Rice v. White, No. 10-1583 (6th Cir. 2011)
Annotate this CasePetitioner was charged with first degree murder. During jury selection, in Michigan state court, defense counsel objected that the prosecution was attempting to exclude black jurors, particularly black men. The trial judge inquired and did not find improper exclusion. During the three-day selection process, defense counsel raised a second Batson challenge and the prosecutor lodged her own objection to peremptory strikes by defense. At the end of selection, the judge stated that any problems caused by failure to reseat jurors that had been peremptorily dismissed had been "cured." Convicted and sentenced to life in prison, petitioner obtained a remand for the Michigan Supreme Court. The conviction was ultimately upheld. The federal district court issued a conditional writ of habeas corpus on the basis of a Batson violation. The Sixth Circuit affirmed, finding that the only reasonable conclusion, from the transcript, was that the trial court did find that two jurors were improperly excluded. The trial court subsequently failed to satisfy its constitutional obligation under Batson.
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