United States v. Jose Antonio Torres-Hernandez, A.K.A. Roberto Martinez-Hernandez

Today we decide a district court need not and may not take into account Hispanics who are ineligible for jury service to determine whether Hispanics are underrepresented on grand jury venires. To establish a prima facie violation of the Sixth Amendment’s guarantee that grand juries reflect a fair cross-section of the community, a defendant must prove in part “that the representation of [an allegedly underrepresented] group in venires from which juries are selected is not fair and reasonable in relation to the number of such persons in the community.” Duren v. Missouri, 439 U.S. 357, 364 , 99 S.Ct. 664 , 58 L.Ed.2d 579 (1979). We hold that, to determine whether Hispanics are underrepresented to an unconstitutional degree in venires, a district court must rely on that evidence which most accurately reflects the judicial district’s actual percentage of jury-eligible Hispanics. Because the district court here used the most accurate data presented to it by the parties— data that excluded segments of the Hispanic population ineligible for jury service — we affirm Torres-Hernandez’s conviction and sentence.

I. Background

On February 7, 2005, after a jury trial, the district court…