MAUREEN MCDERMOTT V. DEBORAH JOHNSON, No. 17-99005 (9th Cir. 2023)
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Petitioner was sentenced to death after a California jury found her guilty of attempted murder and first-degree murder, finding true the special circumstances of lying in wait and murder for financial gain. Petitioner appealed the district court’s denial of her 28 U.S.C. Section 2254(d) habeas petition. In the petition, Petitioner argued that the prosecutor committed prejudicial misconduct during penalty-phase closing arguments by referencing Biblical verses to persuade the jury to impose a death sentence. Applying the extremely deferential standard required by the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act (AEDPA).
The Ninth Circuit affirmed the district court’s denial. The panel granted a Certificate of Appealability (COA) as to Petitioner’s claim that the prosecutor improperly used peremptory challenges in violation of Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 79 (1986). After conducting a comparative juror analysis, the panel concluded that, under AEDPA’s deferential standard of review, the California Supreme Court’s finding that the trial court did not err in determining there was no purposeful discrimination was an objectively reasonable determination of the facts.
Court Description: Habeas Corpus / Death Penalty. The panel affirmed the district court’s denial of Maureen McDermott’s 28 U.S.C. § 2254 habeas corpus petition challenging her California conviction and death sentence for attempted murder and first-degree murder.
In the petition, McDermott argued, inter alia, that the prosecutor committed prejudicial misconduct during penalty-phase closing arguments by referencing Biblical verses to persuade the jury to impose a death sentence. Applying the extremely deferential standard required by the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act (AEDPA), the panel affirmed the district court’s denial of that claim because the state court habeas decision was not contrary to “clearly established Federal law, as determined by the Supreme Court of the United States.” The panel granted a Certificate of Appealability (COA) as to McDermott’s claim that the prosecutor improperly used peremptory challenges in violation of Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 79 (1986). After conducting a comparative juror analysis, the panel concluded that, under AEDPA’s deferential standard of review, the California Supreme Court’s finding that the trial court did not err in determining there was no purposeful discrimination was an objectively reasonable determination of the facts. The panel denied COAs as to McDermott’s remaining ineffective assistance of counsel claims.
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