Opinion ID: 602879
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Ruling of the District Court on the Motion for Reconsideration

Text: 6 In denying the motion for reconsideration, the district court rejected Officer Waite's argument that Mr. Soler could not object to the peremptory strike because Mr. Soler is himself not African-American. Id. at 254 (citing Powers v. Ohio, --- U.S. ----, ----, 111 S.Ct. 1364, 1373, 113 L.Ed.2d 411 (1991)). The court noted that the record revealed that Officer Waite came forward with a nondiscriminatory reason for the challenge even before Mr. Soler could make out a prima facie case of discrimination. See Batson, 476 U.S. at 96-97, 106 S.Ct. at 1723. Officer Waite maintained that he chose to strike Mrs. Motton from the venire because she was a cardiology technologist and Mr. Soler had alleged that he had suffered pain during the arrest because of recent open heart surgery. The court believed that the reason offered by Officer Waite does not reflect an intent to exclude blacks from the jury. His explanation is related to facts of this specific case and not some class-based characteristic or group affiliation. Soler, 771 F.Supp. at 254. 4 The court said that, although Mr. Soler had the burden of proof on the issue, he had presented no evidence that Officer Waite's explanation was pretextual. The court therefore rejected the argument that discrimination had been demonstrated by the fact that the challenge resulted in an all-white jury. Id. at 254-55. 7 As for the matter of costs, the court reiterated that, as the prevailing party under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 54(d), Officer Waite was entitled to all allowable cost items that are reasonable and necessary. Id. at 255. The court rejected Mr. Soler's contention that transcript fees exceeded the regular rate (he did not offer the court a reasonable basis for recalculation) and that some of the depositions were unnecessary because they were not used at trial. Relying on Illinois v. Sangamo Constr. Co., 657 F.2d 855, 867 (7th Cir.1981), the court asserted that depositions could be reasonable expenses even if they were not used at trial. 5 In short, the district court saw no reason to alter its earlier determination that Officer Waite was entitled to costs in the amount of $3,082.46. II