and systematic misuse of peremptories by the Tuscaloosa D.A.'s office, although dismissing the claim based upon state procedural default analysis); State v. Washington, 375 So.2d 1162, 1164 (La.1979) (finding Swain violation on the basis of, inter alia, evidence that the prosecutor himself admits that, solely on the basis of race and without examination as to the individual's particular qualifications or predilections, he consistently excuses black veniremen through the use of his peremptory challenges when the defendant himself is black.). Appellant has not offered any such admission by the prosecutor, and has not provided any information about the prosecutor's use of peremptory challenges in other cases. Although he has made assertions about other prosecutors from the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office at about the time this case was heard, such assertions are too speculative and attenuated to prove that the prosecutor in his trial engaged in a pattern or practice of purposeful discrimination occurring across multiple cases. Appellant, therefore, has not pled sufficient facts to prove there is arguable merit to this claim of counsel ineffectiveness. See Pierce, 527 A.2d at 975. Perhaps Appellant believes that if counsel had objected to the prosecutor's use of peremptory challenges premised on Swain, then counsel would have preserved for appeal a claim that the prosecutor violated Batson. To the extent Appellant believes a Swain objection would have preserved for appeal a Batson claim of discrimination in jury selection, however, he is mistaken. We have expressly refused to equate the standards of Swain and Batson, and have held that a Swain objection would not have preserved a Batson claim for appellate review. See Commonwealth v. Griffin, 537 Pa. 447, 644 A.2d 1167, 1172 (1994) (where the defendant was convicted before Batson and raised a PCRA claim of counsel ineffectiveness for failing to object to the prosecutor's use of peremptory strikes premised on Swain, we said that the defendant was essentially asking the court to equate the Batson standard with the earlier standard of Swain, which we would not do because of the different burdens of proof between the two standards).