United States First Circuit

District court's denial of defendant's request for habeas relief, convicted of distributing cocaine and for doing so in a public park, is affirmed where: 1) defendant's arguments that the trial court mistakenly believed that defendant, because he is not Hispanic, could not object to the exclusion of an Hispanic juror is without merit; 2) defendant's argument that the state courts wrongly ignored the evidence of discriminatory animus toward the African-American jurors in finding no discriminatory animus against the Hispanic juror is without merit; and 3) defendant's argument that the state courts erred in evaluating the challenges to the Hispanic juror and the African-American jurors separately, as opposed to challenges directed at "minority jurors" as a class is without merit, as defendant has provided no evidence or authority for the proposition that "minorities" constitute a cognizable group for Batson purposes.

Appellate Information

• Decided 01/25/2010
• Published 01/25/2010

Judges

• LAPLANTE, District Judge., Before BOUDIN and SELYA, Circuit Judges, and LAPLANTE,District Judge.

Court

• United States First Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• David H. Mirsky, for petitioner-appellant.


• For Appellees:
  
• Amy L. Karangekis, Assistant Attorney General, Commonwealth of Massachusetts, with whom Martha Coakley, Attorney General, was on brief, for respondent-appellee.