Court Opinion

ID: 9488822
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-05 12:56:22.269297+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:53:07.189514
License: Public Domain

MORRIS SHEPPARD ARNOLD, Circuit Judge,
dissenting,
joined by McMILLIAN, Circuit Judge.
I would grant rehearing en banc for the reasons indicated in Judge Heaney’s panel opinion in this case. More particularly, I believe that United States v. Garcia, 991 F.2d 489 (8th Cir.1993) incorrectly concluded that statistics like the ones produced in this case do not tend to establish that the representation of blacks in Iowa federal court venires is not fair and reasonable. Were it not for this prior holding, I would have at the very least remanded to the district court for further proceedings, because I think that the defendant has made out a prima facie case that his Sixth Amendment right was violated.
The government has never advanced a reason for using voter registration lists as a basis for venires, even though black citizens are seriously underrepresented on such lists. It probably does not matter much, if at all, why this underrepresentation occurs, but it might well be because black citizens are generally skeptical of the political system. I cannot at the present time conceive of any justification for visiting the result of this alienation on this defendant.
I therefore respectfully dissent from the denial of the petition for rehearing.