Petitioners Brief — Teague v. Lane
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FILED
r pupreme our, Vo.
~ 1 way 12 1988
No. 87-5259
IN THE
Supreme Court of the Anited States
OCTOBER TERM, 1987
FRANK DEAN TEAGUE,
Petitioner,
v.
MICHAEL LANE, Director, Illinois Department of
Corrections, et al.
Respondents,
On Writ Of Certiorari To The United States
Court Of Appeals For the Seventh Circuit
BRIEF FOR THE PETITIONER
THEODORE A. GOTTFRIED
Appellate Defender
MICHAEL J. PELLETIER
Deputy Defender
PaTRICIA UNSINN*
MARTIN S. CARLSON
Assistant Appellate Defenders
Office of the State Appellate Defender
State of Illinois Center
100 West Randolph Street, Suite 5-500
Chicago, Illinois 60601
(312) 917-5472
*Counsel of Record
_
PRESS OF RAM PRINTING, HYATTSVILLE, MD 20781 = (301) 864-6662
i
QUESTIONS PRESENTED FOR REVIEW
Whether a prosecutor's use of peremptory challenges to
exclude members of a distinctive group from the petit
jury violates the Sixth Amendment fair cross-section
requirement.
Whether, consistent with Justice Harlan’s view of
retroactivity, Batson v. Kentucky should at a minimum be
applied retroactively to all convictions not final when
certiorari was denied in McCray v. New York.
Whether Swain v. Alabama permits the prosecution's
volunteered reasons for its exercise of its peremptory
challenges to be examined to determine if it has engaged
in racial discrimination.
il
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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I.
Il.
THE PROSECUTION’S UsE Or THE PEREMPTORY
CHALLENGE To DEFEAT THE POossIBILITY THAT
THE PetitJuRY WILL REPRESENT A Fair Cross-
SECTION OF THE COMMUNITY VIOLATES THE
DEFENDANT'S SIXTH AMENDMENT RIGHT To A
FarR AND IMPARTIAL JURY. ...........e-eceeees
A. The Remedy For Discriminatory Use Of The
Peremptory Challenge Provided By Batson v.
Kentucky Does Not Adequately tect The
Interests Advanced By The Fair Cross-Section
ee ee
B. The Sixth Amendment Guarantees The
Accused The Selection Of A Petit Jury In
Accordance With Procedures Which Provide A
Fair Possibility Of Obtaining A Jury Repre-
sentative Of The Community. ..............
C. Permitting A Distinctive Group To Be
Excluded From The Petit Jury By Use Of The
Peremptory Challenge Is Inconsistent With
The Constitutional Concept Of A Jury Trial. .
D. Existing Standards May Be Employed To
Prove A Violation Of The Fair Cross-Section
PP
E. No Significant State Interest Was Served By
The Total Exclusion Of Black Jurors From Peti-
tioner’s Jury As A Result Of The Prosecution’s
Use Of Its Peremptory Challenges. ........
RETROACTIVE APPLICATION OF THE RULE OF
BATSON V. KENTUCKY SHOULD BE EXTENDED AT
A MINIMUM To THOSE DEFENDANTS WHOSE Con-
VICTIONS WERE Not FINAL WHEN CERTIORARI
Was DenteD IN McCray v. New YorRK. .......
A. Because The Rule Of Swain v. Alabama Was
Not The Dominant Constitutional Standard
When Certiorari Was Denied In McCray v.
New York, Batson Should Be Retroactively
ag To All Cases Then Pending On Direct
OME, oc oc cccccectesenseeanede
Oe ee Oo
10
12
15
21
23
iil
Table of Contents Continued
Page
B. Extension Of The Benefits Of The Rule Of Bat-
son To All Cases Pending On Direct Review
When Certiorari Was Denied In McCray Would
Not Be Inconsistent With The Result Reached
i Cee cccencceesccecess
C. No Reasoned Basis Exists To Extend The Ben-
efits Of The Batson Rule To Litigants In Cases
Pending On Direct Review And To Deny Relief
To Equally Deserving Litigants Who Are Seek-
ing Collateral Relief From Their Convictions.
III. Swain v. ALABAMA PERMITS A PROSECUTOR’S
VOLUNTEERED EXPLANATION For His EXERCISE
Or His PEREMPTORY CHALLENGES To BE EXAm-
INED To DETERMINE WHETHER THE EXPLANA-
TION Is LEGITIMATE OR A MERE PRETEXT For
RACIAL DISCRIMINATION. ...........ceeeeeees
A. An Equal Protection Violation Can Be Estab-
lished Consistent With Swain Other Than By
Proof That The Prosecution Consistently And
Continuously Excluded A Racial Group From
EERE danaccccsecséceccceces
B. The Explanation Volunteered By The Pros-
ecutor For His Peremptory Challenge Of Ten
Black Jurors Is A Pretext And Demonstrates
That The Prosecutor's Actual Motivation Was
Racial Discrimination. ....................
C. The Failure Of Petitioner To Raise His Swain
Claim In State Court Does Not Bar That Claim
As A Ground For Relief On Collateral Review
Where It Was Fairly Presented To The State
Court And Rejected On Its Merits. .........
EE
26
30
32
36
38
4]
iv
TABLE OF AUTHORITIES
Cases Page
Allen v. Hardy, 478 U.S. ——, 106 8.Ct. 2878
SN es odadus che eusiGenuaeneeueensere 5, 22, 26, 27
Ballard v. United States, 329 U.S. 187 (1946) ......... 21
Ballew v. Georgia, 485 U.S. 223 (1978). .......... 12, 13, 15
Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 79 (1986). ........... passim
Booker v. Jabe, 775 F.2d 762 (6th Cir. 1985), vacated, 106
S.Ct. 3289, affd on reconsideration, 801 F.2d 871
(6th Cir. 1986), cert. denied, 107 S.Ct. 910 (1987)... 11
Brown v. Louisiana, 447 U.S. 323 (1980). ........... 26, 27
Commonwealth v. Henderson, 497 Pa. 23, 488 A.2d 951
PE co cca uek gue PaAeaeeeuued eb ce uvanseueeeus 39
Desist v. United States, 394 U.S. 244
SL < ccbaucdedaweaedewstaeae 22, 23, 24, 25, 30, 31
Duncan v. Louisiana, 391 U.S. 145 (1968) ............ 13
Duren v. Missouri, 439 U.S. 357
SARS ete t LETS GF Sek eae ee 4, 10, 15, 16, 18
Engle v. Issac, 456 U.S. 107 (1982). ..........22. ee eee 32
Fay v. Noia, 372 U.S. 391 (1963)............. eee eees 31
Gaines v. State, 404 So.2d 557 (Miss. 1981)............ 39
Garrett v. Morris, 815 F.2d 509 (8th Cir. 1987), cert.
denied, 108 S.Ct. 233 (1987). ....... ccc cccecees 33, 37
Gilliard v. Mississippi, 464 U-S. 867 (1983) ........... 24
Glasser v. United States, 315 U.S. 60 (1941)......... 14, 21
Granberry v. Greer, 481 U.S. —_, 107 S.Ct. 1671
Ne ag aie aa al 6, 38
Griffith v. Kentucky, 479 U.S. —_, 107 S.Ct. 708
NE sin oc 64 hase a eeeneebessiadneniateses 5, 21, 30
Ham v. South Carolina, 409 U.S. 524 (1973) .......... )
Hankerson v. North Carolina, 432 U.S. 233 (1977) .... 29
Linkletter v. Walker, 381 U.S. 618 (1965). ...... 6, 22, 26, 28
Lockhart v. McCree, 476 U.S. 162 (1986). ...... 8, 14, 15, 17
Mackey v. United States, 401 U.S. 667
te he oe a 22, 23, 24, 25, 30, 31
McClesky v. Kemp, 481 U.S. —~, 107 S.Ct. 1756 (1987) = 27
McCray v. Abrams, 750 F.2d 1113 (2nd Cir. 1984),
vacated, 106 S.Ct. 3289 (1986) .. 1... cece eee eeee 11
McCray v. New York, 461 U.S. 961 (1983)......... 5, 22, 23
V
Table of Authorities Continued
Michigan v. Payne, 412 U.S. 47 (1973) ............05. 28
People v. Crowder, 161 Ill. App.3d 1009, 515 N.E.2d 783
Mh vk b<ds05skGas ddan kncesciceus 10
People v. Seals, 153 Ill. App.3d 417, 505 N.E.2d 1107 (1st
SE Gatudskduudeecctsekeweie ls caekeses eas 10
People v. Teague, 108 Ill. App.3d 891, 439 N.E.2d 1066
(1st Dist. 1982), cert. denied, 464 U.S. 867
A UGls ce ciuhuncucealeesscadesecuaes 22, 37, 39
Peters v. Kiff, 407 U.S. 493 (1972).......4......... 13, 14
Re Murchison, 349 U.S. 133 (1954)...............000. 14
Ristaino v. Ross, 424 U.S. 589 (1976). ............00.. 27
Roberts v. Russell, 392 U.S. 293 (1968)............... 29
Rosales-Lopez v. United states, 451 U.S. 182 (1981).... 9
Rose v. Lundy, 455 U.S. 509 (1982)................... 32 .
Shea v. Lowisiana, 470 U.S. 51 (1985)............... 22, 31
Smith v. Texas, 311 U.S. 128 (1940) .................. 14
Solem v. Stwmes, 465 U.S. 638 (1984) .........0..00.. 26
State v. Grady, 93 Wis. 1, 286 N.W.2d 607 (Wis. App.
