United States v. Washington

MEMORANDUM ***

Ernest Ron Washington appeals his jury conviction in the United States District Court for the District of Arizona for conspiracy to possess or distribute between 100 and 1,000 kilograms of marijuana, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841 (a)(1), (b)(l)(B)(vii), and 846, and for aiding and abetting in the possession of less than 100 kilograms of marijuana with intent to distribute, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841 (a)(1), (b)(1)(C), and 18 U.S.C. § 2 . We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291 , and we affirm.

Washington contends the district court erred by denying his motion to quash the jury panel on the ground the jury selection procedures used in his trial violate Washington’s Fifth Amendment equal protection right and Sixth Amendment right to a jury made up of a “fair cross-section of the community.” In the context of jury selection, both the Fifth and Sixth Amendments require a defendant to prove, inter alia, that the jury panel selection procedures systematically under-represent a distinctive group in the population from which the jury panel is drawn. See Castaneda v. Partida, 430 U.S. 482, 494 , 97 S.Ct. 1272 , 51 L.Ed.2d 498 (1977) (Fifth Amendment);…