Ambrose v. Booker, No. 14-1780 (6th Cir. 2015)
Annotate this CaseIn 2001, a jury of an unknown racial composition convicted Ambrose of armed robbery, carjacking, and felony-firearm possession. At jury selection, Ambrose did not object to the racial composition of the venire. In 2002, after Ambrose had exhausted direct appeals, the Grand Rapids Press published a story about a computer glitch in Kent County that had systematically excluded African-Americans from the jury pool for several months. Following these revelations, Ambrose unsuccessfully moved for state post-conviction relief, alleging that his Sixth Amendment fair-cross-section right had been violated. Ambrose then filed a 28 U.S.C. 2254 habeas petition, which the district court conditionally granted. The Sixth Circuit remanded for determination of whether there was actual prejudice. The district court subsequently found that Ambrose had sufficiently demonstrated actual prejudice to excuse his procedural default and had established a prima facie violation of his fair-cross-section right. The Sixth Circuit reversed. Ambrose failed to show actual prejudice. “The question is not whether the petitioner missed his chance to stand trial before a more merciful jury panel or a panel with a particular racial balance, but rather whether there is a reasonable probability that a different jury would have reached a different result.” His argument “sounds much like the stereotyping arguments courts have sought to avoid,”
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