Sao renides ken deukee ns déce tu dks a5 oss Gees 39
State v. Thompson, 276 S.C. 616, 281 S.E.2d 216 (1981) 39
State v. Ucero, 450 A.2d 809 (R.I. 1982) ...........-. 39
Stone v. Powell, 428 U.S. 465 (1976). ..............05. 32
Strauder v. West Virginia, 100 U.S. 303 (1880)....... 29, 33
Sumner v. Mata, 449 U.S. 539 (1981)................. 32
Swain v. Alabama, 380 U.S. 280 (1965). ..... 5, 6, 23, 33-35
Taylor v. Louisiana, 419 U.S. 522 (1975)........... passim
Teague v. Lane, 820 F.2d 832 (7th Cir. 1987)......... 33, 38
Thiel v. Southern Pacific Co., 328 U.S. 217 (1946). 11, 13, 15
Thomas v. Blackburn, 623 F.2d 383 (5th Cir. 1980)..... 39
Ulster County Court v. Allen, 442 U.S. 140 (1979). 6, 39, 40
U.S. ex rel. Allen v. Hardy, 556 F.Supp. 464 (N.D. II.
Nd Sg MI a PMA ESE IBS BSCE R KURI, Latah ne! AS teas 26
United States v. Johnson, 457 U.S. 537 (1982)... 22, 30, 31
wea! Sullivan v. Fairman, 731 F.2d 450 (7th Cir.
PCOSCHCHSCHT OSC HEHECHCEEHEOECHHHOHHOSHHHOSES ESE EEES 3
Wainwright v. Sykes, 433 U.S. 72 (1977)........ 6, 7, 32, 38
vi
Table of Authorities Continued
Weathersby v. Morris, 708 F.2d 1493 (9th Cir. 1983), cert.
denied, 464 U.S. 1046 (1984) .................06. 33
Williams v. Florida, 399 U.S. 78 (1970).......... lt, 12, 13
Williams v. Holbrook, 691 F.2d 3 (1st Cir. 1982) ....... 40
STATUTES Page
Pee, eee. Ga, Ge, MO, BUIPMO) . oc ccccecccecesoces 1
MISCELLANEOUS
J. Appelman, Preparation and Trial (1967) ............ 9
M. Belli, 3 Modern Trials (2d ed. 1981) ............... 4
J. Doherty, Ready For Trial Your Honor (1972)........ 9
The Prosecutor’s Deskbook (Healy and Manak ed. 1971) 9
U.S. Bureau of the Census, County and City Data Book
DEE KdGkbeuusacendenanaenaeeshiatsekennvans 17
OP) IONS BELOW
The en banc opinion of the court of appeals (J.A. 14) is
reported at 820 F.2d 832 (7th Cir. 1987). The order vacat-
ing the proposed panel opinion and ordering rehearing en
banc pursuant to circuit rule 16(e) (J.A. 7) is reported at
779 F.2d 1332 (7th Cir. 1985). The district court opinion
denying habeas corpus relief (J.A. 5) is unreported.
JURISDICTION
The judgment of the court of appeals was entered on
May 11, 1987. The petition for writ of certiorari was filed
on August 10, 1987 and was granted on March 7, 19838.
The jurisdiction of this Court rests upon 28 U.S.C.
1254(1).
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
Frank Teague, a black man, was convicted of armed
robbery of an A&P supermarket and attempt murder of
police officers who were shot at following the robbery. His
defense was insanity. People v. Teague, 108 Ill. App.3d
891, 489 N.E.2d 1066 (1st Dist. 1982) (Campbell, J., dis-
senting). The jurors selected and sworn to decide the
issue of guilt or innocence were white, the prosecution
having elected to exercise all ten of the peremptory chal-
lenges afforded it by statute, Ill.Rev.Stat., Ch. 38,
§ 115-4(e), to excuse prospective jurors who were black.
Those excluded jurors included nine women and one
man of varying backgrounds and ages. Defense counsel
excused a black juror who was married to a police officer.
(J.A. 3)
The defense made t wo motions for mistrial complaining
of the prosecutor's exclusion of the black jurors, one after
six black jurors had been peremptorily challenged by the
State (J.A. 2), and the second at the conclusion of jury
2
selection. In response to the second motion, the pros-
ecutor represented that he was attempting to achieve a
balance of men and women and age groups. He noted
defense counsel had used one of his challenges against a
black jusur and that the prosecution had excused a white
juror during selection of the alternates. The trial judge
made no finding as to the validity of the State’s proffered
explanation and merely denied the defense motion. (J.A.
5, 4)
The Illinois Appellate Court declined to grant Teague
relief from his conviction because he had failed to demon-
strate systematic exclusion of black jurors as was his
burden according to Swain v. Alabama, 380 U.S. 202
(1965). The court refused to recognize any other claimed
basis for relief. With respect to the prosecutor's represen-
tation that he had exercised his challenges to achieve a
balance of men, women and age groups, the court
observed “an examination of the record shows that white
jurors who fell within the men, women and age groups to
which the State referred were not excused peremptorily
by the State.” Teague, 439 N.E.2d at 1069, 1070. Rehear-
ing was denied by the appellate court, the Illinois
Supreme Court denied leave to appeal, People v. Teague,
449 N.E.2d 810 (Ill. 1983) (Simon, J., dissenting) and this
Court denied a petition for writ of certiorari. Teague v.
Illinois, 464 U.S. 867 (1983) (Marshall and Brennan, J.J.,
dissenting).
On March 5, 1984, Teague filed a petition for writ of
habeas corpus in the federal district court, complaining
his Sixth and Fourteenth Amendment rights were vio-
lated by the prosecution’s exclusion of black jurors by
peremptory challenge. (Petition, p. 4) On August 8, 1984
the district court denied relief and granted Respondents
motion for summary judgment, concluding Teague’s claim
3
was foreclosed by Swain and decisions of the court of
appeals declining to depart from Swain. The court found,
however, that Teague’s arguments were persuasive. (J.A.
5, 6)
A divided panel of the court of appeals agreed with
Teague that the Sixth Amendment does bar use of the
peremptory challenge to deprive an accused of the fair
possibility of obtaining a representative jury, but its opin-
ion was vacated and the cause set for rehearing en banc
pursuant to circuit rule 16(e). U.S. ex rel. Teague v. Lane,
779 F.2d 1332 (7th Cir. 1985) (Cudahy, J., dissenting).
(J.A. 7) After reargument en banc, the court determined
that the Sixth Amendment fair cross-section requirement
had no application to the petit jury, that the intervening
decision in Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 79 (1986) had no
retroactive application because Teague’s conviction was
final, and that, assuming it was not procedurally barred,
no Swain equal protection violation had been demon-
strated. Teague v. Lune, 820 F.2d 832 (7th Cir. 1987)
(Cudahy and Cummings, JJ., dissenting). (J.A. 14) On
March 7, 1988, this Court granted Teague’s petition for
writ of certiorari in which all three issues are presented to
the Court. (J.A. 54)
SUMMARY OF ARGUMENT
1. Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 79 (1986) recognized
that a jury cannot perform its function of safeguarding the
accused against the arbitrary exercise of power by a pros-
ecutor or judge if citizens are excluded from jury service
by the prosecutor's exercise of the peremptory challenge
on account of race. This same injury occurs whenever any
distinctive group in the community is denied an oppor-
tunity to serve on the petit jury, but the Batson remedy is
limited to those cases where the accused is a member of
4
the excluded group. No less protection from the exercise
of arbitrary power should be afforded to an accused who is
not a member of a group excluded from the jury.
Elimination of abuse of the peremptory challenge can
be achieved by recognizing that the Sixth Amendment
guarantees the accused a jury selected in accordance with
procedures that allow a fair possibility for the jury to
reflect a cross section of the community. The defendant is
not entitled to a jury of any particular composition and no
requirement exists that the petit jury mirror the dis-
tinctive groups in the population, Taylor v. Louisiana,
419 U.S. 522 (1975), but the right of the defendant to have
his jury drawn from a source fairly representative of the
community contemplates the possibility that the petit
jury will be similarly representative. Inclusion of dis-
tinctive groups in the jury pool has importance because it
provides the opportunity for members of those groups to
function as petit jurors. Permitting a prosecutor to use
the peremptory challenge as a tool to cull distinctive
groups from the petit jury would be inconsistent with our
democratic heritage, undermine public confidence in the
fairness of the criminal justice system by creating the
appearance of unfairness, and deny the accused the bene-
fit of the common-sense judgment of the community by
impairing the representative character of the jury.
The standards of Duren v. Missouri, 439 U.S. 357
(1979) can be employed to determine whether the selec-
tion of the petit jury comports with the Sixth Amend-
ment. To establish a prima facie case of a violation of the
fair cross-section requirement defendant would show 1)
the group allegedly excluded is a distinctive group in the
community; 2) representation of this group in the com-
munity is not fair and reasonable in relation to the number
of such persons in the community, i.e., comparison with
5
census figures indicate it has been disproportionately
excluded; and 3) the underrepresentation is attributable
to the prosecution's exercise of peremptory challenges,
not excusals for cause or chance circumstances inherent in
a random selection process. To rebut this prima facie case,
the State must show a significant state interest justifies
the underrepresentation of the excluded group. This bur-
den would at least require that a neutral explanation for
the challenge be offered but wouid not require justifica-
tion equivalent to a challenge for cause.
