Summary
U. S. Supreme Court decision utilizing CJLF arguments to overturn a Ninth Circuit ruling, which had found racial bias during jury selection in the trial of a habitual criminal. The defendant, who had prior convictions of forcible rape and robbery, received a 25 years to life sentence for his third felony conviction on drug dealing charges. On appeal, he claimed that the prosecutor exercised racial bias in excusing two black jurors, although two other blacks were accepted and served. After the trial judge, the state appellate court and the federal District Court found no bias, the Ninth Circuit discovered it in a 2003 ruling. When the Supreme Court agreed to review the ruling, CJLF joined the case to argue that federal rules and precedent require that the lower courts give great deference to the findings of the trial judge regarding racial bias claims. The high court's precedent-setting decision agreed. [CJLF brief in PDF.]
