Noel Jackson v. Ron Broomfield

facts,” Batson, 476 U.S. at 94, being mindful that “the Constitution forbids striking

1 Because the parties are familiar with the facts of this case, we do not discuss them in detail. 2 Here, the last reasoned state-court decision was the decision of the California Supreme Court. People v. Jackson, 920 P.2d 1254, 1268–70 (1996).

2 even a single prospective juror for a discriminatory purpose.” United States v.

Vasquez- Lopez, 22 F.3d 900, 902 (9th Cir. 1994). Applying these standards, we

affirm.

Broomfield argues that, contrary to the district court’s conclusion, none of

the race-neutral justifications provided by the prosecutor for striking the three

Black potential jurors were pretextual. We disagree. While some of the reasons

provided by the prosecutor for striking the three potential jurors may have been

legitimate, others were not. The prosecutor struck one Black potential juror

allegedly because that potential juror was “too fair minded.” But this justification

is contradicted by the record, given the number of seated jurors who described

themselves similarly. For example, one non-Black seated juror stated they “would

be very fair.” Another non-Black seated juror…