2. Justice Harlan’s view of retroactivity was adopted
with respect to cases pending on direct review in Griffith
v. Kentucky, 479 U.S. ___, 107 S.Ct. 708 (1987). Applica-
tion of his analysis of retroactivity to cases pending on
collateral review should result in the rule of Batson being
applied to all cases pending on direct review when cer-
tiorari was denied in McCray v. New York, 461 U.S. 961
(1983). Justice Harlan believed a claim contained in a
habeas corpus petition should be judged according to the
constitutional standard dominant at the time the convic-
tion became final to perform the function of habeas review
of forcing state courts to toe the constitutional mark. With
the denial of certiorari in McCray, the dominance of the
long criticized rule of Swain v. Alabama 380 U.S. 202
(1965) ended. The constitutional correctness of any con-
viction which became final thereafter should not be
judged by the standards of Swain. Extension of the rule of
Batson to this class of cases would correct any inequity
resulting from this Court’s postponement of reexamina-
tion of the burden defendant would be required to sustain
to establish an equal protection violation.
This limited extension of the benefits of Batson would
not be inconsistent with the result reached in Allen v.
Hardy, 478 U.S. __, 106 S.Ct. 2878 (1986). Allen's con-
6
viction was final when certiorari was denied in McCray.
Application of the three-pronged test of Linkletter v.
Walker, 381 U.S. 618 (1965) to cases pending on direct_
review when McCray signaled a change of law weighs in
favor of retroactive application of Batson. The rule of
Batson is designed to-lminate a practice which threatens
the ability of the jury to perform its truth-finding func-
tion. A prosecutor could not have justifiably relied on
Swain to practice racial discrimination in jury selection
and the impact of retroactive application of Batson would
be minimal, the number of affected cases being limited.
Justice Harlan was persuaded that new rules should be
applied to all nonfinal cases because retroactivity is an
essential attribute of judicial decision making and dispa-
rate treatment of similarly situated defendants is intol-
erable. These considerations apply with equal force to
convictions which are final. The interests of finality and
allocation of resources, which Justice Harlan believed
required that a distinction be made between final and
nonfinal cases, are inadequate justifi ation “or the dif-
ferential treatment of cases on direct and collateral
review. Those interests are adequate. protected by the
limitation placed on the availability of fedurai habeas cor-
pus review by Wainwright v. Sykes, 433 U.S. 72 (1977).
Maintenance of a direct/collateral distinction is unneces-
sary to promote those same interests and should be aban-
doned.
3. Swain v. Alabar a, 380 U.S. 202 (1965) did not
depart from the principle that discriminatory jury selec-
tion practices violate the Equal Protection Clause. Swain
created a presumption that a prosecutor acts for legiti-
mate reasons in exercising his peremptory challenges to
preserve the peremptory nature of the challenge. When a
prosecutor volunteers his reasons for his exercise of his
7
peremptory challenge, those challenges need not be pre-
sumed to be legitimately exercised in order to avoid limit-
ing the effectiveness of the challenge. The prosecutor's
explanation should be examined to determine if the pur-
poses of the challenge are being perverted and racial
discrimination is being practiced.
Although no Swain-based claim was made in state
court, this claim is not barred by procedural default pur-
suant to Wainwright v. Sykes, 433 U.S. 72 (1977).
Respondents failed to raise this defense when this claim
was argued in the district court and the court of appeals.
The state court was given a fair opportunity to review the
claim and it has obvious merit. Petitioner argued in state
court that the prosecutor's explanation for his exercise of
his peremptory challenges was a pretext for racial dis-
crimination. The State argued the merits of this claim
should be judged by the standards of Swain. The state
court held Swain afforded petitioner no basis for relief. If
the defense of procedural default has not been waived in
these circumstances, Cf Granberry v. Greer, 481 U.S.
___, 107 S.Ct. 1671 (1987), the action of the state court
rejecting the claim on its merits allows a federal court to
review the claim. Ulster County Court v. Allen, 442 U.S.
140 (1979).
ARGUMENT
I. THE PROSECUTION’S USE OF THE PEREMPTORY
CHALLENGE TO DEFEAT THE POSSIBILITY THAT
THE PETIT JURY WILL REPRESENT A FAIR CROSS
SECTION OF THE COMMUNITY VIOLATES THE
DEFENDANT’S SIXTH AMENDMENT RIGH™ TO A
FAIR AND IMPARTIAL JURY.
In Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 79, 84 n.4 (1986), this
Court declined to decide whether the fair cross-section
requirement of the Sixth Amendment places any limita-
8
tion on the prosecution’s ability to use peremptory chal-
lenges to exclude black persons from jury participation.
Although the soundness of extending the fair cross-sec-
tion requirement to the petit jury was questioned in Lock-
hart v. McCree, 476 U.S. 162 (1986), the issue was again
not ultimately resolved because the excluded group in
issue, Witherspoon-excludables, was not found to be dis-
tinctive for fair cross-section purposes. The ten jurors
peremptorily excused by the prosecution from Teague’s
jury were black persons, members of a group this Court in
Lockhart acknowledged to be distinctive. 476 U.S. at 175.
The issue of whether the fair cross-section requirement
may be invoked to invalidate the use of peremptory chal-
lenges to exclude members of a distinctive group from the
petit jury is thus squarely raised in this case.
A. The Remedy For Discriminatory Use Of The Peremptory
Challenge Provided by Batson v. Kentucky Does Not Ade-
quately Protect The Interests Advanced By The Fair
Cross-Section Requirement.
Although Batson eliminates some abuses of the
peremptory challenge, its remedial effect is limited to
cases where defendant is himself a member of the
excluded group. Batson, 476 U.S. at 96. Other abuses of
the peremptory challenge could be ended by recognizing
that use of the challenge to eliminate the possibility of
representation of any distinctive group on the jury,
regardless of its relationship to the accused, is abhorrent
to the constitutional concept of a jury trial. That defend-
ant is not a member of the excluded group would not bar
this Sixth Amendment claim. Taylor v. Louisiana, 419
U.S. 522, 526 (1975).
There are many contexts in which a prosecutor might
attempt to exclude a distinctive group of which defendant
is not a member from jury service. Racial issues may be
9
“inextricably bound up with the conduct of the trial,”
Rosales-Lopez v. United S‘ates, 451 U.S. 182, 189 (1981),
so as to cause a prosecutor to prefer white jurors even
though the defendant may himself be white. An example
would be where a white civil rights activist is charged
with a crime as a consequence of his civil rights activities
or where his defense to a criminal charge is that he has
been framed by law enforcement officials who are his
antagonists. Cf, Ham v. South Carolina, 409 U.S. 524
(1973) (recognizing racial bias may infect such a trial
where defendant is black).
Batson also does not address the issue of exclusion of
female jurors from the petit jury where, as is the case in
most criminal prosecutions, the defendant is male. Trial
technique manuals counsel that as a general rule the male
juror is preferable to the female juror. J. Appelman, Prep-
aration and Trial 163-165 (1967); M. Belli, 3 Modern Trials
446 (2d ed. 1981); J. Doherty, Ready For Trial Your Honor
75 (1972); The Prosecutor’s Deskbook 373 (Healy and
Manak ed. 1971). Women are undesirable because they
are “more responsive tc emotional appeals, and, at least
from a male point of view, are more unpredictable and
subject to being deterred from properly voting for convic-
tion by other irrelevant factors” or are a “distracting
influence to male jurors—and to counsel.” The Pros-
ecutor’s Deskbook, supra, at 373. Litigants are especially
advised to avoid the female juror where the plaintiff,
complainant or witness is an attractive woman, on the
theory that “women are inordinately cruel to each other.”
Appelman, supra, at 164.
Discerning whether the accused, who may be of mixed
or uncertain parentage, is a member of the excluded
group, is also a potential dilemma in the application of
Batson which could ve minimized in the Sixth Amend-
10
ment context. See People v. Crowder, 161 Ill. App.3d 1009,
1046, 515 N.E.2d 783, 807 (1st Dist. 1987) (Pincham, J.,
dissenting); People v. Seals, 153 Ill. App.3d 417, 422, 505
N.E.2d 1107, 1111 (1st Dist. 1987).
In all of these instances it would be intolerable to per-
mit the prosecution to deny members of a cognizable
group the opportunity to serve as jurors, a result which
would unquestionably be a departure from the jury ideal,
merely due to the circumstance that the accused is not, or
cannot be precisely characterized as, a member of the
excluded group. Such abuse of the peremptory challenge
would be ended if it were recognized that exclusion of any
distinctive group, regardless of its relationship to the
accused, is abhorrent to the constitutional concept of a
jury trial.
B. The Sixth Amendment Guarantees The Accused The
Selection Of A Petit Jury In Accordance With Pro-
cedures Which Provide A Fair Possibility Of Obtaining A
Jury Representative Of The Community.
Selection of a petit jury from a representative cross
section of the community is an essential component of the
Sixth Amendment right to a jury trial, although no
requirement exists that petit juries actually mirror the
community and reflect the distinctive groups in the popu-
lation. Taylor, 419 U.S. at 538. Taylor held violative of the
fair cross-section rule a special exemption for women, a
distinctive group in the community, which eliminated
them from the pools for jury service unless they filed a
written declaration of a desire to serve. In Duren v.
Missouri, 439 U.S. 357 (1979), a statute allowing women
to exempt themselves from pools for jury service upon
request was held to offend these same principles.
Neither Taylor nor Duren assign independent signifi-
cance to the inclusion of distinctive groups on jury panels
11
separate from the effect their presence or absence on
those panels would have on the composition of the petit
jury. The systematic exclusion of a distinctive group from
jury panels offends the Sixth Amendment, not because
the group is excluded from the pool of jurors, but because
its exclusion from that pool operates to exclude its mem-
bers from the petit jury. Inclusion of a distinctive group
provides the opportunity for a jury drawn from that poul
to contain representative members of the group. See
McCray v. Abrams, 750 F.2d 1113, 1128-1129 (2nd Cir.
