United States Ninth Circuit

In a Hispanic inmate's petition for habeas relief from his 1983 first-degree murder of two white victims during a robbery, claiming ineffective assistance of counsel for failing to object to the prosecution's peremptory challenge to 75 percent of the Hispanic-surnamed venirepersons, district court's denial of the petition is affirmed where: 1) defendant could not establish prejudice at trial because he could not make a strong likelihood that prospective Hispanic jurors were challenged because of any specific bias; and 2) defendant could not establish prejudice by showing that a Wheeler objection would have succeeded on direct appeal, based on the law as it existed when his conviction became final on direct appeal.

Appellate Information

• Decided 11/06/2012
• Published 11/06/2012

Judges

• Fletcher

Court

• United States Ninth Circuit

Counsel