Gary Skipper Palmer v. Wayne Estelle, Warden

California state prisoner Palmer appeals from the district court’s denial of his petition for habeas corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2254 . Palmer challenges his conviction for second degree murder and assault with a deadly weapon on the ground that the selection of his jury violated the requirements of Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 79 , 106 S.Ct. 1712 , 90 L.Ed.2d 69 (1986) (Batson). This appeal presents the narrow, factual question of whether the trial court, after implicitly finding a prima facie case of improper exclusion of Black jurors, failed to evaluate the prosecutor’s explanations for these exclusions and relied instead on the fact that some Blacks remained on the jury. The district court had jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 2241 and 2254. We have jurisdiction over this timely appeal pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2253 , and we affirm.

I

During jury selection, Palmer, who is Black, repeatedly moved for a mistrial, accusing the prosecutor of peremptorily striking prospective Black jurors for racial reasons. Following each motion, the trial court solicited and listened to the prosecutor’s explanations regarding his exercise of the peremptories in question. The trial court…