1984), vacated, 106 S.Ct. 3289 (1986); Booker v. Jabe, 775
F.2d 762, 770-771 (6th Cir. 1985), vacated, 106 S.Ct. 3289,
aff d on reconsideration, 801 F.2d 871 (6th Cir. 1986), cert.
denied, 107 S.Ct. 910 (1987).
The Sixth Amendment comprehends not merely that
distinctive groups in the community not be excluded from
the jury pool, but that the jury be selected in accordance
with procedures that provide a fair possibility for obtain-
ing a representative cross section of the community on the
petit jury. Williams v. Florida, 399 U.S. 78, 100 (1970);
Thiel v. Southern Pacific Co., 328 U.S. 217, 220 (1946).
Selection of a jury from a pool drawn from a fair cross
section of the community is not an end in itself but con-
templates the possibility that the petit jury will be sim-
ilarly comprised. The fair cross-section requirement
would be illusory if any obstacle could be interposed to the
representation of a distinctive group on the petit jury as
long as the group was not excluded from the venire.
Any procedure, at any stage of jury selection, which
denies the opportunity for a distinctive group in the com-
munity to participate in the deliberative process must be
condemned as a violation of the Sixth Amendment. Trial
by jury of less than six persons is unconstitutional
because it decreases the opportunity for meaningful and
12
appropriate representation of a cross section of the com-
munity. Ballew v. Georgia, 435 U.S. 223, 237 (1978). A
prosecutor's exercise of the peremptory challenge to
exclude a distinctive group poses no less a threat to the
possibility of a cross-sectional jury. Allowing a prosecutor
to use the challenge to exclude members of a distinctive
group, although the group may have been fairly repre-
sented in the jury pool, would render the fair cross-sec-
tion guarantee a nullity.
C. Permitting A Distinctive Group To Be Excluded From
The Petit Jury By Use Of The Peremptory Challenge Is
Inconsistent With The Constitutional Concept Of A Jury
Trial.
That the Sixth Amendment is violated not only when
distinctive groups in the community are excluded from
the venire or jury pool, but also when those groups are
denied the opportunity to participate in the deliberation
process as petit jurors, is evident from examination of the
same consideration which persuaded this Court in Taylor
that the constitutional concept of a jury trial comprehends
a jury drawn from a fair cross section of the community.
Whether the fair cross-section requirement prevents
exclusion of a distinctive group from the petit jury as well
as from the pool from which that jury is drawn is resolved
by examining the function the fair cross-section require-
ment performs and its relation to the purposes of the jury
trial. If the requirement performs a function essential to
the purpose of the right to trial by jury, it is an indispensa-
ble component of the Sixth Amendment. Williams, 399
U.S. at 99, 100. Extension of the requirement that a fair
possibility exist that the petit jury will reflect a cross
section of the community is not only compatible with, but
is mandated by, the constitutional concept of a jury trial.
13
The right to trial by jury is guaranteed to the criminal
accused as a shield against government oppression. Dwn-
can v. Louisiana, 391 U.S. 145, 156 (1968). Its function is
to interpose between the accused and the accuser the
common-sense judgment of the community as a hedge
against the overzealous and mistaken prosecutor and in
preference to the professional or perhaps overconditioned
or biased response of a judge. Williams, 399 U.S. at 100;
Taylor, 419 U.S. at 530. The broad representative
character of the jury provides an assurance of diffused
impartiality. Thiel, 328 U.S. at 277 (Frankfurter, J., dis-
senting).
If this prophylactic purpose is not provided if the jury
pool is made up of only special segments of the populace or
if large, distinctive groups are excluded from the pool,
Taylor, 419 U.S. at 530, neither can it be served if a
distinctive group is excluded from the petit jury by
peremptory challenge. In both instances the quality of
community judgment represented by the jury is diluted.
Taylor, 419 U.S. at 535. The counterbalancing of various
biases, which is critical to the accurate application of the
common sense of the community to the facts of any given
ease, suffers. Ballew, 435 U.S. at 234. As this Court
recognizes:
When any large and identifiable segment of the com-
munity is excluded from jury service, the effect is to
remove from the jury room qualities of human nature
and varieties of human experience, the range of
which is unknown and perhaps unknowable. It is not
necessary to assume that the excluded group will
consistently vote as a class in order to conclude, as we
do, that its exclusion deprives the jury of a perspec-
tive on human events that may have unsuspected
importance in any case that may be presented.
Peters v. Kiff, 407 U.S. 493, 503-504 (1972).
14
Full community participation in the administration of
criminal law is also critical to public confidence in the
fairness of the criminal justice system. Taylor, 419 U.S. at
530. To perform its high function in the best way, justice
must satisfy the appearance of justice. Re Murchison, 349
U.S. 133, 136 (1954). A jury selection practice which
creates the appearance of bias in the decision of an individ-
ual case casts doubt on the integrity of the whole judicial
process. Peters, 407 U.S. at 502, 503. Exclusion from jury
service of a large group of individuals, not on the basis of
their inability to serve as jurors, but on the basis of some
immutable characteristic such as race, undeniably gives
rise to an appearance of bias. Lockhart, 476 U.S. at 176.
Where a prosecutor employs peremptory challenges to
engineer the wholesale exclusion of a distinctive group
from a petit jury, public confidence in the integrity of the
criminal justice system is shaken and the appearance of
unfairness is created. A question will inevitably arise
regarding the quality of justice being sought when mem-
bers of that group are deemed unsuitable for service no
matter what their individual characteristics may be.
Exclusion from jury service of otherwise qualified
groups is also at war with our basic concepts of a demo-
cratic society and a representative government. Smith v.
Texas, 311 U.S. 128, 130 (1940). Our notions of what a
proper jury is have developed in harmony with these
concepts. Glasser v. United States, 315 U.S. 60, 85 (1941).
It is part of the established tradition in the use of juries as
instruments of public justice that the jury be a body truly
representative of the community, Sm’th, 311 U.S. at 130,
and not the organ of any special group or class. Glasser,
315 U.S. at 60. The exclusion of elements of the com-
munity from participation contravenes the very idea of a
jury composed of the peers or equals of the person whose
15
rights it is selected or summoned to determine. Ballew,
435 ‘U.S. at 237. To disregard the principle that jury
competence is an individual rather than group or class
matter opens the door to class distinctions and discrimi-
nations which are abhorrent to the democratic ideal of
trial by jury. Thiel, 328 U.S. at 220.
D. Existing Standards May Be Employed To Prove A Viola-
tion Of The Fair Cross-Section Requirement.
Duren v. Missouri, 439 U.S. 357, 364 (1979) provides
standards which may be adapted to determine whether a
petit jury has been selected in violation of the fair cross-
section requirement of the Sixth Amendment. The
defendant must initially establish a prima facie violation
of the requirement. He succeeds if he can demonstrate
that 1) the group alleged to be excluded is a distinctive
group in the community; 2) representation of this group
on the petit jury is not fair and reasonable in relation to
the number of such persons in the community; and 3) the
underrepresentation is attributable to the prosecutor's
exercise of his peremptory challenges.
What is a distinctive group within the meaning of the
fair cross-section requirement has never been precisely
defined other than that the concept of distinctiveness
must be linked to the purposes of the requirement and
does not include groups defined solely in terms of shared
attitudes which either prevent or substantially impair
members of the group from performing the duties of a
juror. Lockhart, 476 U.S. at 174. Because communities
differ at different times and places, the concept of what
comprises a fair cross section is not immutable and varies
according to time or place. Taylor, 419 U.S. at 537.
The second prong of the prima facie case may be estab-
lished by a demonstration that a cognizable group is
16
underrepresented in proportion to its position in the com-
munity as documented by the U.S. census. Duren, 439
U.S. at 364.
The third prong requires that the underrepresentation
be attributable to specific action of the prosecutor. No
demonstration of systematic exclusion of the dimension
found in Duren need or should be required. The trial court
during the selection process can observe if it is the result
of chance circumstances inherent in any random selection
process, the excusal of a juror for cause, or a party's
exercise of peremptory challenges, which interferes with
the possibility that the jury will reflect a fair cross section
of the community.
To rebut this prima facie case, the State must justify its
infringement on the possibility of a representative jury by
demonstrating that a significant state interest is man-
ifestly and primarily advanced by its exercise of the chal-
lenges which resulted in the disproportionate exclusion of
a distinctive group. Dwren, 439 U.S. at 367-368. This
burden would at least require the prosecution to provide a
case-related neutral explanation for its exercise of its
challenges. Batson, 476 U.S. at 98. The prosecutor should
be required to point to some aspect of the challenged
juror’s background or beliefs which provide a reasonable,
objective basis to question the juror’s impartiality. For
example, an adequate state interest might exist where a
juror believes a relative has been treated unfairly by the
police or prosecution, but insists he could put that belief
aside and judge the case to be tried on its own merits.
While the juror would not be subject to a challenge for
cause, the prosecution’s interest in securing jurors in
whose fairness it has confidence would provide justifica-
on for exclusion of the juror, although the result would
be inderrepresentation of a cognizable group on the jury.
re
17
E. No Significant State Interest Was Served By The Total
Exclusion Of Black Jurors From Petitioner’s Jury As A
Result Of The Prosecution’s Use Of Its Peremptory Chal-
lenges.
