United States v. Denise Fowler

MEMORANDUM

Defendant Denise Ann Fowler (“Fowler”) was indicted on charges of conspiracy to commit bank robbery in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371 (Count 1); armed bank robbery in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2113 (a), (d) (Count 6); and brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924 (c)(1)(A)(ii) (Count 7). A jury found Fowler guilty on all three counts, and the district court imposed a sentence of 130 months’ imprisonment. Fowler appeals her convictions and sentence. We affirm Fowler’s conviction for conspiracy to commit bank robbery (Count 1), but reverse Fowler’s convictions for armed bank robbery and brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence (Counts 6 & 7). We address her arguments in turn.

1. Fowler’s claim under Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 79 , 106 S.Ct. 1712 , 90 L.Ed.2d 69 (1986), fails because comparative juror analysis shows that the prosecution’s race-neutral reasons for its peremptory strike of juror J.M. were not pretexts for purposeful discrimination. See Cook v. LaMarque, 593 F.3d 810, 822 (9th Cir. 2010).

2. Sufficient evidence supports Fowler’s conviction for conspiracy to commit bank robbery (Count 1). Fowler was a minor…