Ayala v. Wong, No. 09-99005 (9th Cir. 2012)
Annotate this CasePetitioner appealed the denial of his petition for a writ of habeas corpus. During the selection of the jury that convicted and sentenced petitioner, the prosecution used its preemptory challenges to strike all of the black and Hispanic jurors available for challenge. The trial judge concluded that petitioner had established a prima facie case of racial discrimination under Batson v. Kentucky, but permitted the prosecution to give its justifications for the challenges of these jurors in an in camera hearing from which petitioner and his counsel were excluded. The trial judge then accepted the prosecution's justifications for its strikes without disclosing them to the defense or permitting it to respond. The court held that this procedure violated the Constitution and, together with the state's later loss of a large portion of the record, adversely affected petitioner's substantial rights. Therefore, the court reversed the district court's denial of the petition and remanded with instructions to grant the writ.
The court issued a subsequent related opinion or order on September 13, 2013.
The court issued a subsequent related opinion or order on February 25, 2014.
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