The facts of this case provide a vivid demonstration of
the extreme abuse of the peremptory challenge possible
should the Sixth Amendment place no limitation on a
prosecutor's interference with the possibility that the jury
will reflect a cross section of the community. Thirty-six
jurors were examined by the trial court in this case from
which twelve were selected to try the issue of Teague’s
guilt or innocence. Of those thirty-six, four were excused
for cause. (S.R. 27, 116, 119, 147) The racial identity of the
jurors excused for cause is not revealed by the record. Of
the remaining thirty-two jurors, eleven, or approximately
one-third, are biack. The prosecution exercised each of
the ten peremptory challenges allotted it by statute to
excuse a black juror. The defense also exercised all ten of
its challenges, one against a black woman who was mar-
ried to a police officer. The result was the selection of an all
white jury. (J.A. 3-4)
These facts establish a prima facie violation of the Sixth
Amendment. The black persons excluded from the petit
jury are a group which is recognized as being distinctive
within the meaning of the fair cross-section rule. Lock-
hart, 476 U.S. at 175. Since Teague was tried by a jury
from which all potential black jurors had been exciuded,
black jurors were not represented on the jury fairly and
reasonably in relation to the number of such persons in
the community from which the jury was drawn. Census
figures indicate 25.62% of the population of Cook County,
the community from which Teague’s jury was drawn, was
comprised of black persons in 1980. U.S. Bureau of the
Census, County and City Data Book (1983). Approx-
18
imately one-third of the venire from which the petit jury
was selected was black. The complete exclusion of black
persons from the petit jury was disproportionate to both
the percentage of black persons in the community and on
the venire. The peremptory challenge was employed to
methodically eliminate each and every black person, save
one, from the jury. The underrepresentation of black
jurors on the petit jury is attributable to the State’s exer-
cise of its peremptory challenges.
No significant state interest was advanced to justify the
exclusion of black jurors. Duren, 439 U.S. at 368. The
explanation offered by the prosecutor who selected Tea-
gue's jury was that challenges were exercised to achieve a
balance of men, women and age groups. (J.A. 3) An exam-
ination of the record shows that the explanation offered by
the prosecutor for his exercise of his challenges was disin-
genuous. It was not essential to his stated objective of a
balance that the jury be unrepresentative of black citizen-
ry. A chart outlining the sequence of selection of the
jurors from among the thirty-two jurors who withstood
challenges for cause follows:!
State Defense Seated
Challenge Acceptance Challenge Acceptance
(1) black male
(2) black female
(3) white male X
(4) white female X .
(5) white male X X
(6) black female
(7) black female X
is) X
black female
This chart is adapted from a chart contained in the unissued pane!
opinion, found in Appendix A, p. 26 of the petition for writ of cer.
tioran.
19
State Defense Seated
Challenge Acceptance Ckallenge Acceptance
(9) X white male X
(10) X white male X
(11) white female X
(12) white male
(13) X black female
(14) black female
(15) white male xX X
(16) white male X
(17) black female
(48) white male xX
(19) white female X xX
(20) black female
(21) white female X xX
(22) xX white male xX
(23) X white female X
(24) white male xX X
(25) white male X
(26) white male X X
(27) white male X
(28) X black female
(29) black female
(30) white female X X
(31) white female
(32° X white female X
The first panel tendered to the State consisted of two
men and two women.? Althouyh this panel was “balanced
the State prompt!y challenged a male and a female juror,
* The jury was selected in three panels of four jurors each. After
the first panel of four jurors was examined by the court, it was
tendered to the prosecution for exercise of its peremptory challenges
Other jurors were substituted for challenged jurors. When the State
was satisfied with a pane! of four jurors, the pane! was tendered to the
defense for any challenge. Any change in the composition of the panel,
as a consequence of defense challenges resulted in the pane! being
retendered to the State for challenge or acceptance. This process
continued until both parties agreed to the composition of the pane!
20
both of whom were black. The State excused three black
females during selection of that nanel, none of whom it
accepted to further achievement of the “balance” it
desired. As to the second panel, whose final composition
was one male and three females, the State excused two
black females, at the same time finding acceptable three
white males and three white females. Prior to exercise of
any defense challenges against the final panel, the State
accepted a panel of four men, which had it been accepted
by the defense would have resulted in a jury composed of
nine males and three females, which hardly qualifies as a
balance of men and women. During selection of that panel,
the State excused only two females, both of whom were
black. The final two white females on the jury were
selected after the State had exhausted its peremptory
challenges; their appearance was not the result of the
State’s design. The suggestion that it was the prosecutor's
quest for a balance of men and women on the jury which
resulted in the underrepresentation of black jurors has no
basis in fact.
The prosecutor's objective of seeking a balance of age
groups also is unsupported. Although the record does not
reflect the ages of all the jurors, four of the persons who
Sat on the petit jury had grown children (S.R. 67, 131.
138, 159), two had both school-age and grown children
(S.R. 54-55, 71), one had he!d the same employment for
thirty-seven years (S.R. 129), and another was on dis-
ability and living with his retired sister. (S.R. 142-144)
Two had school-age children and one was a 22 vear old
student. (S.R. 99, 120, 164) Three of the black jurors
excused by the State were students and one was 19. (S.R.
8Y, 92, 111, 123) The remainder had school-age or grown
children or substantial work experience. (S.R. 31. 35. a2,
73, 153, 156) At the time the State ex used Ms. Turner
21
and Ms. Moore, black women who were students, the
remaining panel was composed of thre. white men, ali of
whom had adult children. (S.R. 55, 67, 68, 71, 92, 96) The
only young person who sat on the jury, a 22-year old white
female college student, was selected after the State
exhausted its peremptory challenges. (S.R. 164) The
objective of a balance of age groups was not the cause of
the underrepresentation of black jurors because the State
never achieved its purported objective, the jury being
predominately composed of older persons, and young
black jurors were challenged when no younger age groups
were represented on the jury. The expressed objective of
balance is a belatedly contrived excuse to mask the State's
misconduct.
This Court has cautioned that we must be ever vigilant
in resisting any tendencies, no matter how slight, toward
selecting jurors by any method which would prevent the
opportunity for trial by a representative jury. Glasser, 315
U.S. at 86. The injury that is prevented is not limited to
the defendant, but extends to the jury system, the law as
an institution, the community at large, and the demo-
cratic ideal reflected in the processes of our courts. Bal-
lard v. United States, 329 U.S. 187, 195 (1946).
Disallowance of the prosecution's use of the peremptory
challenge to eliminate minority participation from a petit
jury, as was accomplished at the trial of this case, is
crucial to preservation of the constitutional concept of
jury trial. The accused and the community both deserve a
criminal justice system in which they have full confidence.
Il. RETROACTIVE APPLICATION OF THE RULE OF
BATSON V. KENTUCKY SHOULD BE EXTENDED AT
A MINIMUM TO THOSE DEFENDANTS WHOSE
CONVICTIONS WERE NOT FINAL WHEN CER-
TIORARI WAS DENIED IN MCCRAY V. NEW YORK.
In Griffith v. Kentucky, 479 U.S. —_, 107 S.Ct. 708
1987), the rule of Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 79 ( 286)
a ee
22
was held to apply retroactively to all defendants whose
convictions were not final when the rule wus announced
Griffith followed the rationale of United States v. Johnson,
457 U.S. 537 (1982) and Shea v. Louisiana, 470 U.S. 51
(1985) that applying newly declared constitutional rules
to cases pending on direct review is consonant with basic
norms of constitutional adjudication and furthers the goai
of treating similarly situated defendants similarly, but
abandoned the “clear break” exception enunciated in
Johnson, 457 U.S. at 549, as inconsistent with the princi-
ples which persuaded the Court to extend the benefits of
new rules to defendants whose convictions are not final.
The reasoning of Griffith has its origin in th
opinions of Justice Harlan-in Desist y. United S totes, 904
U.S. 244, 256 (1969) (Harlan J., dissenting) and Mackey v
U nited States, 401 U.S. 667, 675 (1971) (Harlan, J. con-
curring and dissenting), in which he proposed a view of
retroactivity which distinguished between cases pending
on direct and collateral review. This Court has not yet
adopted Justice Harlan’s view with respect to cases pend-
ing on collateral review.* If that view or a modified version
is adopted here, the benefits of Batson should be extended
° nn oa to all defendants whose convictions were
ot final when certiorari w led j . New
ion oe Ge on aa denied in McCray v. Neu
——
In Allen v. Hardy, 478 U.S. . 106 S.Ct. 2878 (1986). Batson
was held non-retroactive to final convictions, but on the ground that
application of the three-pronged analysis of Link/letter v. Walker, 38]
U.S. 618 (1965) supported such a result. :
4( € s > . "
a “y May 31, 1983, certiorari was denied in McCray v. New York
~ ( ; ’ )
B1 U.S. 961 (1983). Certiorari was denied in Teague v. Illinois it
U.S. 867 (1983) on October 3. 193 |
23
A. Because The Rule of Swain v. Alabama Was Not The
Dominant Constitutional Standard When Certiorari
Was Denied In McCray v. New York, Batson Should Be
Retroactively Applied To All Cases Then Pending On
Direct Review.
Justice Harlan believed that claims contained in habeas
corpus petitions should be judged according to constitu-
tional standards existing at the time the conviction
became final. In his view, the choice of what law should be
applied should be made by focusing on the purpose of the
writ, Mackey, 401 U.S. at 682, which is primarily deter-
rence, i.e., its threat serves as an incentive for trial and
appellate courts to conduct their proceedings in a mianner
consistent with established constitutional standards.
