United States v. Darren Quesada

MEMORANDUM

Appellant Darren Quesada appeals his convictions for one count of abusive sexual contact with a minor, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 1158 , 2244(a)(5), and 2260(A), and one count of aggravated sexual abuse of a minor, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 1153 , 2241(c), 2260A, and 3559(e). Because the government’s use of peremptory strikes discriminated against prospective jurors on the basis of membership in a protected class, these convictions cannot stand. See Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 79 , 106 S.Ct. 1712 , 90 L.Ed.2d 69 (1986); Kesser v. Cambra, 465 F.3d 351 (9th Cir.2006) (en banc).

1. The comparison between Juror 46 and Juror 12 provides substantial reason to believe the race-neutral explanation for striking Juror 46 was pretextual and thus did not satisfy step three of the Batson inquiry. See Miller-El v. Dretke, 545 U.S. 231 , 125 S.Ct. 2317 , 162 L.Ed.2d 196 (2005). When asked to provide a neutral reason for striking Juror 46, the prosecutor said she was concerned that a juror with “a family member who had been convicted of a crime and did some time,” “may be biased against the government.” But this concern applied with equal, if not greater force, to Juror 12,…