The prosecutor in a first-degree murder case uses his peremptory challenges to strike nine African-American jurors, leaving only one African-American on the jury, which ultimately convicts.
The California Court of Appeal says there's no Batson violation, but the trial court disagrees and grants habeas relief.
The Ninth Circuit reverses.
The panel consists of Judge Ikuta -- who authors the opinion -- Judge O'Scannlain, and a senior district court judge sitting by designation.
P.S. - Amongst the other people he's not especially fond of, the prosecutor admits he's not especially keen on lawyers. Or teachers, for that matter. Saying: "She was a school teacher in 1992 to
1995, indicates fairly liberal. She has a
doctorate; she’s a lawyer. I don’t want a
lawyer on my jury. I’ve never liked having
lawyers on juries. They’re know-it-alls, they
inject themselves into the case, they think
they can do a better job."