Desist, 394 U.S. at 262-263. To perform this function of
forcing courts to toe the constitutional mark, habeas cor-
pus petitions need only be judged according to the law
prevailing at the time a conviction becomes final. Mackey,
401 U.S. at 687.
At the time Teague’s conviction became final, the state
of the law respecting the limitations on the prosecution’
use of its peremptory challenges to exclude members of a
racial group was not in repose. The precedential effect of
Swain v. Alabama, 380 U.S. 202 (1965) had been
destroyed by the denial of certiorari in McCray v New
York, 461 U.S. 961 (1983). A majority of the Justices
(opinion of Stevens, J., joined by Blackmun and Powell,
JJ., respecting the denial of certiorari, and Marshall, J.,
joined by Brennan, J., dissenting) recognized that the
issue of whether the Constitution prohibits use of the
peremptory challenge to exclude members of a particular
group from the jury was an important one which
ultimately would be resolved by the Court, but disagreed
as to timing. Justice Stevens concluded the issue would be
24
better addressed by first allowing the states to serve as
laboratories in which the issue received further study.
Reexamination of Swain was intentionally postponed, but
the effect was to signal lower courts that Swain could be
rethought and no longer controlled their resolution of the
issue. Since they were cast in the role of laboratories
where the law was open to experimentation, Swain was
not binding authority and lower courts could not deter-
mine after McC ray if they were “toeing the constitutional
mark.” The resulting inequity® can only be corrected by
extension of the benefits of Batson to all those thus
affected.®
Justice Harlan recognized that it would often be diffi-
cult for a habeas court to define the constitutional stan-
dards prevailing at the time a conviction became final. The
court would be “required to chart out the proper implica-
tions of the governing precedents” rather than simply
applying new rules to those cases pending at the time the
decision is announced. He believed that simplicity should
not be purchased at the cost of compromising the principle
that a habeas petitioner is entitled to have his conviction
judged according to constitutional standards dominant at
the time it became final. Desist, 394 U.S. at 268: Mackey,
401 U.S. at 695.
>In his petition for writ of certiorari on direct appeal, Petitioner
counseled against delay in resolution of the problem of misuse of the
peremptory challenge, noting most state courts were reluctant to
reexamine Swain. See Gilliard v. Mississippi, 464 U.S. 867, 871 n.3
1983) (Marshall, J., dissenting).
" This class would consist of a!] defendants whose convictions were
not final when certioran was denied in Me( ray on Mav 31, 1288 but
became final prior to the announcement of the Batson rule on April
1). 1986 |
25
The rule of Swain cannot be considered the dominant
constitutional standard at the time Petitioner's conviction
became final in light of the impact of McCray. To para-
phrase Justice Harlan, “it is hard to believe that any
lawyer worthy of the name could, after reading /McCray/
rely with confidence on the continuing vitality of the
[Swain] rule. Nor is it by any means ciear . . . that it
would have been improper for a lower court to have
declined to follow [Swain] in light of /McCray.]” Desist,
394 U.S. at 265. Because the dominance of Swain ended
when certiorari was denied in McCray, the constitu-
tionality of Teague’s conviction should not be judged
according to the standard of Swain.
A central concern of Justice Harlan was that rules of
retroactivity not unfairly discriminate among similarly
situated defendants. He recognized that drawing a dis-
tinction between direct and collateral attacks on convic-
tions would result in some discrimination. His willingness
to accept this result, in the face of the competing consider-
ations of the need for finality and allocation of limited
resources, was premised on the assumption that it could
be concluded with assurance that a conviction was per-
fectly free from error when it became final. Mackey, 401
U.S. at 689-691.
No such assurance exists here. The inequity whic.
defendants suffer because their jurisdiction did not
provide a remedy for the prosecution’ discriminator
jury selection practices cannot be forgiven in the interests
of finality or conservation of resources. McC ray undoubt-
edly signaled that Swain should be reexamined, yet left it
entirely to the discretion of lower courts whether to follow
precedent that was discredited, although not expressly
overruled. Correction of this aberration can be achieved
by extension of the benefits of Batson to ail defendants
26
whose cases were pending on direct review when the
dominance of Swain ended.
B. Extension Of The Benefits Of The Rule Of Batson To All
Cases Pending On Direct Review When Certiorari Was
Denied In McCray Would Not Be Inconsistent With The
Result Reached In Allen v. Hardy.
Consistency with the result reached in Allen v. Hardy,
478 U.S. __., 106 S.Ct. 2878 (1986) does not demand that
this Court deny the benefits of Batson to defendants
whose convictions became final only after denial of cer-
tiorari in McCray. First, Allen’s conviction was final and
he was seeking collateral relief from his conviction when
‘he McCray denial was announced, U.S. ex rel. Allen v.
‘tardy, 556 F.Supp. 464 (N.D.IIl. 1983). The Allen Court
therefore had no cause to question the vitality of Swain
while Allen was pending on direct appeal.
Second, application of the three-pronged analysis of
Linkletter v. Walker, 381 U.S. 618 (1965) to that class of
cases which became final after McCray but prior to the
Batson opinion being delivered would have resulted in the
conclusion that the interests considered were weighted in
favor of retroactive application of Batson.
Foremost among the factors weighed in deciding to
whom the benefits of a new rule extend is the purpose of
the rule at issue. If the purpose is designed to enhance the
accuracy of the trial, retroactivity is favored. Controlling
significance is given to the extent of reliance on the old
rule and the impact retroactive application of the new rule
would have © the criminal justice system only where the
purpose of the rule does not clearly favor retroactivity or
prospectivity. Brown v. Louisiana, 447 U.S. 323. 328
(1980); Solem v. Stumes, 465 U.S. 638. 643 (1984),
27
That the rule of Batson bears on the truth-finding func-
tion of a criminal trial is beyond dispute. Allen, 106 S.Ct.
at 2880; McClesky v. Kemp, 481 U.S. —__, 107S.Ct. 1756,
1775 (1987). The rule is not designed to be a mere deter-
rent nor is its role purely prophylactic. Racial discrimina-
tion in the selection of a jury is a stimulant to race
prejudice which is an impediment to securing equal jus-
tice. It denies the accused the protection against the
arbitrary exercise of power by a prosecutor or a judge
that a trial by jury is intended to secure. Batson, 476 U.S.
at 86-88. Being a practice that undermines the jury’s
ability to perform its function, it poses a significant threat
to the truth-finding process. Brown, 447 U.S. at 334.
Safeguards do not exist which significantly minimize
the likelihood of past injustices caused by discriminatory
jury selection. Although this Court has noted the exis-
tence of procedures, such as voir dire and the court’s
instructions, which could protect these same interests,
Allen, 106 S.Ct. at 2881 n.2, the protection these mea-
sures provide is largely illusory. A defendant is unable to
question jurors specifically as to racial bias unless he can
demonstrate a significant likelihood exists that racial bias
will influence a jury. Ristaino v. Ross, 424 U.S. 589, 596
(1976). A prosecutor inclined to discriminate in the selec-
tion of a jury may not limit his misconduct to those cases in
which such a demonstration can be made. While a court
may direct jurors in concluding irstructions not to be
influenced by any prejudices they may harbor, such an
instruction does not insure that only jurors free from
prejudice are selected for jury duty, or that only those sit
who are able to arrive at an independent judgment apart
from any prejudice they may have. The efficacy of such an
instruction is also questionable where those same jurors
have witnessed the apparently court-sanctioned specta-
cle of a jury selected in a race-conscious manner
28
While no viable remedy existed to prevent miscarriages
of justice as a result of discrimination in the selection of
jurors prior to Batson, retroactive extension of the bene-
fits of Batson would not result in windfall benefits for
defendants who have suffered no constitutional depriva-
tion. Michigan v. Payne, 412 U.S. 47, 53 (1973). Only
those defendants able to demonstrate that the pros-
ecutor’s use of the peremptory challenge was racially
motivated, i.e., who have suffered the injury Batson is
designed to eliminate, will reap the benefit of retrial.
Retroactive application of Batson would also result in
the award of relief which would remedy the injury suf-
fered. Unlike other contexts where the interest sought to
be protected has been damaged and cannot be corrected,
Linkletter, 381 U.S. at 637, the injury which occurs when
an accused is tried by a jury from which members of his
race have been excluded is not irreparable. The con-
fidence of the public and the accused that justice has been
done can be restored by trial by a jury selected in a
nondiscriminatory manner.
The factors of reliance on the old rule and the impact of
retroactive application of Batson on the administration of
justice do not weigh heavily against retroactivity where
the class of potential litigants is limited to cases which
were not final when certiorari was denied in McCray.?
Since trial and appellate courts and prosecutors were put
on notice by McCray that the rule of Swain was certainly
going to be reexamined by the Supreme Court at some
date in the not distant future, a prosecutor's continued
reliance on the heavy evidentiary burden of Swain was
risky. That Swain was under continued attack and some
‘ There is no indication that the limited retroactivity given Batson
in Grifnth has had any adverse effect
29
courts used their own state constitutions or the Sixth
Amendment to provide a remedy for discriminatory use of
the peremptory challenge notwithstanding Swain, dimin-
ishes the persuasiveness of the prosecution's reliance on
Swain. Roberts v. Russell, 392 U.S. 293, 295 (1968).
Swain left unquestioned the principle established in
Strauder v. West Virginia, 100 U.S. 303 (1880), that the
state denies a black defendant equal protection of the laws
when it places him on trial before a jury from which
members of his race have been purposefully excluded.
Batson, 476 U.S. at 89. A prosecutor could not have
justifiably relied on Swain as sanctioning discriminatory
jury selection practices. Batson, 476 U.S. at 101 (White,
J., concurring). Even if a prosecutor believed the evidenti-
ary burden of Swain controlled, a defense of his exercise
of his challenges remained a possibility which had to be
anticipated should a defendant question a prosecutor's
motives and undertake to carry his burden of proof. In
short, no prosecutor could or should have believed that
race was a proper basis to exercise a peremptory chal-
lenge or that his conduct was immune from scrutiny under
Swain.
