United States Eighth Circuit

In a capital murder case, district court's judgment denying defendant a writ of habeas corpus is affirmed where: 1) defendant failed to rebut by clear and convincing evidence the presumption that the state's peremptory strikes in jury selection of the guilt phase were race-neutral; and 2) state's race-neutral reasons for exercising peremptory strikes at the penalty phase was not pretextual, and thus not contrary to clear and convincing evidence or unreasonable.

Appellate Information

• Decided 08/19/2009
• Published 08/19/2009

Judges

• COLLOTON, Circuit Judge., Before BYE, COLLOTON, and GRUENDER, Circuit Judges.

Court

• United States Eighth Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Elizabeth Unger Carlyle, Columbus, MS, argued (Dana M. Altieri, Lee's Summit, MO, on the brief), for appellant.


• For Appellees:
  
• Stephen D. Hawke, Asst. Atty. Gen., Jefferson City, MO, argued (Jeremiah W. (Jay) Nixon, Atty. Gen., on the brief), for appellee.