Court Opinion

ID: 9531703
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-07 04:14:03.364763+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T13:28:34.178954
License: Public Domain

BIRD, C. J.
Justices of our Courts of Appeal eloquently state their positions in opinions which are all too often vacated due to this court’s grant of a hearing. This is such a case. While I concur in this court’s majority opinion, I write separately to emphasize some of the fine points made by Justice Poche in his dissenting opinion below. The following pertinent portions of that opinion I adopt as my own.*
“The prosecutor exercised peremptory challenges to rid the panel of all black jurors. Five made it to the box. None stayed in. Despite timely objections,[1] a hearing was held only after number five had departed the premises. Only then did the trial court find that a prima facie case had been made that the challenges were unconstitutional. There was no other choice. (People v. Fuller (1982) 136 Cal.App.3d 403, 423 [186 Cal.Rptr. 283].)
“At that stage ‘the burden shifts to the other party to show if he can that the peremptory challenges in question were not predicated on group bias *172alone. [Fn. omitted.] The showing need not rise to the level of a challenge for cause. But to sustain his burden of justification, the allegedly offending party must satisfy the court that he exercised such peremptories on grounds that were reasonably relevant to the particular case on trial or its parties or witnesses—i.e., for reasons of specific bias as defined herein. He, too, may support his showing by reference to the totality of the circumstances: for example, it will be relevant if he can demonstrate that in the course of this same voir dire he also challenged similarly situated members of the majority group on identical or comparable grounds. . . . ’ (People v. Wheeler, supra, 22 Cal.3d at pp. 281-282 [148 Cal.Rptr. 890, 583 P.2d 748], italics added.)
“If a baseball umpire admits he was not looking, would the baseball commissioner then carefully review the videotape to test the accuracy of his calls? It makes even less sense where liberty is at stake to search the record for evidence to support a finding of no systematic racial exclusion when the person who made that finding repeatedly admits it meant only that the prosecutor did not say ‘I’m going to kick all blacks off.’ Nevertheless, the majority opinion finds that ‘the evidence’ supports the finding.
“Examine the evidence: The reason given by the prosecutor to justify the challenge of Mrs. Simon was that she, like the defendant, had some contact with Texas.
“Take a look at the only evidence of this contact: ‘The Court: How long have you lived in San Francisco? [¶] Mrs. Simon: Most of my life, [¶] The Court: Where did you live before you came to San Francisco? [¶] Mrs. Simon: My family is from Texas.’
“Can it seriously be contended that this is sufficient to satisfy any court anywhere that the exercise of the peremptory challenge to Mrs. Simon was on the grounds ‘reasonably relevant to the particular case on trial or its parties or witnesses’? What the prosecutor found relevant was that he understood that at one point the defendant had in the past lived in Chicago and he also believed the defendant had ‘some contact with Texas either in the military or something like that.’ But apparently, that was relevant only if the juror was black: the prosecutor failed to inquire where the nonblack jurors had lived before they came to California (e.g., Allan Ohanley), and even when the prosecutor discovered a juror had lived in one of those two, small, suspect localities it did not bother him unless the juror was black.[2]
“But the prosecutor had another reason for ridding himself of this black woman: she ‘had a son I believe to be approximately the same age as the *173Defendant. [3] Is it not strange that the prosecutor had no such problem with the nonblack jurors? Mrs. Jean White had three sons, two of whom were about the same age as the defendant. Alice King had two ‘grown’ sons. Margaret Maguire had six ‘grown kids.’ But not being black these jurors were not challenged.
“Things do not get any better if you examine the reasons given for getting rid of Mr. Robinson: Because Mr. Robinson ‘never cracked a smile’ the prosecutor decided ‘he did not possess the sensitivities necessary’ for this type of case.
“Get the word out to black venire persons: they should all be jolly if they wish to sit in judgment of rape cases.
“The Supreme Court of this state has told us what the rules are to protect the right to trial by a jury drawn from a representative cross-section of the community under article I, section 16, of the California Constitution. Neither the prosecutor nor the trial judge seems to care. This court should.
“Like Mr. Robinson I am not cracking a smile. But then I have been to Texas and Chicago and my son is about the same age as the defendant.”
I concur in the reversal of the judgment.
Broussard, J., concurred.

The renumbered footnote numbers appear in brackets.

“ [1] For example, ‘Mr. Rosen: Under People vs. Wheeler which I think the Court is quite familiar with, I am objecting] to the systemic [sic] exclusion of black people on this jury. As I look out into the panel that will [remain] there are only two black people at least in the audience. I don’t even know if those people actually are on the panel. I believe that under the Wheeler decision such a systemic [sic] exclusion by race, I want a mistrial, [¶] Mr. Fazio: I have exercised three challenges, two of those have been black. Wheeler certainly does not stand for that. Counsel has to make a better showing, [¶] Mr. Rosen: There is only one black person on this jury. Do we have to wait until she is excused until we ask for such an offer by the prosecution as to their intention for the reason of the exclusion. I don’t think one could point to one item of those people’s background that have been excused, the two black people, that could be justified as reasonable trial tactics other than a prosecutor not wanting black jurors on a jury in which you have got a black defendant. I would ask for that showing to be made. [¶] Mr. Fazio: Your Honor, I am not prepared to make it. There certainly has been less than a systemic exclusion to use counsel’s own words, [¶] The Court: I will so rule at this point, this isn’t a systemic [sic] exclusion under the aut[h]orities, and I’ll deny the motion for mistrial. However in some future time if you feel to the contrary raise the issue and I’ll consider it at that time. [¶] Mr. Rosen: I’m going to raise the issue upon the next exercise of a challenge. [¶] The Court: Wait until the occasion arises. Very well.’ (Italics added.)

“ [2] Nonblack juror Lum testified he had lived in Chicago but he drew no challenge.

“ [3] The only evidence of the age of her son is Mrs. Simon’s testimony that he works for the State of California in the highway maintenance department.