Nor is the impact on the administration of justice great
due to the limited number of cases involved. Retrial will
not be required in every instance in which a defendant
claims he is entitled to the benefits of Batson, only in
those instances-in which he can persuade the trial court
that discrimination has occurred. Further winnowing will
occur with application of various state or federal pro-
cedural rules which limit the number of successful liti-
gants. Hankerson v. North Carolina, 432 U.S. 233, 244
n.8 (1977).
30
C. No Reasoned Basis Exists To Extend The Benefits Of The
Baison Rule To Litigants In Cases Pending On Direct
Review And To Deny Relief To Equally Deserving Liti-
gants Who Are Seeking Collateral Relief From Their
Convictions.
Justice Harlan was convinced that new constitutional
rules must at a minimum be applied to cases pending on
direct review when the rule is announced. To hold other-
wise in his view would constitute an indefensible depar-
ture from the model of judicial review, allowing the Court
to simply fish one case from the stream of appellate
review, use it as a vehicle for pronouncing new constitu-
tional standards, and then permit a stream of similar
cases to flow by unaffected by that rule. Mackey, 401 U.S.
at 679. By picking and choosing whom among similarly
situated defendants should receive the benefits of a new
rule, the Court acts as a legislature or court of revision.
not a court of law. Desist, 394 U.S. at 259; Mackey, 401
U.S. at 677-679.
The convicion that retroactivity is an essential
attribute of judicial decision making and that disparate
treatment of similarly situated defendants is intolerable
should not dissipate merely because a defendant is pursu-
ing an avenue of relief beyond direct appeal. This Court
was persuaded to reject the “clear break” exception to the
rule of retroactivity due to recognition that the “mere
fortuities of the judicial process” should not be the basis
for distinguishing whom among equally deserving liti-
gants receive the benefits of a new rule. Griffith. 107S.Ct.
at 716. Neither should the direct collateral distinction be
maintained where It is the “vagarnes of the appellate pro-
cess which unavoidably create inequities in availability of
relief. Joi mSor. 15; 1) § at 7? ons White. J dissent-
ing j
31
Considerations of finality do not justify the distinction
between direct and collateral review. A new trial is not a
significantly less burdensome remedy when it is imposed
on direct review than when it is ordered on habeas. Shea,
470 U.S. at 64 n.1 (White, J., dissenting). The line drawn
between direct and collateral review is purely arbitrary.
Johnson, 457 U.S. at 567 (White, J., dissenting). It allows
for no exception to the general rule of nonretroactivity for
state collateral proceedings where the state court should
itself determine whether its interests in finality of its
judgments supply justification to deny extension of the
benefits of a new rule to a defendant seeking state post-
conviction relief.
Justice Harlan found the nterests of finality significant
only because he found disquieting the rule of Fay v. Nota,
372 U.S. 391 (1963) which “opened the door for large
numbers of prisoners to relitigate their convictions each
time a ‘new’ constitutional rule was announced” despite
the fact that the new rule had not been suggested in the
original proceedings. Desist, 394 U.S. at 261. Finality
became paramount only as it provided a means to contain
the effect of decisions Justice Harlan believed “constitute
an unsound extension of the historic scope of the writ and
an unfortunate display of insensitivity to the principles of
federalism which underlie the American legal system.”
Mackey, 401 U.S. at 685. It was the availability of relief on
habeas review to prisoners raising new claims never
addressed by state courts which Justice Harlan believed
frustrated the state's interests in finality.
Developments since Fay v. Noia, however, have elimi-
nated the specter of prisoners continually relitigating the
constitutionality of their convictions each time a new rule
is announced. Extension of the benefits of a new rule to
habeas corpus petitioners does not entitle them to those
»)
Qe
benefits if the interests of comity and finality would other-
wise be disserved. Those interests are addressed by the
rule of Wainwright v. Sykes, 433 U.S. 72 (1977), that a
state procedural default bars federal habeas corpus
review absent a showing of cause for noncompliance with
a state procedural rule and a showing of actual prejudice.
See Engle v. Issac, 456 U.S. 107, 184 n.43 | 1982) (recog-
nizing that a distinction exists between the retroactive
availability of a constitutional decision and the right to
claim that availability after a procedura: default).
The cause and prejudice test of Wain wright® addresses
the concern that interests of comity and finality are not
adequately respected when prisoners are awarded relief
from their convictiens on the basis of constitutional rules
announced after t!.eir convictions become final. Con-
struction of an artificial dividing line between direct and
collateral review is unnecessary to promote those same
interests and should be abandoned.
Ill. SWAIN V. ALABAMA PERMITS A PROSECUTOR'S
VOLUNTEERED EXPLANATION FOR HIS EXER.
CISE OF HIS PEREMPTORY CHALLENGES TO BE
EXAMINED TO DETERMINE WHETHER THE
EXPLANATION IS LEGITIMATE OR A MERE PRE-
TEXT FOR RACIAL DISCRIMINATION.
If Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 79 (1986) has no retro-
active application to cases pending on collateral review,
Teague is entitled to relief from his conviction nonetheless
* Additional limitations on t} > availability of collateral relief are
found in Stone v. Powell, 428 U.s. 465 (1976), the exhaustion of state
remedies requirement, Rose v. Lundy, 455 U.S. 509 (1982), and the
presumption of correctness of state court findings, Sumner v. Mata.
449 U.S. 539 (1981), all of which promote respect for the finality of
State court judgments.
33
because the record demonstrates an equal protection vio-
lation pursuant to Swain v. Alabama, 380 U.S. 202
(1965). Although he was not required to do so, the trial
prosecutor in this case volunteered his reasons for the
exercise of his peremptory challenges. Swain permits
those reasons to be reviewed to dete.mine whether the
purpose of the peremptory challenge is being perverted.
Weathersby v. Morris, 708 F.2d 1493, 1496 (9th Cir. 1983),
cert. denied, 464 U.S. 1046 (1984); Garrett v. Morris, 815
F.2d 509, 511, 513 (8th Cir. 1987), cert. denied, 108 S.Ct.
233 (1987). The explanation offered by the prosecutor for
his decision to exercise all ten of his challenges to exclude
only black venirepersons from the petit jury was a pretext
for racial discrimination. This equal protection violation
should be recognized as affording a basis to award Teague
relief from his conviction.
A. An Equal Protection Violation Can Be Established Con-
sistent With Swain Other Than By Proof That The Pros-
ecution Consistently And Continuously Excluded A
Racial Group From Petit Juries.
The court of appeals interpreted Swain to require that
a defendant meet his burden of demonstrating the pros-
ecution exercised its peremptory challenges in violation
of the Equal Protection Clause by proof that black jurors
are systematically excluded from petit juries in case after
case. The court rejected the notion that a demonstration
that the prosecution exercised its peremptories on the
basis of race in a single case could establish an equal
protection claim. Teague v. Lane, 820 F.2d 832, 834 n. 6
(1987). Swain does not contain the limitations ascribed to
it by the court of appe:‘s.
Swain did not questior. the soundness of the principle
enunciated ir, Strauder v. West Virginia, 100 U.S. 303
(1880) that a state’s purposeful or deliberate denial to
34
blacks on account of race of participation as jurors in the
administration of justice violates the Equal Protection
Clause. Swain, 380 U.S. at 205. After reviewing the
purpose of the perempvory challenge system and the func-
tion it serves, the court did conclude a presumption
should exist in any given case that the prosecutor uses his
challenges to obtain a fair and impartial jury to try the
ease before the court. This presumption could not be
overcome and the prosecutor required to justify his chal-
lenges merely by allegations that in a single case the
prosecutor removed all blacks from the jury or that they
were removed because they were black. Swain, 380 U.S.
at 222. The presumption might be overcome by proof that
the prosecutor in a county, in case after case, what-
ever the circumstances, whatever the crime and
whoever the defendant or victim may be, is responsi-
ble for the removal of Negroes who have been
selected as qualified jurors by the jury commis-
sioners and who have survived challenges for cause,
with the result that no Negroes serve on petit juries,
but evidence that no black person served on a petit jury
over an extended period of time would not satisfy this
burden. Swain, 380 U.S. at 223. Absent from such proof
would be a showing of the prosecution's responsibility for
the exclusion. Swain, 380 U.S. at 227.
Swain contains no rejection of the possibility that a
defendant might demonstrate an equal protection viola-
tion by a prosecutor's use of peremptory challenges in a
single case. Swain merely clothed the prosecution's use of —
its challenges in a presumption of correctness, insulating
them from inquiry except where that presumption was
overcome, and rejected the argument that the presump-
tion could be overcome solely by an allegation that the
prosecutor peremptorily removed all the black jurors or
35
that he did so on account of race. That it was not the intent
of Swain to require proof of a consistent exclusion of
blacks over a period of time as the only means to overcome
the presumption is evident from the observation of the
author of Swain that it would not have been inconsistent
with Swain for the trial judge to invalidate peremptory
challenges of black jurors if the prosecutor, in response to
an objection to his strikes, stated that he struck blacks
because he believed they were not qualified to serve as
jurors. Batson, 476 U.S. at 101 n.* (White, J., con-
curring). Batson attributed the requirement that the pre-
sumption of correctness be overcome by proof of repeated
striking of blacks over a number of cases to lower court
interpretation of Swain. 476 U.S. at 92. Nothing in Swain
suggests that proof of repeated strikings is the sole or
exclusive method of making the requisite showing of per-
version of the peremptory challenge.
When a prosecutor volunteers his explanations for his
peremptory challenges, the considerations which per-
suaded the Court to presume that a prosecutor acts for
valid reasons in exercising his challenges no longer
obtain. The peremptory nature of the challenge was
thought worthy of preservation because it enabled the
parties to select jurors with the ability to decide the case
on the basis of the evidence before them. Swain, 380 U.S.
at 219. Ifa prosecutor's motivation for each challenge was
subject to scrutiny, a great many uses of the challenge
would be banned. Swain, 380 U.S. at 222. The Court was
not prepared to make this sacrifice.
If the prosecution reveals its motivation for its chal-
lenges without compulsion, no deleterious limitation has
been placed on the exercise of its challenges. The prosecu-
tion remains free to exercise its challenges as it sees fit on
the ground of any real or perceived bias detected in a
36
juror. It is unnecessary to presume that the prosecution
exerc'ses its challenges for acceptable reasons to allow it
to act on the basis of real or imagined partiality which is
incapable of articulation or not easily articulated. The
prosecution has determined that its motivation is articula-
ble and it has not been intimidated by the prospect of
being forced to state its reasons to be unduly conservative
in its exercise of its challenges.
The principle that the Equal Protection Clause is
offended when black persons are excluded from participa-
tion as jurors on account of race is unassailable. No reason
exists to decline to examine the reasonableness and sin-
cerity of a prosecutor's explanation for the exercise of
peremptory challenges where it is volunteered. The court
should satisfy itself that the prosecutor’s challenges are
based on constitutionally permissible trial-related consid-
erations and that the proffered reasons are genuine and
not merely a pretext for discrimination.
B. The Explanation Volunteered By The Prosecutor For His
Peremptory Challenge Of Ten Black Jurors Is A Pretext
And Demonstrates That The Prosecutor's Actual Motiva-
t'on Was Racial Discrimination.
An examination of the reason volunteered by the pros-
ecutor for his exercise of his peremptory challenges in
Teague’s case reveals that the proffered explanation was a
pretext, intended to disguise his actual moti vation which
was to obtain a jury as nearly composed sole'y of white
jurors as the prosecutor's manipulative use of his chal-
lenges would permit. As demonstrated in Arzument I,
supra, the record affirmatively refutes the contention
that the stated objective that the jury reflect a balance of
men, women and age groups resulted in the exclusion of
black jurors.
37
Additional support is found for this conclusion in the
prosecutor's decision not to strike white jurors who dif-
fered in no significant way from the excluded black jurors.
Garrett, 815 F.2d at 514.9 Both Mrs. Munoz and Ms. Jones
were employed, had two school-age children and had no
jury or psychiatric experience. (S.R. 120-121, 156-157)
The prosecutor excused only Ms. Jones, who is black.
Mrs. Hall was the victim of an unsolved crime and was
employed. (S.R. 28, 29, 35) Mrs. Hook was employed and
her father was the victim of an unsolved crime. (S.R.
125-126) The prosecutor excused only Mrs. Hall, who is
black. Ms. Hefferman, who was separated from her hus-
band, employed, had school-age children and experience
with psychiatrists, was acceptable to the State. (S.R. 36,
45) Ms. Jones, who was divorced, employed and had
school-age children (S.R. 155, 156), and Mrs. Hampton,
who had used the services of a psychiatrist (S.R. 53), were
not. Only Ms. Jones and Mrs. Hampton are black. Mrs.
Knoeizer and Ms. Winston were both employed, married,
had employed husbands and at least one grown child (S.R.
152-153 79-80), but the prosecutor was dissatisfied only
with Ms. Winston, who is black.
These facts support the conclusion that the explanation
proffered by the prosecution was a pretext for purposeful
discrimination. Such discrimination has not been toler-
ated since Strauder and Swain offers the prosecutor no
protectiun from the consequences of his misconduct.
* The state appellate court also observed that “an examination of
the record shows that white jurors who fell within the men, women
and age groups to which the State referred were not excused peremp-
torily by the State.” People v. Teague, 108 Ill. App.3d 891, 439 N.E.2d
1066, 1069-1070 (1st Dist. 1982).
38
C. The Failure Of Petitioner To Raise His Swain Claim In
State Court Does Not Bar That Claim As A Ground For
Relief On Collateral Review Where It Was Fairly Pre-
sented To The State Court And Rejected On Its Merits.
Although Teague made no argument in state court that
he was entitled to relief pursuant to Swain v. Alabama,
the court of appeals is not correct that this argument is
barred by procedural default pursuant to Wainwright v.
Sykes, 483 U.S. 72 (1977). Teague, 820 F.2d at 834 n.6.
Weathersby v. Morris was cited to both the district court
and the court of appeals as providing a basis to award
Teague relief. ‘tespondents did not assert in their
response to tni: argument that a procedural default bar-
red this claim. Their failure to raise this defense con-
stitutes a waiver because the merits of Teague’s claim are
evident and the state court did review in the context of
Swain the complaint that the prosecutor had made dis-
criminatory use of the peremptory challenge. Cf Granbe-
rry v. Greer, 481 U.S. ——, 107 S.Ct. 1671 (1987) (failure
of the State to raise the defense of exhaustion of state
remedies requires the court to determine whether the
interests of comity and federalism would be better served
by enforcement of exhaustion requirement).
Moreover, the state court rejected a Swain claim on its
merits. Petitioner argued to the state appellate court that
the prosecutor's proffered ex nlanation for exercise of its
challenges was not genuine because no basis existed to
distinguish between the ten excluded black jurors and
those jurors whom the prosecutor found acceptable
except for race. (Appellant’s Brief, pp. 80-82) The State
argued Swain was the “definitive United States Supreme
Court case in the area.” (Appellee’s Brief, p. 19) The
appellate court acknowledged that “white jurors who fell
within the men, women and age groups to which the State
39
referred were not excused peremptorily by the State” but
rejected Teague’s claim because he had failed to sustain
his burden of proof pursuant to Swain, declining to adopt
any representative cross-section requirement as placing
too great a limitation on the peremptory challenge. People
v. Teague, 108 Ill. App.3d 891, 439 N.E.2d 1066,
1069-1070 (1st Dist. 1982).
Although Teague did not argue that the state court
should examine the record and determine whether an
equal protection violation had been demonstrated pur-
suant to Swain, the state court resolved the issue as if he
had. The state court found no basis for relief pursuant to
Swain, overlooking Teague’s failure to request that the
record be evaluated in light of Swain. The state court
having decided the issue on its merits despite the lack of
preservation, a federal court may also reach the merits of
the issue without a showing of cause for the procedural
default and prejudice. Ulster County Court v. Allen, 442
U.S. 140, 149 (1979); Thomas v. Blackburn, 623 F.2d 383
(5th Cir. 1980).
The State urged the state court to judge Teague’s claim
on its merits in the context of Swain. The state court
concurred, holding Swain dispositive. Other courts pre-
sented with an argument that a prosecutor exercised his
peremptory challenges in an unconstitutional manner
similarly resolved the issue, no matter in what form it was
presented, by citing to Swain as the controlling authority.
See State v. Ucero, 450 A.2d 809 (R.I. 1982); Common-
wealth v. Henderson, 497 Pa. 23, 438 A.2d 951 (1981);
State v. Grady, 93 Wis. 1, 286 N.W.2d 607 (Wis. App.
1979); State v. Thompson, 276 S.C. 616, 281 S.E.2d 216
(1981); Gaines v. State, 404 So. 2d 557 (Miss. 1981). These
events suggest that the two claims, one based on the fair
cross-section requirement and the other on the Equal
40
Protection Clause, when made in the context of a pros-
ecutor’s exclusion of a racial group from a jury, may be so
factually and logically related that the raising of one
affords the state court a fair opportunity to consider both.
Williams v. Holbrook, 691 F.2d 3, 8 (1st Cir. 1982). The
interrelationship evidenced by the responses of litigants
and courts to complaints of a prosecutor's abuse of the
peremptory challenge supports the conclusion that the
presentation of the complaint on an alternative constitu-
tional theory provides the state court with a sufficient
opportunity to address the merits of the equal protection
claim.
All that is required to provide a state court with a fair
opportunity to apply constitutional principles and correct
any constitutional error committed by the trial court is
that the substance of the habeas claim be presented to the
state court. It is not enough that all of the facts necessary
to support the federal claim were before the state court,
but is sufficient if the claim is presented in such a way as to
fairly alert the state court to any applicable constitutional
grounds for the claim. U.S. ex rel. Sullivan v. Fairman,
731 F.2d 450, 453 (7th Cir. 1984). Here the state court was
presented with more than just the factual basis for the
claim. The prosecution alerted the court to the equal
protection theory and the court adopted that theory in
reaching the claim and rejecting it on its merits. To allow
the federal habeas court to utilize that same theory to
award relief to Teague would imply no disrespect for the
state court. Ulster County Court, 442 U.S. at 154. Tea-
gue’s failure to himself urge the state court to disapprove
the prosecutor's conduct as an equal protection violation
creates no obstacle to this Court’s resolution of the issue.
41
CONCLUSION
Wherefore, petitioner prays that the judgment of the
court of appeals be reversed and the cause be remanded
with directions that petitioner be released from custody
or that a hearing be conducted to determine whether the
prosecution made constitutionally permissible use of its
peremptory challenges.
Respectfully submitted,
THEODORE A. GOTTFRIED
Appellate Defender
MICHAEL J. PELLETIER
Deputy Defender
PATRICIA UNSINN*
MARTIN S. CARLSON
Assistant Appellate Defenders
Office of the State Appellate Defender
State of Illinois Center
100 West Randolph Street, Suite 5-500
Chicago, Illino's 60601
(312) 917-5472
*Counsel of Record
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